Don't Become a Digital Dinosaur

In Andrew Keen's book The Cult of the Amateur, he talks about "how today's Internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy". His main argument is that the new Internet promotes popularity over expertise, trivia over serious news, and sound bites over substance.

He paints a somewhat extreme and pessimistic picture, and I don't agree with everything he says, but I do think he's right to some extent. In particular, the Internet poses a danger for experts like us.

Why? Because amateurs have more power than ever before.

*You don't have to own a newspaper to publish a blog.

*You don't have to own a radio station to publish a podcast.

*You don't have to own a magazine outlet to write an e-mail newsletter.

*And you don't have to be a TV station to create compelling video.

This is good news and bad news.

The good news is that anybody can have their say.

But the bad news is that anybody can have their say!

If you still want to be "The Go To Guy/Gal" in your area of expertise, you'd better be out there, making a contribution. You can bet your life somebody is else doing it - on your turf, to your clients, in your market.

They might be other experts vying for the same business. Or they might be rank amateurs, muddying the waters for you. Or they might be big companies with big bucks, ramming their opinions down our throats, as usual. It doesn't matter which way it is - the point is: It's not you!

Don't become a digital dinosaur.

In one chapter of his book, Andrew Keen talks about the decline of print newspapers, who haven't adapted to the digital revolution, and have rapidly lost advertising revenue.

However, he also points out the success of the U.K.-based Guardian Unlimited newspaper, which is thriving because it's embraced the Internet rather than fighting it.

Which will you be?

If you think the Internet doesn't matter to your business, you're wrong. And you probably won't know it until it's too late.

So what can you do?

*Write an e-mail newsletter to build relationships.

*Record a podcast to create personal connections.

*Publish a blog to demonstrate authority.

*Create videos to deliver experiences.

*Write e-books to distribute your message further.

Too much? Just pick the first two (e-mail newsletter and podcast) and learn to do them well. Then move on to the next.

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