I was recently questioned on twitter about the way I described former TV anchor and reporter Tom Tucker in this post.
I referred to him as a social media enthusiast and evangelist. I’ll tell you right now that I simply copied that from his bio and quite honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with that.
I had also spoken with him at length before we recorded this podcast, and he talked about his blog and his history of pushing hard for social media with his employers and his excitement about his new endeavor, Talk Social Media.
It is not his full-time job and does not yet pay the bills, (he’s a corporate trainer by day) but he is passionate as most of us are, and it may pay them one day, if he’s lucky. But someone on twitter wanted to know more, and that’s okay too.
Here’s the @reply:
@communitygirl How can you call Tucker a social media enthusiast and evangelist when he’s only tweeted 7 times since Feb. 2008? Where else?
Now, I don’t think that having only seven tweets in a year disqualifies you from being a social media evangelist. Perhaps it is an account that you decided not to use, or maybe you didn’t “get” twitter at first, much like I didn’t. Maybe you’re active on many other SM platforms. The possibilities are many.
I do recognize that this person only wanted to know more and I did oblige, because that’s what we do on twitter. But it got me thinking.
When can one claim this title without bringing criticism their way? Is it after 500 tweets, 1,000 followers, 2,500 Facebook friends, 348 blogposts? What? Maybe it’s once you’ve explained twitter to 134 people and got your mom active on Friendfeed and Flickr and convinced your company to start a corporate blog.
Here are the definitions of evangelist on dictionary.com:
e⋅van⋅ge⋅list
–noun
| 1. | a Protestant minister or layperson who serves as an itinerant or special preacher, esp. a revivalist. |
| 2. | a preacher of the gospel. |
| 3. | (initial capital letter ) any of the writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the four Gospels. |
| 4. | (in the primitive church) a person who first brought the gospel to a city or region. |
| 5. | (initial capital letter) Mormon Church. a patriarch. |
| 6. | a person marked by evangelical enthusiasm for or support of any cause. |
So, if we go with those definitions, evangelism can be all word-of-mouth. We can argue that you have to practice to be able to speak about anything with authority and I buy that to a certain extent. But you can also dabble, understand the benefits and spread the word.
Think about it. Aren’t we all evangelists of some sort?
I am a Coach Purse evangelist, a Little Gym evangelist, a lasagna evangelist and a Arm & Hammer Carpet Cleaner evangelist. I am also a PTA evangelist, a Lexus evangelist (don’t have one but I love them and I will get one some day) and an outlet mall evangelist. You could also consider me a Desperate Housewives and Mott’s Applesauce evangelist as well and I don’t think anyone is going to ask me how many bowls of applesauce I’ve eaten to clarify my status as an evangelist.
You may be laughing but it’s true. Anyone can evangelize. Yes, there should be some experience to back it up, but who’s to say how much or how little?
What are your thoughts?
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16 comments
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January 29, 2009 at 8:23 am
Bryan Person
First off, I do attend a Protestant church, but that’s not exactly why I’m the “social media evangelist” at my company, LiveWorld.
I look at the role as talking about best practices of social media in general, and in explaining how, when done well, social media can help organizations/businesses built better relationships with their customers. Peter Kim also wrote recently that social media (or “social business”) has the power to transform companies themselves and really bring about a cultural change that impacts all levels and departments. I love that thinking.
Tom needn’t be on Twitter — though he probably should be! — to be a social media evangelist. There are certainly other social channels he can use and ways that he make a real impact.
Great post, Angela.
Bryan | @BryanPerson
LiveWorld
January 29, 2009 at 2:39 pm
bloggingmom67
I consider myself a social media evangelist. I guess I use that term because I feel so passionately about social media, and I really want other journalists to pick up on my zeal because I think social media could help them.
I see nothing wrong with you characterizing Tom as a social media evangelist even if he doesn’t tweet frequently.
First, Twitter is only one of many social media. Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, blogging, niche social-networks, bookmarking sites are also social media. Not sure one needs to embrace them all to be an evangelist, although I’m a huge Twitter fan myself.
Two, lots of evangelists don’t practice what they preach.
