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“If You’re an Expert, I’m Oprah Winfrey”
In the digital world, there’s TONS of ways to learn, but there is a pandemic of people claiming to be experts in various areas, and going on to teach faulty methods and give bad advice — And, of course, hurting people in the process. It just makes me CRAZY!
So, I have developed this: The ‘Discerning’ Litmus Test for Spotting Psuedo-Experts
1) Does this person have social credibility? Are they active and engaged in the digital world? Are they a “real person” or hiding behind a fake name? Are they actually successful in the field for which they
claim to be an expert? For example, does your potential “Social Media Expert” have more than five likes, one of whom is his mama, on his Facebook page? Don’t be afraid to check up on people. If they’ll lie
about who they are, they’ll lie about how they can help you.
2) Have they “faked” their reputations? There are a ton of ways to “buy” likes these days. Sock-likes and some others… people do this and get big numbers, meanwhile they don’t know JACK about JACK and they take
people’s money and give them nothing of value in return. You can tell if someone has purchased likes and followers by scrolling back through their list of followers and look for profile names made up of nothing but symbols, or people who speak languages that aren’t the same as the “expert” (Twitter) and by checking their engagement levels (Facebook). If someone has THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of likes/follows, but their news feeds get zero engagement, they’re probably not as awesome as they claim to be.
** Bonus Tip — DON’T buy follows. I’m not talking about getting likes through legit ads that target relevant
demographics, I’m talking about literally, “buy 20,000 followers for $39.99.” DO NOT DO IT, it’s algorithmic suicide. Engagement speaks way, way, way, way louder than numbers.
3) Are they adding value?
Has this person been putting out things that are of high value, useful, problem solving, uplifting, and generally helpful? Typically, expert-level knowledge comes out of a person on its own. If this person has genuinely given of themselves in service, and the other aforementioned boxes have been checked, you could be on the right path!
But, if they have never put out anything of value, I mean, for FREE, they might be full of it. If EVERYTHING they do is ‘pimp-ish’ and every other phrase is “pay me, pay me, pay me…” pump the brakes.
4) FINALLY – there’s no classy way to say this — most actual experts don’t call THEMSELVES experts. I mean, most people who are considered experts have been named as such by another verifiable source. They may
admit to having been coined an expert, but they, themselves, usually don’t jump up and down going “look at me, I am an expert!” If the only person who thinks they know everything is THEM, they’re probably not the one you’re looking for.
Good Luck — If you have questions, or you’ve been burned by a psuedo-expert, please comment and tell us your story!
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