A Proposal to Get Covered on Crowdsourcing.com

Sorry for the late blog post - I'm a little busier than normal today because of  Social Media Camp which made it to San Francisco today. In the intro session the host defined social media in a fashion that didn't mesh with me. This isn't an exact quote but it was something to the tune of.

"Social media is when people use new technology tools to for word of mouth marketing."

What bugs me was the word "marketing." I Tweeted (just before I lost all internet connections). "I dislike when people define social media as "marketing" - can't it just be "sharing information." Please don't turn everything into selling." - I got some good responses too.

This also goes back to the last post about why some people dislike the word "crowdsourcing." But I will remind readers - you can crowdsource art, films, journalism, crowdfund anything, etc.

So I thought I'd try an experiment.

As noted in some of the responses I got via Twitter. This is America, people are constantly selling and there is no way around it. Fair enough. I get press releases all the time. In fact, in just the short time I've been guest posting here I've started getting crowdsourced news.

In fact just today I got a press release about my friend Debbie Galant's website Baristanet.

The news: "Clever Commute, the nation's leading crowdsourced network of real-time transit alerts, is partnering with Baristanet.com, the nation's leading placeblog, to provide up-to-the-minute rider-supplied news about transit problems between New York and New Jersey.

The data now appears on Baristanet's website as soon as riders share their alerts."

Since this is a guest-blogging position and I aim to have fun with it - let's try a little experiment (heheh... Jeff isn't here to stop me).

THE EXPERIMENT!!!!

1. As of now, anyone has potential to be the focus of my next post on Crowdsourcing.com. Yes - you and your garage-based startup could end up on this blog which is part of the Wired News network. We will link to you and focus the entire content of the post on what you are doing. All you need is to have a startup/project/something that is related to crowdsourcing. (EMAIL ME)

2. You will have to get on AIM, Skype or some other video conference technology so I can interview you (recorded).

3. And here's the catch: I will play the part of "mean interviewer." I will actively try and find flaws in your site, system or idea. I will pretend its been a bad day and nobody has brought me coffee. Get the picture?

But - if you can make a good case for what you are doing, if you can convince me, the curmudgeon, I will admit defeat and will sing your praise from there on out. And - you will have a video representation of you convincing a cynical jerk about the merits of your project.

Essentially I'm inviting anyone into a game of conversational poker. Show me what you got, I'll show you mine and you have the potential to come out looking good.

WHY THE EXPERIMENT?

Cause I'm tired of blogs that are essentially in bed with PR companies. This is especially rampant in the tech-scene. The most popular tech blogs get press releases daily, pick the best ones, call that reporting, and then spit them back out to you.

What I want to see is that same system but without drinking the koolaid for every pitch. I think the end result could be more useful for consumers.

Comments

[RB]

My wife and I both shuddered a little when she gave that opening proposition of Social Media. As content Creators, we have become very "en garde" at these events, because we've learned to expect a heavy percentage of Marketing people.

[Gerard Barberi]

There are a lot of marketers, and a lot more in school (and still people heading/switching to that curriculum). It reminds me of "The Devil's Advocate" when Satan (played by Pacino) brings up the fact that "they are more lawyers in law school than lawyers walking the earth" *shudders*.

I find it frightening.

I also completely understand how you feel. I've been getting very frustrated in the social news space, but I think that something many of us experience after some amount of exposure. Marketing can be done through the medium, but it is not the medium itself.

[Aronado]

I do agree with you. It seems we (entrepreneurs) gotta walk on egg shells as to not Piss off or turn off bloggers, writers, editors etc.

I am so fucking tired of seeing blog posts on "How to pitch a blogger", WTF! I am not here to pitch bloggers, I am out to be myself and my business is part of me so, if i share it, take it or leave it. I am not a dog that needs to be trained on how to "Pitch & Rollover". **Respectfully**

Disclaimer: of course, "hey check out my link" without any knowledge or communication is stupid.

I mean hell, we're all trying to make it, and if we didn't think our product or service would be of interest to others, I don't think we would have created the damn thing in the first place.

I have met lots of amazing folks on Twitter who are writers, bloggers etc, that I would never "pitch". I simply like & enjoy communicating with them....quit being suspicious!! We're human 1st and everything else next.

IMHO