One of the things I love best about social media is that it allows people to be infinitely helpful. People’s genuine desire to be helpful helped us raise over $100,000 for 12for12k.org last year. Helpful people, many whom I have never met in person, have gotten me through complex technical challenges without giving a second thought. I’ve learned to be a better businessperson, a better marketer, and a better producer from those who so generously bring their wisdom, for free, on their own time, through their blogs, podcasts and other efforts. And, I have had tremendous opportunities to return the favour, too.

As I’ve expressed in my last couple of posts, there’s some disconcerting behaviour happening. I had to air my concerns, because I really think that some people are taking advantage of this culture of openness, helpfulness, and freeness, and we are running the risk of losing the community of trust and authenticity that we’ve worked so hard to build over the past few years.

The first step is admitting we have a problem. Look, it’s not in my nature to complain, and I feel as if my last couple of posts have been kind of ‘bitchy’. I’m a solutions oriented person. I focus on the positive. That means I’m thinking about ways we can continue to scale our efforts without drowning in a sea of demands, be helpful without giving everything away, and still run businesses that are fulfilling and profitable. But in order to do this, we need to identify that there is an issue. That what’s happening out here is really happening. That the media makers, like you and me, are growing tired and frustrated by the culture of entitlement we’re seeing and experiencing. That if we don’t watch out, we’re going to reach a breaking point soon, and the end result will be faith lost in the medium that we know so well and love so much.

So what’s a blogger to do? I think it’s time to go back to basics, honestly. I had a realization the other day. I was sitting here, fuming, frustrated by the constant poking and prodding coming at me through the pipe. I felt out of control. And then it dawned on me…it wasn’t the stream that was out of control…it was me. I had let the noise threshold rise and rise and forgot to cap it. It was akin to how my office desk sometimes gets (well, sort of how it is now, actually). Full of papers and junk and cameras and books and pencils and cats. Closing me in, leaning on me, even. But I realized that I HAVE CONTROL OF MY STREAM. At all times. I can set filters on my email. I can purge my Google Reader. I can unfollow people on Twitter, or manage lists more wisely. I can hit that little “x” and turn it all off for a while, too. And you know what? We all have those options. The world is not going to end if you have less information coming at you. Trust me.

Open door policies revisited. When I worked in the corporate world, all of my managers had “open-door” policies. Most of them never abided by it. They wanted you to “think” they were accessible, but really, they couldn’t be bothered to keep their door open, or to be helpful if you needed it. So after a while, you’d just stop trying. However, one of my former bosses, Andrew, had it right. Andrew was not your typical boss. He worked very hard, and he always seemed to know more than the other managers what was going on. It was his job to make the right decisions for the department. And the only way he could do this was by talking to us. Because we were in the trenches. We were doing the day to day tasks to move the projects forward. If he wasn’t checking in with us, then he couldn’t make decisions, he couldn’t identify and mitigate risks, and he couldn’t celebrate achievements. So, to facilitate this, his door was actually always open. He was always having conversations with the staff, and anyone could pop in and join the discussion. He was open, accessible, and most of all, helpful. But it was for a reason – there was a payoff on both sides. I could go about my business knowing I was being listened to, and he was getting the information he needed to do his job better.

Perhaps we can take a page from Andrew’s book on this one. Open doors in social media are a very good thing. Being helpful is what makes this space tick. But many of us are being blindly helpful, keeping our door open 24/7, inviting everyone in, and extending a hand to whoever knocks. It’s not scaleable, and ultimately, it’s not useful. Why? Because if you’re not getting some sort of payoff, then you’re going to get frustrated. If you’re helping people for the sake of helping, you’re going to be bombarded by people who are just taking advantage of your generosity, and then you’ll be forced, like so many of my managers from days gone by, to retreat to your corner and close the door and never come out. And that’s not helpful to anyone.

Honestly, I’m just thinking out loud here. Social media is still in its infancy. It’s barely walking yet. The rest of the world has still not really caught on. So, if we are having trouble scaling now, when only a small percentage of the people have come to the party, what’s going to happen when everyone shows up?

