Does expertise create hypocrisy?
Have you noticed that the more expertise in a subject/issue people get, the harder is seems it is for them to follow their own advice?
Dave Taylor, blogging expert/speaker/author recently posted an entry on his blog sharing his opinions of the Blog Council announcement. A healthy debate ensued in the comments where several, including me, disagreed with his position. Despite me posting a comment asking Dave for his opinions to the discussion, Dave never showed up.
During this same , I joined in the discussion on B.L. Ochman’s blog the announcement. I disagreed with B.L. without using name calling, profanity, or rudeness. She ended my participation with a virtual pat on the head saying:
Jake - Seems to me you’re the one who’s upset. Have a nice night.
I didn’t think much of this, and this week found myself on her blog again reading a post about social media and the election cycle. She posted an entry about how none of the candidates were effectively using social media marketing, but gave very little context or explanation to this position. I challenged her on it. After some minor feedback on her part, she replied with another dismissive pat on the head:
there u go jake. you’ve written your own blog post and now you can post it in your own blog.
have a great evening.
So I posted a final comment saying, to the effect of, “This is the second time in so many weeks that you’ve been dismissive to my comments. Message received”. It hasn’t been moderated yet, so I emailed to find out if she was going to push it live. She said no. Apparently that message violates her comment policy, that if she wouldn’t allow it in her living room, she won’t allow it on her blog. Apparently if she invites you over to her her house, you don’t want to bring up anything she disagrees with for fear of finding yourself sitting on the curb!
Interestingly, both of Dave and B.L. are consultants who help companies implement blogging strategies. Dave published an “The Insiders Guide to Blogging”, and B.L. wrote “What could your company do with a blog?” These aren’t people who “don’t get it”, in fact quite the opposite. I suspect that they would counsel clients that disagreement is acceptable and participation is crucial.
I fear that success (and thus celebrity or quasi-celebrity) breeds fear and/or protectionism. If you’re supposed to be an expert in a subject and people are disagreeing with you, there may be a fear that your expert status is being put at risk.
So at what point does their own advice get lost in their own efforts? Does expertise naturally lead to a “do what I say, not what I do” situation? What do you think drives someone who’s grown into the position of “expert” to remove themselves from conversations they once welcomed and advocated? Does being well-known equate to a change of direction in order to create “walls of sanity”?
UPDATE: Jeremy coined a great term to sum up this attitude: “Professor 1.0 mindset”. Classic.
Related Entries
- Deleting Blog Comments
- Lost the battle, won’t lose the war
- Fired!
- BzzAgent and jumping sharks
- A blog without comments … is it a blog?
14 Responses to “Does expertise create hypocrisy?”
Jake, I read the back forth between you and BL in the comments on the blog post you mention. Although I think the question of hypocrisy is valid and applies to all industries, I’m not in total agreement that BL dismissed you or that her responses make her subject to the question of this post. I’m sure the intention was a healthy discussion, but the tone of your comments came across rather negative and accusatory. I think the very fact that she didn’t moderate your initial comments goes to show that she does practice what she preaches.
Dismissive seems to be the wrong word. I think she defended her arguments and allowed you to voice your disagreement.
Jake -
Interesting note. As brands, political campaigns, etc., wake up to this whole phenomena, they are realizing a paradigm shift in the manner in which communication is done. Social media is all about a many-to-many conversation, rather than the one-to-many method that has long been the stalwart of the traditional marketer. And in order to have a successful conversation, one must be ready to at least listen to all sides. At the least, dissent must be heard - killing dissent kills a conversation…
Maybe it would be good discipline for everyone - especially expert bloggers blogging about blogging - to actually post their comment moderation policies and make that transparent.
Ok I went back and read the thread you linked to, and the post on her blog about the Blog Council.
From reading BL’s posts on her blog, and writing alongside her at Daily Fix, I have noticed that BL’s posts are often a bit ‘forceful’ in tone. Her style is often ‘my way or the highway’.
Again, that’s her style. I’ve also noticed that many that agree with her stance in that post will comment that she is ‘refreshing’ and that they enjoy her ‘telling it like it is’.
But if you disagree with the stance she is taking, she can come off as fairly abrasive. I think this is what happened with the posts you replied to. You challenged her and she came across as ‘I’m right, you’re wrong, goodnight’.
This is BL’s style. I also think that since she took such a forceful stance, it prompted you to be a bit more forceful in your disagreement, at least that’s what it looked like to me.
Personally I think if you are going to have a ‘my way or the highway’ tone, you are going to have to accept that you are going to get some ‘oh hell no!’ responses.
Um, I’m not sure what my cardinal sin was here, but is it simply that I didn’t come to your blog and leave a comment responding to your thoughts, Jake? And for that you are painting me as some sort of evil “celebrity” and the purveyor of hypocrisy? Gadzooks, I can’t imagine something farther from the truth…
… and, of course, there’s great irony in the fact that on my blog your comment showed up immediately, but on your blog, my comment is greeted with the message “Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
Dave, thanks for the comments. I fear my post may have combined my two beefs in a way that was a bit confusing.
My point about commenting on your blog was something I’ve noticed with a lot of big time, old school bloggers - they don’t often engage in the comments of their blog. The thread I’d pointed to on your site was disappointing because I’d hoped you’d have participated in the discussion in the comments. Even when I specifically asked you for you to weigh in you didn’t. I wanted to hear from you beyond just the initial post, but unfortunately it seemed to be another example of “Fire and Forget”.
This has nothing to do with you visiting my blog, it has to do with you (and others) participating on your own blog.
Not any evil celebrity issues, but “Evil Dave Taylor” is a pretty cool moniker… you might want to think about that one! 
Admittedly, I haven’t dug into the specifics of this one, but I have to say Jeremy’s term is a keeper! Secondly, just based on human nature, I would tend to agree with your protectionist premise from a psychological point of view. There’s such a drive to become a “thought leader” that maybe some don’t recognize if they’re becoming thought dictators.
I’ve been thinking about the whole issue of expertise as respects companies as that is where I spend my professional time. Bottom line, the companies that have the least to lose (start ups, new entrants) from my observation tend to be more aggressive and casual in their approach to marketing and PR. The companies that are established and have a lot more to lose, including carefully groomed image, practice a higher degree of risk management.
Is it just companies? I think it’s human nature.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
“Those who can’t do, teach” comes to mind. It is unfortunate that those who reach notoriety should feel threatened by the very conversation that they invite. Blog commenting has always been a touchy subject, but I think that unless the comments are inappropriate (profane, threatening….) they are part of the conversation. We might as well just go back to the old way of posting static HTML pages to our websites if we all have to go back to our own blogs and link back if we want to be a part of the conversation. It’s great that we have the ability to post to the topic thread from our own blogs, but I don’t want to have to keep trying to find the threads all over the internet. It defeats the purpose of blogs. The conversations that come from productive disagreement is a learning opportunity. Too bad people tend to forget that.