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Summary of Influencers
If you’ve survived this far in the article, I ask you one thing. Are you influencing? If you’re a well known name, are you leveraging celebrity or influence? Are you concerned about what your readers care about? Are you addressing their concerns? Do you even know what those concerns are?
When you engage with your community, do you do it in an argumentative way? Is it more important for you to be heard or to be right?
It’s important to me that people hear this. Cult of personality is not healthy and does nothing to move ideas forward. To influencers, it’s important for them not to necessarily be recognized. If they want recognition, they are simply egos looking for celebrity-hood.
“Those who value dialogue, compromise and even dissent are destined to be great influencers.”
Influencers value their community above all else. Many influencers are quiet, but when they speak people notice. The economy of words and actions speak for the influencer. They are not simply the loud guy in the corner banging the drum.
I’m very tired of seeing a variety of people who are held up as influencers when they are not. They are celebrities, mostly minor. They are known to travel in certain circles and like to be seen for the sake of being seen. They argue with you when you challenge their positions, because they feel like their entire self value is being deprecated if they are wrong.
These are not influencers. These are egos and, without significant adjustment to their modus operandi, they are doomed to a career of futility and insignificance. They will never be a Euclid or a President George H. W. Bush. They will never build consensus or affect positive change, as Martin Luther King, Jr. did. They will live a life of mediocrity, always looking for propping up by others.
However, those who value dialogue, compromise and even dissent are destined to be great influencers. Whether history remembers them broadly, or they rise in unplanned, but welcome, prominence within their companies and organizations, these men and women will always be special and be considered elite among their peers.
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I doesn’t take much skill/ talent/ ability to be a celebrity any more- but to be an influencer, or to actually make an impact on the people around you takes much more skill and finesse.
I do a few things to try to keep my own little brand identity- I use the same “handle” or screen name on every site i use, and I try to use the same profile picture, and recently I was recognised at a local blog meetup- and I feel that there is value in doing all these things- but I am working on becoming more of an influencer moving forward.
At some point I decided I’d rather be the guy with something valuable to add to the community, than the guy with 3 million hits on a youtube video where I wreck a 4-wheeler.
Arron,
It is a rare where I find a philosophy that closely mirrors mine. I see that some of traits mentioned are natural for me and a few I have to work on.
I congratulate you on a very well written blog (article); one that I’ll be proud to refer to my kindred friends.
Ed
Aaron,
I have to agree with what Ed said. It’s truly a great article, and I am spreading it out to everyone I know. Good job!
Excellent. Off to go link it on WW.
Great observations, I enjoyed the blog.
Cool. Thanks for the insight. “It’s been said, even, that character is what we are when no one is looking.” – outrageous but true.
Aaron,
Fantastic stuff. Timeless and timely. I’ll add a link on my blog, because I think folks in my biz, local television news, could use a refresher on engaging people. We’ve been taught for so long (entire careers for some) that we do our thing, and the audience will always be there. It’s not anymore. You need, as you suggest, to offer something to people.
Thanks again for sharing your insight.
Mark
To quote the great philosopher Bono: “This is just f*cking brilliant.”
Mark: Thank you, sir.
Andrew: That is why I love Bono.
Great observation! Good stuff, Aaron.
Great points, I agree completely.
I made it through the whole article and it was very informative. I am pretty energized by it and look forward to your keynote at IZEAFest. You really took your time and crafted a well thought out article with some great points. I have yet to read Dale Carnegie’s book, I started once but didn’t get too far, I think it is time to try again.
This is a very insightful paragraph:
“To be an influencer, you’re going to have to balance that self brand, personal marketing for the sake of being known with providing absolute, unquestioned value to the greater community. Carrying the mantle of an influencer means being a celebrity for the community. It means always giving of yourself so that the rest of the crowd benefits. It’s almost self-sacrificial, flying in the face of personal brand or celebrity.”
This phenomenon is due to human biology and social habits, every day our actions and thoughts are derived from others around and before us. Intellectuals are followers of previous intellectuals and commoners are followers of popular figures. However, one cannot say that we are brainless, but rather we belong to a massive network making up an overall societal “mind”. We never truly die, we each have significant effects on society that ripple and cascade endlessly.
Well done! I have been writing “traditionally” for some time and just recently joined the social media world. It can get a bit disheartening for those new to the scene to feel that they are competing with someone with 3,000 followers. Thank you for helping put all of this into perspective in a sound, academic article. I will certainly be sharing this with others.