We’ve got to figure it out.

Your turn.

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There’s a church around the corner from my house. It’s one of those churches that often displays little messages on the outside notice board. They change it up every week or so, just in time for the Sunday service, it seems. There’s a traffic light at the corner, so I always have a moment before the light turns green to fully read what the board says. I see it over and over again throughout the week. Sometimes I don’t pay much attention to it, but other times the message sort of sticks with me.

Today’s message was “Kind words make kind echoes.”

Out here in cyberspace we often talk about echo, but it’s not always in the context of kindness. The echo chamber out here in the social media world has a very negative connotation. Reference to the echo chamber often implies that all us social media blogging types spend our days and nights (because, you know, we don’t actually have REAL jobs), mulling over the same 3 or 4 topics ad nauseum then hauling our butts off to conferences so we can truly sit around and yammer on about the same inane sentiments over and over.

I’m not here to deny that the echo chamber exists. It’s certainly alive and well. I’ve blogged about the social media “bubble” before. I am as guilty as anyone of flapping around in the fishbowl. But that message I saw on the church sign today, and some recent experiences I’ve had have got me thinking hat there’s another side to this whole echo thing. That in fact, the echo chamber is actually being used for good, too.

I’ve had a couple of experiences in the past several days where I’ve been on the receiving end of some very kind words, both publicly and privately. Sure, we’ve all had nice things said to us or about us at one time or another. But being nice and being kind, to me, are two different things. Nice is surface. It’s consideration of another, in the moment. It’s a quick gesture, like holding a door open. Kindness has other more lasting qualities.

Kindness is easy. You know how sometimes, you HAVE to be nice? Like how you HAVE to be nice to your best friend’s new boyfriend, even though you think he’s a creep? Or how you HAVE to be nice to the customer in your checkout line, even though she won’t stop complaining about how slow the service is? Being nice is hard sometimes, but kindness is always easy. It comes from the heart. You are kind to someone because you feel a need to show that person you’re listening, that you care, and that they have value. You’re kind because you WANT to be, not because you HAVE to be.

Kindness is genuine. How easy is it for you to tell if someone’s being fake? When the words they are saying or the things they are doing, nice as they might seem, are just to get on your good side so they can get something from you? My bet is you can probably see that type of person coming a mile away. I know I can. When someone’s playing the suck up game, there’s always something sitting there in the background that isn’t quite right. That person will leave their compliments dangling – and you’re left waiting for the other shoe to drop. Authentic kindness is unquestionably sincere. When you are genuinely kind, you seek nothing in return. Not even a thank you. You are taking the pleasure in raising someone else up, for no other reason than that you want to. The payoff is not in reciprocation. It’s in the act of kindness itself.

Kindness echoes. The final indicator of kindness is what I’ve just realized today – that kindness really does have an echo. If someone is publicly kind, it’s easy to see the echo. One positive gesture echoes good feelings not only towards the recipient of the kindness, but towards the giver as well. One act of kindness can quickly run rampant. Remember the Free Hugs guy? Or just take a look at the list of Random Acts of Kindness references in Wikipedia. Even a private kind act will bring forth positive feelings that resonate. Saying or doing one kind thing for someone can have a lasting impact…whether it’s just brightening another’s day by telling them you appreciate them, or by helping them out and asking nothing in return. You can tell true kindness by the mark it leaves, and by the lasting effect of the echo it makes.

So…which echo chamber are you going to be part of?

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I was directed by Chuck Peters to a thought-provoking article on Fred Wilson’s blog A VC called “Avoiding the Big Yellow Taxi Moment.” The article discusses what some people call “the death of journalism” and the “rise of the blogger”. Fred makes some very interesting points about the evolution of the microjournalist and if there is in fact, a business model to be found anywhere in the blogosphere.

There are a number of great comments on the article, from journalists and bloggers alike, and they are well worth perusing as well.

