I’m sure many parents have said to their kids something along the lines of “if all your friends jumped off the roof, would you?” I know I heard that growing more way too many times…I did lots of stupid things.

Posts like this make people me me unpopular. Why? Because I question what seems to be becoming “conventional wisdom”, a lemming-like rush to embrace new media, marketing techniques and anything that gives a glimmer of a chance to strike pay dirt.

Most of the professionals I know are very busy people. Many are small business owners or self-employed. A 40-hour work week is rare. Time is precious and there just isn’t enough of it. All want to succeed, most don’t have a lot to bet on new methods of doing so.

I’m increasingly asked about “new” buzzwords in the marketplace. Words such as “social media” or “twitter”, “facebook”, or one of the myriad of options out there. People are being told “if you’re going to make it, you MUST be using this, that or the other and if you don’t you’re not making the most of new technology and you’re a loser.”

Now, it may not be quite that nasty, but I’ve read enough blog posts that are barely a step away from that. There appears to be a new class of self-appointed “social media” and “marketing” “experts” who have found the magic beans that will grow the beanstalk to untold riches.

Some of these people are the same ones who have been pontificating about the “death” of print media and the absolute need to move online and in elitist little circles such as Twitter. Even on sites such as ActiveRain, there are self-titled “gurus” who people just appear to follow blindly, hanging on every word…and I just don’t get it.

This isn’t, by the way, just a rant from someone who is a frustrated social media or marketing “wannabe”. What I am adverse to is a “one size fits all” approach that “experts” are preaching and the negative impact it’s having on businesses across the board.

Every tool has its place and its uses, I’m the first to admit. But, though you may have a hammer in the toolbox, you may question the wisdom of using it to, say, clean a window.

Every new or recycled marketing tool (and don’t be fooled, when social media is applied to business, that’s what it is) has worked for some and not for others. The same went for print ads, flyers and who know what else. To some, the community and client base will dictate the technology. Email flyers are about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike if your clients live in an area that doesn’t have Internet access.

I’m not adverse to trying new tools and techniques. I think playing around with things like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and others is essential, if for no other reason that to determine if it’s going to work for you. I am adverse to the “must be part of this” mentality. Social media, like other forms of marketing takes an investment. It may be time rather than money, but a return on investment needs to be evaluated. Will time be better spent elsewhere?

As a marketing “guy”, and I say that because I don’t want to call myself a consultant, expert or guru, I work with my clients to determine what’s right for them. I say to someone, almost on a daily basis, “do three things well, not ten badly”. Time is as important as money. Invest it wisely.

Just because everyone else is running in one direction doesn’t make it the right direction. I think back to the Poseidon Adventure with Gene Hackman and his little band that went against the flow of opinion and ultimately got out of the ship. What may work for this person, may not work for that one and I wish that more people would realize that and that more marketing “experts” would help their clients decide on the right course of action and not the most popular.

I also have to question a social media application that has it’s own version of the Oscars for the best short message…something seems very wrong to me about this. But then I also read a lot of social media blogs in which they poke fun at people who don’t use SM the “right way” or laugh at those who “think it’s just about blogging.”

But I suppose I’ll continue to believe that old-fashioned “meet and greets” are a good idea, that not all paper marketing is dead, that spam emails of property listings is rude and annoying and that social media has a place and isn’t the be all and end all of marketing.

I don’t think I’ll jump off that roof just yet.

Pick an Internet subject: how many "how to" guides are there, either online or in bookstores?

Web newbie? There is a myriad of introductory texts written for the semi-literate to the PHD. Need something more specific? You can find that too. Whether in print or electronic ("ebook") form, there are books galore, all vying for attention, many promising to be, in some way or another, the only book you’ll ever need.

If you need a guide on something somewhat established, say HTML programming, you have much to choose from. Unlike many of their contemporary subjects, however, social media guides attempt to capture a subject that is still evolving…at a rate far beyond that at which writers and publishers must be able to keep up with.

That’s not to say there aren’t some great books or blogs out there that are worth reading because they teach an approach to social media, not necessarily the "only way" to do it (a great beginner’s guide is Chris Brogan’s "If I started Today").

Now, many people who use social media on a regular basis are likely to be early adopters of new social technology. Each time something new comes out, these people take another step away from those people only just trying to figure out how to step on the ladder.

Do a Google search for “how do I use social media” or “new to social media”…if you know a little, you can probably sort out where you might want to look, but it’s intimidating if you’re not familiar with the web (One of good introductions, I came a across was Mike Fruchter’s "40 Key Elements to Getting Started In Social Media")

Doesn’t a "guide of guides" makes sense?

I would love to see a wiki-style guide or suite of guides (a wiki is an almost ever-changing document or site that is edited by the community at large). A wiki format does allow quick updating and rapid dissemination. It could be broken down into the myriad of subjects that all make up the world of social media and, more importantly, could be as up-to-date as the technology.

There are many bloggers doing some of this sort of thing on their own sites(Jonathan Fields’ "7 Unwritten Rules For Social Media Newbies”). There are some really great "how to" guides out there for varying levels of expertise(Saravanan Sahadevan’s “What’s Social Media?”). There is so much to learn out there that it can’t possibly be absorbed by any one person in any reasonable time. For those established bloggers with a reputation, a readership is already in place. But where do newbies go?

Of course, one has to acknowledge that people are trying to make money and earn a living. Popularity, whether in print or online, is crucial. My "semi-socialist" approach is a little to communal, yet would reflect the ever-changing, ever-growing world that web 2.0 will become.

There are so many brilliant people out there. Just spend a couple of hours on any one of the social networks and watch the energy at work – you can almost see evolution in progress! Imagine combining all these brains into a "distributed network", and harnessing the resources to develop and maintain the ultimate guide…"Welcome to the Social Media Community : Start Here"….

Maybe one day?