Admittedly there is no such thing as a single guru of Twitter; there are lots of people with lots of different ways of doing things.
But if I were looking for a "guru", I'd bypass anyone who calls him or her self a "guru" or maven or expert, or anything like that.
Especially is this so in the world of "social media", where nobody really knows what they're doing, it's all moving so fast. Twitter always has been, and still is, about 12 steps behind its customers.
If I were looking for a "guru", I would look among the modest, the humble, the self-deprecating folks, who would never call themselves a guru, and who recognize the enormity of it all, and their own limitations as human beings, and who quietly go about doing their thing in their way.
There I would find the person I consider the true "guru" of Twitter.... Susan Elaine, @BuzzEdition.
(She will probably kill me for having written this, but what the heck. I like to live dangerously.)
Susan teaches by example that what Twitter is about is the same thing life is about: caring about other people.
We've all seen Twitter users who prattle on, and are all about themselves. Those people just don't get out of the Twitter experience what it truly has to offer.
I don't know much about Susan's personal life, but I know from being her friend on Twitter that she has a real powerful maternal instinct: she just cares about other people.
Twitter for me is about treasuring and cherishing and enjoying what is special in others, and sharing the treasures with your other friends.
On Twitter as in life, as you sow, so shall you reap; as you give, so shall you receive.
No one on Twitter better exemplifies that than Susan.
That is why she has so many friends here, who would do anything for her.
Thank you, Susan, for being my "guru".
(Short URL for this post: http://is.gd/5qgVg)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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Agreed. And yes, she'd hate the title. Though you live dangerously, I notice that you never tweeted her name in the link tweet. Haha
ReplyDeleteYes Mari I omitted her name from the headline, thought I should leave some suspense.
ReplyDeleteDo you think I should add it to the headline?
I'm only just now a follower of @buzzedition (thanks to your post) so I'll have to remain "undecided" on the issue of her guru-ness. But I heartily second your observation about the glut of social media "experts." This is sort of like a soldier in the middle of a firefight declaring himself to be an "expert" on that firefight, when all he has is the adrenalized perspective of him own foxhole.
ReplyDeleteAs William Goldman said of another gold-rush industry, "Nobody knows anything."
Although I'm getting a strong impression from your tweets and links and posts the *you* know a few things! I'm enjoying following you.
Best,
Christopher... @bewildia
I'm only just now a follower of @buzzedition (thanks to your post) so I'll have to remain "undecided" on the issue of her guru-ness. But I heartily second your observation about the glut of social media "experts." This is sort of like a soldier in the middle of a firefight declaring himself to be an "expert" on that firefight, when all he has is the adrenalized perspective of him own foxhole.
ReplyDeleteAs William Goldman said of another gold-rush industry, "Nobody knows anything."
Although I'm getting a strong impression from your tweets and links and posts the *you* know a few things! I'm enjoying following you.
Best,
Christopher... @bewildia
I adore you Ray, and truly respect you. However...
ReplyDeleteSocial Media is by definition "Social". It is truly impossible for one person to do it alone and still stream information via social behavior. I would look quite silly talking to myself all day long on Twitter.
All participants have value from the new guy with 10 followers to the long-term users with tens of thousands of followers. It works only because we are in this together and we show compassion and interest in the thoughts, common interests and even beliefs of others.
I count myself lucky to have my friends on Twitter and I am honored and humbled by their friendship...
~hugs~
Susan
Thanks, Christopher, much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWhat Susan just said above.... that's what I meant to say.
ReplyDeleteMy last comment may have seemed curmudgeonly. Didn't mean to! I love swimming in the social media waters, and I find it a powerful, life-affirming phenomenon. My reaction to self-proclaimed experts is more or less bemusement with just a tiny dash of cynicism. I find "nobody knows anything" to be a liberating mantra, not an expression of anxiety.
ReplyDelete