One of the main arguments when it comes to blogging vs. journalism is that true journalism is seen as being based on the journalist’s efforts digging into the story, connecting with people inovlved on both sides, and delivering a balanced, unbiased representation of the facts. On the other hand, blogging is all about one person’s (or a group of peoples’) opinion. Since it’s entirely opinion, then I, as a blogger, am not considered a journalist. But, I am providing information – like a journalist does. I am telling at least, my part of the story.

When I write here, I am writing what I think about things. Do I do research? Absolutely, when I am stating facts. If I don’t know something, I provide a link to the person who does. That’s the way, in MY opinion, that I think bloggers stay credible. Does that then make me similar to a journalist?

That’s where the line starts to blur.

I’m not here to say that blogging and journalism are the same thing. They are not. But in the comments of Fred Wilson’s article, Jeffrey McManus makes a really compelling point:

So rather than asking the question “What can we do to preserve journalism as it is today,” it may be more correct to ask the question “What can we do to hasten the demise of journalism as it is today so we can start over with something better?”

As Dylan so eloquently observed, the times they are a’ changin’. Online communities, social media, social networks, heck, the World Wide Web itself – has fundamentally changed the way people tell stories. Forever. So, perhaps, as Jeffrey McManus points out, it’s time to mourn the so called “death” of traditional journalism as we know it. Why? because, until now, I’ve never had this much access to information. And not only that, I’ve never had so much ability to interact with those that are providing the information. And therein lies the difference.

If I read an article on the web site or in the newspaper of any major news outlet, or watch a news story on TV, or listen on the radio (I am speaking for Canadian news outlets here), I have a certain level of confidence that the story is going to be well researched, fact checked, and show somewhat of a balance. In my country, things like the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) exist to help facilitate this kind of fair, balanced journalism. Note I said “facilitate”, not “ensure”. In my opinion, unbiased and balanced journalism may be strived for, but these things are not always guaranteed. (Feel free to disagree with me in the comments on that one if you like.)

If I read an article on a blog, I am subjecting myself to that blogger’s opinion. Most bloggers (even the ones who are, or have been,  journalists), make no qualms about the fact that what they are saying is their own view. Sure, many bloggers do research. Many bloggers check their facts. But, many don’t. And it’s up to me, as the reader, to determine the authenticity of their claims. There’s no CBSC for bloggers.

But here’s the kicker.

Let’s say I read someone’s blog, and I KNOW something they’ve said to be untrue. Let’s say I decide that they’ve only told one side of the story. I now hold the power in my fingertips to immediately and completely react.

Within seconds, I’m writing a comment. I’m stating either what I (in my opinion!) know to be untrue, or I’m telling my side of the story. And, other people can comment too, and tell their truths, their sides of the story. See what’s happening here? The blogger may have been one-sided. They may have not gotten their facts 100% straight. But, the commenters ensure that the whole story gets told. Tell me that you haven’t ever had the feeling that the comments on a blog post were more relevant and valid than the post itself?

This…THIS, is how journalism is going to change in the 21st century. Of course, the million dollar question is, how do we build business models around a bunch of people’s opinions? If journalists adapt, what happens to standards? Well, I agree with Fred Wilson when he says:

I am not sure that anyone has the answer to this question and that’s why it’s bothering so many people right now. I’m an optimist and I think we’ll work it out.

Maybe that sounds like kind of a Polyanna attitude, but I honestly don’t think we’re far enough along in the evolution of the Web yet to have it figured out. We’ve got mostly the thirty and forty-somethings and some of the boomers dominating the social media space right now. We forget that we have a whole other generation coming up behind us that have very different habits in terms of how they get their news. They have very different opinions on what constitutes journalism.

The dust will settle eventually. A new era of journalism will arrive, just like it arrived hundreds of years ago with Gutenberg, and just like it arrived again when radio, and then television came along.

The new era of journalism is not going to look like the old ones. It can’t. As with any type of change, it’s frightening. Some will win. Many will lose. Its those who are prepared to roll with the punches, innovate and overcome that will be standing tall when it’s all said and done.

And, like any blogger worth their salt should, I now turn it over to you, in the comments.

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