Authenticity in Social Media

I had a great time at the “Jeff Pulver Breakfast” at Ryles in Cambridge this week. Great people in attendance, including notable digerati Jim Spencer, Rachel Happe, Laura Fitton, Nathan Burke, Doug Levin, Sean Lindsay, Todd Van Hoosear (pictured at left) and others, all of whom I got some facetime with.

One of the more interesting topics of conversation was around this question: Why are the people at the top of the social media food chain (and there are still A-Listers out there) in that position? All are different, but what’s the common thread?

For me, authenticity is the answer. Authenticity is the foundation of consistent communication, and of sustainable enthusiasm. It’s what we all crave and respond to. It is the fuel of followship, in ways visible and not.

Consider this:

Chris Brogan – the guy, not the brand – is all about helping people. That’s who he is, for real, and that sensibility drives 90% of his communication.
Laura Fitton is about relationships. There’s a thread of sensitive empathy underneath most of the Pistachio posts you remember, and it informs everything she does.
Jeff Pulver spoke frankly this morning about using social media of one kind or another as the antidote for his own loneliness. You could feel the support from the room as he spoke, the degree to which we all related to his experience to one degree or another. That’s why he has 5,000 facebook friends, and I don’t.
Gary Vaynerchuck? PASSION, BABY! Gary could get passionate about dryer lint, and thousands would line up to hear him BRING THE THUNDER!!
Even Loren Feldman – who is obviously an asshole – reveals his asshole-osity without artifice or apology, and fascinates us as a result. He is authentically himself, and that’s why so many of us are interested in what he has to say.

I could go on and on… these social media personalities and most others are unique in the extent to which they are willing to share their true selves with the rest of us. I’ve always thought the same of great artists in every medium… Great art exposes something in the artist the rest of us conceal. That’s why most hip-hop is crap, and Jay-Z is an artist.

To be honest I’m still peeling the onion on what this means for brands, but I know the path to that answer lay in keeping it real as interpreted by people listening at the other end.

Tagged as: Chris Brogan, Jeff Pulver, Laura Fitton, Loren Feldman, Pistachio, Twitter

skintreatment

You could feel the support from the room as he spoke, the degree to which we all related to his experience to one degree or another. That’s why he has 5,000 facebook friends,
acne treatment

these social media personalities and most others are unique in the extent to which they are willing to share their true selves with the rest of us.
Troiano

Thanks, Leslie, I'll see you in the jungle...
Leslie Poston

I only got to meet you briefly. I had to run out to a meeting much too quickly. Perhaps I'll see you in Boston on the 10th - I'll be leading a discussion at the Social Media Jungle then
Rachel Happe

Hi Mike - It was great chatting with you too and I think you are absolutely right about authenticity. It's one of the common threads that all the experts keep telling companies they need to use...and the one major thing that I haven't seen a lot of companies really try to struggle with. Why? Authenticity requires that you know yourself - either as an individual or an organization - and be OK with what you find. That's a hard enough struggle for most people - organizations I've seen don't even have that question on their radar screen yet.

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