It’s the work that matters

I understand self-promotion. I self-promote. Advertising is part of business.

I understand the need for conferences and meetings. I’m going to attend PDF this year. Conferences progress the movement.

I understand blogs. I’m a blogger. Sharing our thoughts, accomplishments, and failures will teach us how to run better campaigns.

With that said, many in the tech Republican crowd seem more interested in themselves than the candidates. Today I’m sitting on my couch working on new videos and new websites for clients. While doing so my TwitterFox is popping up every 10 seconds with some policos’ thoughts from CPAC.

It’s not just today. Blogs are full of new “how to” content. All the while, few people are actually doing it.

I’d love to think that these folks are more concerned with the movement than themselves, but I can’t help but think they are reading too much Tim Ferris and watching too much Gary Vaynerchuck. Now, I love Ferris and Vaynerchuck, but I don’t subscribe to them fully. I pick and choose parts of their lessons. Unfortunately it seems that many in the GOP tech crowd have subscribed to the “talk at more conferences” and “get my name in the paper” strategies to confirm themselves as experts and to make money instead of building their businesses by winning campaigns.

In “The Four-Hour Workweek” Tim Ferris writes:

“If you aren’t an expert, don’t sweat it. First ‘expert’ in the context of selling product means that you know more about the topic than the purchaser. No more. It is not necessary to be the best – just better than a small target number of your prospective customers.”

Seriously? Is that the kind of “expert” you want running your campaign?

Ferris goes on to layout a plan called “The Expert Builder: How to Become a Top Expert in 4 Weeks,” in which he writes:

“First and foremost, there is a difference between being perceived as an expert and being one. In the context of business, the former is what sells product and the latter, relative to your ‘minimal customer base,’ is what creates good products and prevents returns.

It is possible to know all there is to know about a subject – medicine, for example – but if you don’t have M.D. at the end of your name, few will listen. The M.D. is what I term a ‘credibility indicator.’ The so-called expert with the most credibility indicators is the one who will sell the most product, not the one with the most knowledge of a topic.”

WOW! Do you want a “so-called expert” doing your heart surgery? Do you want a “so-called expert” running your campaign? Or, do you want an actual expert?

How do you know the difference? THE WORK! THE RESULTS!

Ferris says that to become an expert, you should join a few trade organizations, give seminars, and write for trade magazines (or blogs in our case). Doesn’t that all sound a bit too familiar?

I enjoy showcasing the stuff I’m working on, but is the actual work that counts. I spend much more time writing memos, setting up socnets, building websites, and editing videos than I do talking to reporters, setting up politico happy hours, and speaking at conferences.

All I’m saying is that some folks are more interested in making money and self-promotion than actually helping Republicans catch Democrats on the web.

Popularity: 1% [?]

• Tim Ferris on “Pissing People Off”
• Talking With Trey Pennington About Listening
• I (heart) Obama’s web team
• Why Does Tim LaHaye Write Books?
• Some Geek Links

Comments

About Author