POP! The Social Media Bubble

So, I just read this post on iMediaConnection titled “Is a social media bubble ready to burst?” And, while I don’t think that Social Media is about to bottom out, I do think that, like the mortgage industry, people are going to stop looking for unbelievable deals (where deal = SM experts) and instead opt for more qualified and strategic opportunities.  I don’t just mean the programs that we’re running, I mean more…the people who are running them.

When folks come by my cubicle at work and say things like “you’re a social media guru” I get a little itchy. Why? Because I know that I’m still learning, I know that I’m not an oracle of the interwebz. We’re all still learning, and anyone who says otherwise is the metaphorical equivalent of a greasy used-car-salesman who’s trying to hock a lemon.

Here’s my favorite quote from Estrin’s article:

“The quality of the social media workforce is a direct reflection on the hiring managers, who in many cases have no idea what skills are needed for this emerging role,” says Angela Connor, social media manager at Capstrat. “When the role isn’t clearly understood or well-defined, hiring mistakes are unavoidable. There’s a growing list of people with titles like social media strategist who have never developed any kinds of strategies in their entire career. They know enough about social media to talk themselves into a position that has no real objectives or success metrics and three months in, everyone is miserable.

According to Connor, a big part of what’s driving social media to staff up with a less-than-qualified workforce is the misguided belief that millennials are somehow social media ninjas by birth”

I’ve always wanted to be a ninja, but I just don’t think it’s fair for me to try and claim that title because of when I was born.  Instead I’m trying to earn my stripes by creating measurable and strategic programs…silly me.

What do you think? Are we headed for a social media bust?