Our industry is full of these quasi-celebrities whose fame is generally attributed to simply being social; well that and being extremely talented. But, many feel that these celebrities are the best-of-the-best standing on these unreachable pedestals — that simply isn’t the case; the pedestal part that is. While the big names that get us all excited, book-in-hand awaiting an autograph, are among the best-of-the-best — that is not the complete list. Within hundreds of companies across the globe sit extreme talent whose name you’d never recognize. They haven’t published a book, spoken at a conference or even have a blog for you to subscribe too — yet, they have the ability to out-design us, utilize CSS beyond our comprehension or write an app that outshines even our best idea. There is a reason no one knows about this large talent base that can outmatch our celebrities – they are in the dark and have yet to go social.
There is a new buzz-word I’d like to introduce to some of you, one more business centric than creative; it is “thought leader”. That is the answer to the question within the title, “what happens when the talented get social”? They become thought leaders. A thought leader is nothing more than talented individuals who share their knowledge in the industry, not for profit or personal gain, but, simply to grow and inspire that industry. It is that rare and special combination of being talented and sharing the knowledge that drives that talent that defines a thought leader.
This particular thought was inspired by the recent launch of a past co-worker and friend’s blog, meet Doug Dosberg. Doug is one of the most talented people I’ve worked with – I am happy to say I am the one that brought him to The Motley Fool. Within five minutes of meeting Doug for the first time, I knew he was talented; but no one else knew (globally speaking). He wasn’t famous and the mere mention of his name didn’t get the higher-ups salivating. However, Doug had everything those we call famous do have – so where is the distinction, should we even care? I don’t know … but I do know that I was thrilled to see Doug go social! The best part of working with Doug was being able to talk to him daily, ping him for his thoughts, opinions and even advice. But now, those like-minded anywhere can get a glimpse of that within his new blog. See what he is his thinking, what he is following or his opinions within the industry – and it matters because he is damn good at what he does.
I am not advocating that everyone go out and create a blog and call themselves thought leaders – that isn’t how it works. I am simply asking those talented in the group to stand-up and share! Pat Haney’s Flickr set is a great example of being a thought leader without having to say much at all. I’ve had the fortune of working with extremely talented people at every job I’ve had. Lunch time is where the real work got done – it is where we bitched about code, design and even our bosses at times. It is that communication that really pushes inspiration and creative drive! Just join that conversational web.
