“In the future, everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” That must certainly be Andy Warhol’s most famous quote, and even decades later remains just as relevant today if not even more so. But I’d like to expand on his sage prophesy. What the Internet has done to amplify the cult of celebrity, it’s done something similar to the business world. Perhaps if he were alive today, Warhol might have seen fit to amend his proverbial gem: “In the future, everybody will be a professional expert for fifteen minutes.”
If you spend any time on the web as part of your workaday routine, it’s difficult not to notice the abundance of business experts out there who claim to know the answers to success. Self-proclaimed authorities abound on sales, management, marketing, advertising, business development, recruiting, investment—literally anything and everything connected to running and operating a business. And they all profess to be masters of their professional domain. How do we know? Because that’s what they tell you. Hey, in the land of the Internet, everyone’s an authority.
These online gurus put on seminars, webinars, podcasts, post to Twitter and write blogs. Some have written a book. Yet within this vast Cyber Institute of Business Expertise, how does one weed out the know-nothings from the know-it-alls? That probably depends on what sort of answers you’re looking for.
If you’re like me, any time you need an instant answer, the first thing you do is go online and connect to one of your favorite information resources. In most cases, what I’m looking for is some minor factoid to help complete a bigger picture of inquiry. I seldom find anything beyond a few common sense tips or information already known to many.
But I’m being much too coy. I think we all understand that the Internet is hardly a Rosetta Stone of incredible knowledge. More convenient than enlightening when it’s all said and done. And I think we all realize that the so called experts are there as much for their own benefit as ours. The chances are always good that anyone offering wonderful online advice is also offering some sort of deal for a price. They don’t call it e-commerce for nothing.
Still the question remains: Are there any real experts out there? Or is all of this just part of some online entrepreneur’s business model? I’d say in some cases it’s a combination of the two. But I also suspect that online wisdom comes down to the eye of the beholder. That’s all I’ve got. I think my fifteen minutes are just about up.