Credibility, we sometimes forget that it matters. We, in social media, are all credible, right? We have all conformed to a platform of free as that is what makes us credible and garners us the attention that we need to become popular to gain paying clients. Hmh. Let’s think about that and throw it around in our heads. To get paying clients in social media we have to put out our thoughts and ideas to become popular so that we can then create a paid arena by referrals, word of mouth and of course in search. I am fully supportive of helping people and doing our time to earn the respect as well as proving that we are what we say we are but yet at the same time is the platform in and of it self credible? Are our clients there? Referrals sure but are the hard core real clients paying attention to us or are we just a bunch of social media junkies that are just the corn flakes trying to get some milk?
Credibility Still Matters
Credibility is more than existing in the social spectrum as today saying this and in a few weeks saying that for the “new” folks is so awesome and you are so great to THEM but to those before that actually read the yesteryear which in social media is probably a few weeks ago, they are looking kinda cross eyed. As much as the mainstream media moves on, the social folks do not always and there is those that remember. This is not to say that in mainstream media they do not remember nor that we forget what they are telling us but if you watched the local news recently, can you recall what stories were reported on? Then think about the past few days and the articles you read online, can you remember them? In mainstream media would they be able to report every so often about how to use Twitter?
We can think of the scandals before the explosion of social media and the brands that come to mind. Tylenol and the cyanide scare. Imagine if this hit Facebook or Twitter? Would we still have Tylenol today? Maybe or maybe not as they would have had to enhanced their crisis communications and been more responsive as opposed to issuing statements that were read by news stations and newspapers that did not offer as much of an opinion as bloggers and the social media community as a whole. Would this have made them less credible or possibly more?
Here Today Gone Tomorrow
We know this to be true. Not too long ago, the buzz was Charlie Sheen. Now it is like oh yeah that guy. Some of us junkies may write about him still but he is so yesterday. This is not too dissimilar to that great set of blog posts that you wrote and people flocked to your site doubling and even tripling your average traffic and then crickets. Where did ya all go? We have the mainstream mentality of here today gone tomorrow but, stories/issues tend to have more of a shelf life in social media. We are reminded more and we also remember due to being constantly reminded with a myriad of POVs that either extend the staying power or sent to die. Those that are here today and gone tomorrow come back time and time again by being credible. It is more than writing killer content. It is more than tweeting/retweeting on a ratio of more of them than more of me. The staying and returning power is built from being socially accepted, being what people expect you to be and when you are reversing your position, saying that you are doing so and not thinking, oh hell that was written a few months ago (cuz we ALL remember what we wrote a few months ago; ahem) and no one will remember.
Losing Credibility
Everyone loses readers. It sucks but, it happens. We are never sure unless they are very verbose and ensure that we really know why they left. Some it is something we said, others are too busy, others never really belonged there anyway. For those hard core readers that suddenly leave, it is clear that some sort of credibility was lost. Let’s face it, we NEVER will know everything about people unless they tell us. Some escape scandal and others, well, they meet it face to face and do the only dignified shadiest thing they can do – LIE (at least if you are going to lie, be sure that what you are saying cannot be proven otherwise). Credibility is lost in inconsistencies and the lies as the picture that is trying to be painted always runs the risk of someone having a bigger voice that actually is credible of standing up and pushing your ass aside.
Is it Just Karma?
Karma, they say it is a bitch. We have all had that moment of looking around to see if we see karma. I am not so sure that we really ever see it and for some, they never feel it. Some are smarter than all of us (so they think) and just carry on and continue on their way until they are thrown up against the wall and are the fumbling fool that try to backtrack and throw the yesteryear under the carpet. Um, yeah, but we remember. We would be lying to ourselves and to anyone around us if we would ever not associate and pause when we say Monica Lewinsky, Tiger Woods, OJ, Casey Anthony … the list goes on and on. Some brands have earned this pause status as well but yet there is still someone that will have a different opinion and buy them. Some snicker quietly and give the ever so special eye roll and move on as we know some day they will trip up and oops. The here today, gone tomorrow is suddenly refreshed.
In the end we know that what we say is remembered, what we do is remembered and while some are shamed, others just pretend that what they said or do has no weight or repercussions. Sometimes we just cannot be bothered with pointing it out as then karma starts to chase us with some sort of something that we want to forget. Reality is that we just cannot always get away with challenging those with our credibility.
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