“The best argument against democracy,” said Winston Churchill, “is a five-minute argument with the average voter.” It’s as true in the social/ digital realm as it is in politics. Sure, it’s wonderful that everyone has a global communications supercomputer in their pocket, and can bring mighty brands to their knees with their broken guitars and so on. But the leveling of the playing field has a dark side: It’s opened up pseudo-careers for a lot of charlatans hoping to get rich quick selling the magical elixir of social media. They don’t get a lot of press, but you know whom I’m talking about: Self-proclaimed online marketing gurus, social media technicians, and digital brand consultants. They have no experience, but man, do they speak the lingo. They clog your LinkedIn inbox and + you to their Google circles; they follow one another on Twitter until their numbers are fashionably impressive. And there are lots and lots of them.Continue reading