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What Does the Term Expert Mean?

By August 12, 2010Business, Change, Culture

Someone used the term “expert” in regards to a person and social media recently. It sounded good at first, but then I started thinking. Is anyone really an “expert” in a field that is barely five years old and changes literally every day?

One definition of the term expert reads: a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. I guess someone could qualify under that definition, but it also seems to me that as soon as one gains authoritative knowledge about the field of social media that everything changes. Everyone involved with social media must be in a constant learning mode.

It does seem, however, that we are living in a day where the term expert is coined much faster than in days past. I know people in ministry who have been serving less than five years who, mostly because of their online experience or because they wrote a book, are considered “experts” in ministry. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, I’m just questioning the meaning of the term these days. Has it changed?

What do you think? How do you define an expert? Whom would you call a social media expert?

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Ron Edmondson

Author Ron Edmondson

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Join the discussion 5 Comments

  • @drewdsnider says:

    I'm reminded of a piece I read by HL Mencken, who noted that on the payroll of one public organization were actually several "general experts".

    Defining an expert, I think, is less about how much experience one has or how many letters are behind one's name and more about their behaviour. Do they truly know the subject and can communicate that knowledge so others can understand it? In other words, you just plain KNOW that they know their stuff.

    Are they, as Tabitha says, constantly learning? Is the topic more important than they are? I was listening to a radio interview the other day about HIV prevention, and the guest — who's with a high-profile AIDS treatment center — was angry that some people were actually claiming that the way to prevent the spread of HIV through injection drug use was not needle exchanges but (gasp!) GETTING PEOPLE OFF DRUGS! She then talked about two experts who had come down on the side of her needle-exchange philosophy: Bill Gates and Bill Clinton. Which leads one to wonder what qualified them as experts in the field whose opinion should count?

  • "Expert" is usually a red flag for me. 99% of them are snake oil salesmen (not just in Social Media). So I agree with you Ron!

    But, the time qualification is rapidly shrinking as we keep rushing towards progress. In a world of finishing a video game in a day, year-long TV (no such thing as an entirely dead TV season anymore), and Starbucks instant coffee — expert doesn't mean years of experience. It should mean savvy.

    I'd love to ditch the term expert. But I use it. Sadly, if you don't *call* yourself an expert you can't be taken seriously by men and women who are used to "consultants". Also, you have to use the term to differentiate yourself from the number of people who want to pay you less-than-minimum wage to update their Facebook page (and somehow that will bring in THOUSANDS of people!). I'm sure you know how much work goes into maintaining an active social media presence. Times that by ten and you'll get my last position!

    I prefer calling myself a Social Media Strategist. I'm someone who lives in Social Media, a native guide for companies and brands (and hopefully my local church) to navigate the confusing world of Hulu/Twitter/Facebook/Digg/Myspace/WhateverisCool. For most people who use social media we forget that it's a really confusing place for new comers. My job is to make the trip as painless as possible.

    Every expert should be constantly training. Pro Athletes don't stop being students of the game just because they hit a home run or scored a winning goal. In fact, I'd be suspicious of any "expert" who isn't still learning. Maybe the confusion is "expert" = "master".

    I will agree with you that social media is constantly changing, but most true careers are in some sense. The thing that never changes is people. To me social media will always be about people – from start to finish. Social Media is just life online. Doesn't matter if they are on a blog, a forum, or blinky twittery glittery list. Every great social media expert is someone who, to some extent, is a great salesman – because they understand people.

    There's few folks I put at the top of my social media expert list (I'm sure you know the names), Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jeremiah Owyang. Those are the folks I listen to the most.

    So what does expert mean? That you've learned something and have the ability to train others. Being a pastor's kid I have to kind of laugh that anyone with 5 years of experience is an "expert". Ministry is something entirely different.

  • Mark says:

    In my office an expert is someone who comes from more than 100 miles away and charges more than $100 an hour.