January 29, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Angela Connor
@Bryan: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You have a way of putting most things into perspective.
@Bloggingmom67: I have to hone in on that last sentence. You are definitely right about that!
January 29, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Can Twitter boost your blog traffic? « Save the Media
[...] Can Twitter boost your blog traffic? Jump to Comments Well, I can’t speak for your blog, but I can tell Twitter has driven traffic to my blog. But then again, I’m a social-media evangelist. [...]
January 29, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Bryan Person
@bloggingmom67: Now that second point wasn’t a shot against Protestants, was it?
January 29, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Zaskoda
“When can one claim this title without bringing criticism their way? ”
Never… If there were no criticisms, it would only be because no one was listening to the (self proclaimed?) evangelist.
January 29, 2009 at 6:04 pm
jyesmith
Agreed, you don’t need to be tweeting 1000x a day to be an evangelist. Education comes in many forms.
January 29, 2009 at 9:56 pm
bloggingmom67
Bryan,
Nope. Wasn’t making a shot against Protestants. (Sorry if it came across that way)
I’m Catholic, and that faith has had it’s share of “not practicing what they preach,” too. Just ask all the little boys (
and girls) sex-abused by priests.
January 30, 2009 at 12:42 pm
zackperry
I read someone’s blog and forgive me for not remembering it but it mentioned how can anyone be an expert/ evangelist if they haven’t failed. I think that’s a true statement and in fact I think we are so early into this paradigm shift I think we are still understanding and trying to figure out the roles that drive value. I think there has been very few failures so far.
January 30, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Bryan Person
@bloggingmom67: I was half-joking. I was raised in a Catholic Church and am a former altar boy!
And I know exactly what you mean.
March 2, 2009 at 5:46 am
Macala Wright
When you are passionate about something, be it social media or Coach hand bags, start contributing to the conversation. Take the time to research and educated come before you participate, don’t rush, all good things come in time. And I agree, you don’t have to tweet 1000 times per day to be an evangelist.
March 2, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Renato van Bloemenhuis
I consider myself a social media evangelist.
Do I use Twitter every day? Yes. Do I have a Facebook account and do I use other social networks? Yes.
Is this relevant?
Not really. Social media is so much more than just social networks. It’s about blogs, video sharing, photo sharing, micro-blogging, forums and much, much more. It’s about connecting, socializing and making our worlds come together by interacting with each other by using online technologies.
I explain Twitter to people lots of times, I write blogs and produce video’s over here in Holland to make people aware of the power of social media. Almost no one ever heard of Twitter or Facebook.
I believe social media is a very powerful thing. And we are merely at the beginning of it’s true evolution. I am passionate about social media and what it can bring to individuals, businesses and organisations.
If you feel passion for something and you share your passion with others, you are an evangelist. Wether for social media, Ben & Jerry icecream or Harry Potter books.
March 3, 2009 at 1:34 am
Dutch blogger: ‘Social media is so much more than just social networks’ « Online Community Strategist
[...] What constitutes a social media evangelist? [...]
March 4, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Karen Highland
I enjoyed the post and all the comments. It seems to me that the terms evangelist and enthusiast are terms one chooses for themselves, based on their own defining criteria. (I love the uncharted territory of social media!)
March 12, 2009 at 8:45 am
Easton Ellsworth
Very true Angela. We are all evangelists.
You’re a social media evangelist if you try to be one, and you’re one if you’ve succeeded at being one. Preaching means attempting to convince through words and actions.
Social media evangelism has paid my bills for nearly a year and I think a huge key has been to see it for what it is – helping people, organizations and companies use blogs and other online social tools to accomplish goals. The tools will always change. The need to achieve will never disappear. There will always be a place for mentors and advisors.
March 19, 2010 at 8:34 pm
major morrison
Greetings
To all that have faith in christ death that paid the price for our freedom
to recieve his salvation we are all called to the call and the glory of christ
for we are truly one in the spirit created in his image. we are here to serve and
help each other in god’s kingdom of utopia, not here to hurt each other like
the story of cain and abel
please visit web site for 10 inspired books written in 18 months
may god have his glory
thank you
committed in his serve