Project Clarity

Yes, we’re all created equal and have the same shot at the grammar and rhetoric books, but some of us blog, youtube, flickr and myspace better than others. All social media is not media, contrary to what Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion writes.

Social media is largely opinion, feedback, blog riffs, product reviews, etc. Now, some of it is very good, awesome, better than “professional content”; I’ll give you that. But don’t get hung up on the “social” part of the term. Think about it this way for a second: social media is an opportunity to create something useful for someone else.

Is social media important? No doubt. It keeps us marketers honest. It keeps the mainstream media honest. It’s democracy in action. But that’s just the good stuff.

I bought a carpet steamer from the Target website based on the review of some person I don’t even know because she could spin an articulate assessment of an appliance.

But, I’ve also figuratively stomped out of the iTunes store after reading a music review that started, “The only reason I give this one five stars is because I see way too many people are giving it two or three stars…” So, is four stars his real vote? Too much math. That guy’s messing up the Utopia with his arbitrary star-giving! He just wasted an opportunity.