expertise

Becoming a Sought-After Expert? That's Tough.

Being an expert is easy.

Being a sought-after expert is what's difficult.

To become good at something, all you need is the general correct direction, a little self-awareness (or someone else's awareness), and plenty of time.

Relatively speaking, it's easy. Just a little tedious and tiring.

Now that you have that expertise, though, letting people know that you have it? That's the tough next step.

Because even with determination, resources, and time, it won't automatically happen.

For this, you need the right guidance.

By right, I mean guidance towards actions that will work for you in your particular situation and field of expertise.

Blindly copying someone else won't necessarily work for you.

It has to fit you. Like a glove.

Why I Won't Write a Book About Other People's Expertise, Experiences, and/or Stories

Writing a book that is a collection of other people's expertise / experiences / stories doesn't make you an expert.

Oh, it will certainly allow you to be perceived as an expert.

And it makes you a good collator of information, and, if you've been paying attention, a good student of your interviewees.

But you're not really an expert.

Not yet, anyway.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't write a book.

I'm just saying that it may make more sense to write a book about something you are personally good at, even if it's not necessarily a "marketable" or "popular" book.

If I want to learn from a known expert about their expertise, why would I learn it second hand from someone else?

Unless that person has something valuable to add.

Social Media is a Game Where You Meet All Sorts. Handling Them Isn't Easy.

Playing the social media game, just like any other, puts you in contact with thin-skinned people, poor winners, and sore losers.

I haven't personally interacted with a lot of these individuals, probably because I've been playing this game at a much lower level than a number of people that I know.

But I certainly see them posting on feeds that I follow.

I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemies, but the things that they say can be very amusing.

Seeing as I'm no social platform expert (not yet, anyway), I'm going to have to keep an eye out on how to handle them.

If you have a good tip for me, please let me know.

Post Your Thoughts Without Pictures

Posting more regularly now, I find that one of my posting blocks has always been finding / making the pictures that are supposed to "enhance" my text.

It's such a waste of time.

I can't remember where I picked up this erroneous idea that, without graphics, nobody is going to read your post.

To demonstrate how pervasive this is, all you have is look at your own feed and count the number of boring stock photos being used that have little to nothing to do with the post.

Sure, quite a number of people are first attracted to interesting graphics, but if you're spending more time on finding or making an "attractive thumbnail" than what you're actually sharing / producing, you need to re-think your priorities.

And IF nobody reads your post because you didn't put up a graphic, it kind of shows what kind of audience you've been cultivating and contributing to.

Seriously, cut the graphics, unless you're actually talking about them or using them to make your point.

Words alone are fine.

P/S
If you're one of the rare few who also posts without pictures, I read your posts when I come across them.