I saw a social media feed the other night that mostly consisted of images the person made with quotes they came up with. Then I jumped to another network and saw something similar, from someone who — as best as I can tell — is trying to become Gandhi with lots of money.
I’ve seen plenty of wannabe self-help gurus and “social media experts” doing this — people wanting to be viewed as enlightened, only without having much more than these quotes and [often] an outdated website as the basis of their empire.
It strikes me as being on the same level of giving yourself a nickname; it just seems so strange.
I Understand Why They Do It
I know these people create the images in the hope that someone shares them and that more people share them and — soon — people are like, “Who is this person saying such awesome things? I want to follow them and give them money for selling something so banal!”
It just seems so damn smarmy.
Weak Words
I think the worst part of this form of attention-seeking is that the quotes are often rather lame. The obvious is stated in such a manner that only someone with a brain injury would think, “Man, that is so inspiring!”
These quotes stick out as flat (think jellyfish decaying on a beach) among things actually worth quoting:
Not All Quotes Are Bad
While I am not hellbent on self promotion, there is no shame in promoting things you work hard at making. There’s nothing wrong with reminding people that you have e-books out there; that you podcast and blog and do many other things. There’s nothing wrong with a using a catchphrase or an icon people associate with you.
There’s nothing wrong with sharing quotes people say about the things one does. When I wrote independent comic books and had a pile of quotes from other creators and the New York Times News Service — trust me — I let people know! If someone says something great about what you’re doing, by all means, shout that from the rooftops. (Just not over and over and over to the point you become annoying with it.)
There’s nothing wrong with taking lines from a book you’re writing, a podcast you’re making, or sharing lyrics and other things you’re doing.
Technically, there’s nothing wrong with quoting yourself, even, but when you think about most of the examples above, they are either things said about you or sharing something you’re working at. They are not you trying to make it seem like you’re something you’re not.
Shortcut Society
I know I see things differently when it comes to getting attention online. It’s not that I have any problems with people wanting to build something, but some people seem so desperate to find shortcuts to success. Worse, they try to sell others on this method — often at a cost to both wallet and reputation.
Those with staying power, even those online who are looked to as “thought leaders,” or whatever we’re calling them this week, are people who started what they do because they loved it — not in the hope of being seen as something they really aren’t. And because they loved it, eventually, people began quoting them — not them quoting themselves!
Should we really be so desperate that we’re willing to build a perception of success on such a shoddy foundation?
What the Hell, I Was Bored…
After reading a barrage of these self-made quotes, I was bored and decided to make some of my own.
I hope they inspire you to do great things! š
Use your pinky, and never drop a phone again!
“I could really relate to your quote about ‘allergies of the soul’… and the ‘gotta pee’ quotes – man, those blew me away!” -CM “Florida” Stewart
“White space is my backdrop.” -CM “Florida” Stewart
CM”F”S: That is so very profound, a philosophy stripped to its most base level with such little effort š
My child’s fourth grade teacher quotes herself in her email. The quote is: “I just want to make a difference.” First of all, lame. Second of all, I can’t understand the audacity that she would claim that phrase as her own. Thirdly, she puts her name in parentheses… Like this “I just want to make a difference.” (First Name Last Name). I don’t know what to do and I’m scared.
So my friend just gave me a hard time for quoting myself. With the all powerful Google I came across your page. And THANK YOU!! I see the errors of my ways…I NEED to add photos to my quotes!
It looks like you have a photo (or 500) that you could use! š (Very nice work, btw.)
Obviously, the post is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it does strike me as odd when a person claiming some title like “Social Media GuruNinja” (with 10 followers) creates their own quotes in the hope that people share them. (And the quotes so often seem to be shy of, “Reach high!” rather than something original or clever.)
Thanks for the comment, Jay!
š I actually googled “people who quote themselves” because two people on my Twitter feed just did this. I thought it was pretty weird. Thank you for the affirmation.
I hope you got that pee thing sorted…
I think you are being judgemental! We are not living in the 15th, 19th or 20th century. We’re living in a new digital age. An era of constant change dominated by the attention economy. The world is digitally disrupted! To get someone’s attention in today’s changing business landscape, you have to be creative. It’s not easy! In order to be noticed, you need to find a way to earn that attention. There is nothing wrong with sharing your own quotes. There’s nothing wrong giving yourself a nickname. It’s not bad to create your image or build your personal brand. Again, there’s nothing wrong quoting yourself. You don’t know who is going to be inspired by your quote.
Unfortunately, many people are being fake. It’s not a surprise that some “gurus” have fake followers. Some people buy fake followers just to show the world that they are popular. That’s really sad! Some people, not all, pretend to be something they are not. That’s the real problem! I personally don’t like the materialistic approach of social media money evangelists. They are all over the internet with their ‘Become a millionaire fast’ gospel. Also, the urge to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ is pushing people to oversell themselves on different social media platforms. ‘Overselling yourself’ is a big marketing mistake that people make.
It’s better to let your work speak for itself. It’s all about value creation. If you provide something of value, true people will follow you and share your quotes.
I’d like to finish my comment with the following quotes:
“Attracting attention doesn’t mean that I am desperate.” Me, myself and I
“In an attention economy, marketers struggle for attention. If you don’t have it, you lose.” -Seth Godin, Best-Selling Author of Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, and Tribe
“Your success depends on you. You have to do your own thinking. You have to create your own ideas. You can be elevated and sustained by no man but yourself. You have to build your own monument or dig your own pit.” B.C. Forbes, Founder of Forbess magazine.
Thanks for the reply, Josh. You might be surprised that we may not disagree on things as much as it may seem. Perhaps some of the humor of the post didn’t come through for you as it did for others. It’s largely directed at the people you mention who pretend being what they are not.
Like you, I don’t believe it’s bad to create an image — if I did, I’d not have written over 600 entries here, recorded over 325 podcasts, and been a featured speaker at tech meetups and conferences.
You say it yourself right here: “It’s better to let your work speak for itself.” That is the very point I’m making in this entry…that it’s best to have others quote you, rather than you quouting yourself because that’s what other lazy marketers and those overselling themselves.
If someone has written an article and links to it from Twitter or something and they include a quote to the piece…that’s great. The people I’m talking about are the people who have bought into the techniques of the very “gurus” it sounds like neither of us particularly like — people who have really done nothing much at all and think a few pithy, banal quotes (that sound like every other gutter-marketer out there), will drive people to their “System for Quick Financial Success” (or some other typical thing about them — not those on the other end).
There’s nothing wrong with trying to attract attention. It should be clear I believe that by the simple fact I write, record, and speak to groups. (Were I not interested in some kind of attention, I’d write in a journal no one sees. (I do that as well.)
Please go back and look at the example I included in this…the one with the famous people in history and then the “Desperate Social Media Guy.” I’m sorry if it’s not clear to you that I’m poking fun at the same gurus and desperate people you apparently are not too fond of as well.
I’ll close with this: you say that in today’s changing business landscape that people have to be creative. I think that’s always been the case — not just today. But it’s why I write novels, record podcasts, and speak to groups of people. It’s why I try finding creative solutions to problems as a technical writer. It’s why I love role-playing games and photography and music and so many other things.
I think where we differ is I don’t see much creativity in someone who took some “guru’s” advice and comes out on day one making a handful of images with weak quotes like:
“Make today the day!”
– Desperate Social Media Guy
āI feel like Iām in a cult. A self-promoting and quoting cult. Perhaps now is the time to drink the kool-aid.ā Anonymous (me)