Mirror, mirror on the wall (the destructive nature of labels)

Let me start off by genuinely thanking David Meerman Scott for inspiring this post (and David Reich for informing me of this in the first place). And let me also say that I genuinely like David Scott (and David Reich). David M. Scott and I have had a terrific email dialog and he is one heck of a positive guy (and his book is getting great reviews).

Which is why I've been so perplexed at his labeling me "notoriously egotistical and vain".

OK, so he didn't call ME egotistical and vain he labeled ALL bloggers as such...and, bless his heart, I don't think he meant for me to take it so seriously. But here's the thing--and this applies to ALL marketing and ALL of life: Labels have very serious implications. They're destructive. No good ever comes from them. And, more often than not, misperceptions are widely perpetrated as a result of using them. Which is why I (strongly) advocate not doing so. It discredits people and the medium.

The irony? I actually wished he'd only called me those things. Why? Because too many on the 'outside' will now form a clouded judgment of what's really going on 'in here'. We've now separated "us" from "them" even more (sigh). Why's that? Because when we label a group we make them less 'human' and more 'judgment'. Especially--and I cannot stress this enough--in a new medium where new practices and new perceptions are pivotal.

See, we can touch on commonalities or audience attributes (e.g. demographics, psychographics) but when we place labels, or strong judgments...on 15 million people running 70 million blogs...we promote misperceptions--and we all know that perceptions are many times the reality. So many people will now attach an "egotistical + vain" label to many bloggers--and me (gasp!)-- instead of understanding the share nature of this economy.

Personally speaking? All I've witnessed--in a field that is very focused on getting ahead and growing egos, mind you--is a whole lot of generosity. Want a recent example? Look at my previous post where I asked for feedback from you smarties to help me do better on an account: you guys and gals didn't think twice about helping out. It's what we do for one another.There are countless examples of this including Paul saving my butt from making a big mistake on an account last year when I would have used the wrong messaging and ran a real-time Q&A for me with the target audience he had access to inside his agency...and he NEVER once boasted about it on his blog (hence, no ego). And of course I can't begin to thank this community enough for the outpouring of support during a personally difficult time (that was selfless, not selfish). Truly there are too many examples for but one post.

So let's be really careful when we label and judge: especially when we do so in front of audiences who don't know this environment. Actually, let's just not do it. This medium may seem old hat to us but it is new as a newborn baby to (most) others. I want "them" to feel invited to interact with "us" (c'mon in the water's great!)...not daunted or intimidated (our hearts and minds are FAR bigger than our egos!).

PS: I also thank David for giving me an excuse to post the vain witch from Snow White on my blog (as I've always wanted to ;-).

Comments

[David Reich]

I learned long ago that the old saying "Sticks and stones..." is not true. Names CAN hurt people, and stereotyping is an especially damaging form of name-calling.

What may have been intended as a light-hearted statement for the sake of good reading can be destructive when, as you point out CK, people on the outside read something and take it as fact.

I don't know about you, David, but I can honestly say I am not vain or egotistical. I don't blog to feed my vanity or ego. I do it for business and for enjoyment -- simple as that.

[David Meerman Scott]

Yikes.

I feel a little bit like the politician who several years ago said something to a group of people and has had it come back to haunt him in the election.

Yes CK, I did say that. It's in writing and you can Google it to see where it was said. But I've also said about a million other words in the 250 posts sitting on my blog, in the three books I've written and the hundreds of magazine articles and columns I've written. I'm sure any prolific writer has said things that can be pulled out and shown around and that he or she regrets.

I blog because its fun, because I meet cool people (like CK and now David) and because it generates speaking gigs and other business for me. OK, I'll admit that I like the attention too. But I shouldn't have assumed that others do it for attention and certainly not used the words I did.

I am sorry I said it. No I do not think all bloggers are vain and egotistical. And I don't call people names on purpose or in a hurtful way. This was an error.

Good post though. I agree with what you've said and don't mind being the catalyst.

But I wish that I didn't say something that offended you or anyone else. That was certainly not my purpose.

Take care,

David

[CK]

David M: You'll really like David R's blog (and visa/versa). Now you know of one another! Yup, we've all said stuff we regret...but I tell you, you are a VERY visible, respected professional (huge compliment, btw)and that comes with a responsibility along with a huge readership. That readership is looking to you to guide them (they're scared of this space. Remember - FEAR is our biggest obstacle).

As marketers, as hard as it can be, let's remember that labels can be our biggest obstacle--we make assumptions and instead of upping adoption rates we can damn our cause (and blow through budgets). Hey, a good lesson and I super appreciate your apology. Like I said, you've always been one heck of a positive guy and let's keep advancing this space and opening minds.

Blog on ;-).

[David Reich]

Hey David -- Thanks for the comment. All is cool.
Regards.

[Paul McEnany]

Dude, that guy sucks! :)

Okay, just kiddin'. He gets big respect for coming straight over here and apologizing.

While I totally agree with you, there can be some level of vanity when it comes to blogging. I know you pay no attention to traffic, and I seem to pay less and less attention as I go on, but if no one was reading, we probably wouldn't have invested so much of our time over the past year.

For us, it's more about community, but there's some sort of balance there for most, I suspect.

Still not a good idea to paint with too wide of a brush.

Alrighty, back to work! Now, stop writing smart things so I can focus. :)

[CK]

@Paul: Thanks much (and thanks for saving my butt plenty of times, not just being a pain in one ;-). I can't say for most, that's the thing. And while I guess it can be important to some to be all "internet popular" if I were to tell that to anybody they would laugh at me so hard I would be run out on a rail (worse I would want to shoot myself). Guess the benefits of the time investment are different for everyone--and that's cool because different people derive different benefits.

[Bob]

Nice blog!
quite informative, love to read this blog. We are also dealing with all shorts of mirrors such as bathroom mirrors, wall mirrors,
overmantle mirrors witch gives a sensationl looks to bathroom.

[shopfitdirect]

The title reminds me of my child hood whe i use to see fairy tales. thats the reason i was attracted to this blog. BTW informative article thanx for sharing

[Bowling Help]

Nice blog very well written, I agree with u 'shopitdirect' i too feel the same! hahaha

[Austin Divorce Attorneys]

nice article very well written i love to read it thanks CK for ur views

[Wall Mirrors]

So true. It's funny how people want to label bloggers for what they do. Creating a blog and posting your thoughts does not make one a egotist. Blog are forums for us to creatively share our passions and expertise. CK, love the post.

[psycho graphic]

Hi
Do you see why demographics and psycho graphics are so important now?
You are defining who your customer is and what is important to them
so that when they walk out of your store or buy something from you they get the product and not the commodity.
psychographic