DISQUS

robdiana · 1 year ago

I think of it more as a new technology that some people just do not understand yet. If people see this as true, then they are typically willing to pay for consulting in order to understand. This is even more true of larger corporations who only delve into new technologies when there is a true need (or they are just late to the party).

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

D'OH! I completely overlooked the tech angle, Rob. Good point.

Cath Lawson · 1 year ago

Hi Mark - Tough question. I guess if folk would like to pay to learn how to use something, to save themselves some time, I don't see the harm.

I've found some of the social media sites I've used so far confusing to get the hang of and I think I would have liked a book telling me how to do it. I know folk write blog posts. But like you said - it's not always free info - if it's difficult to master, I guess you're not going to learn a lot by reading a few blogposts.

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Interesting. I guess I've been on enough social media sites to understand the basics, so I don't find them so hard anymore. But some of them are hard to get the hang of at first.

Writer Dad · 1 year ago

I don't think there's an easy answer there. But if I had to answer, boiling down the fat, I'd say: Everyone's motives are as different as they are.

@Stephen · 1 year ago

I believe in giving away a lot of stuff for free. It shows the value of your site and builds your personal credibility. That being said, the giving away of content is often what draws people to ask you to do more work for them, this time for pay.

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Yes, often that's the hope - that people will eventually pay for more.

the Jim Gaudet · 1 year ago

I think it is best to teach someone to learn. I have been in a tech support role for most of my career and people have a way of just asking for things instead of getting the answer, when it can be faster to get the answer yourself. So after a few years I decided to start teaching how to get the answer and not just giving the answer and this dramatically reduced our tech support requests.

Great info and I read the Open Source Magician (a good read)

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Cool, thanks Jim. Yeah, I was quite intrigued by the whole Open Source Magician thing.

Dana VanDen Heuvel · 1 year ago

Mark,

I'm a fan of the 'thought leadership' or 'value forward' marketing concepts where we share a certain percentage of value to recapture the remaining value that the customer seeks. In a way, this is altruistic as we're helping people through information. Do we make them want more, sure, but if they're 'in the market' and we're 'helping them make a decision' then so much the better.

I sometimes wonder what all of the folks who blog like mad about social media do with their time? I mean, right now I'm making the choice to join the conversation vs. finish a client deliverable... Just like we make choices to work 'overtime' or help out our favorite charity. As long as it benefits the collective good of organizations long-term, then I say, share the secrets!

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Dana: I'm convinced that Chris Brogan is only one of a set of identical triplets. Or he's cloned himself. Or he's got amazingly lifelike androids that fill in for him. Seriously, the man's a juggernaut. It's an incredible tradeoff.

Heidi Miller · 1 year ago

Seesmic video reply from Disqus.

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Hi Heidi, sorry for the delay in responding. Excellent analogy and very good point. Thanks very much for stopping by!

Leo · 1 year ago

Just posted this on Digg, thought provoking

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

My gut tells me that the pictures give this post the best chance on Digg, as opposed to the content. Seriously, though, thank you.

f.k.a. insidious_plots · 1 year ago

so, THIS is where all that traffic on the fourth came from :P

i'm the "open source magician" guy and that was one of many rants/tirades i wrote a few years ago for a software user group focusing on web browsers for the Dreamcast game console and that's why terms like "passport", "dp", "chab", "dreamkey", etc. seemed out of place - they are names of various software for the Dreamcast and, as you may have gathered, some were the japanese-issue and the rest of the world were importing, bootlegging, and pirating them and then going to our little group in droves for translations and guidance on how to use them...

hope that helps the post make more sense and even more relevant to what is being discussed here...

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Thanks very much for providing the clarification and for stopping by!