(Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons)
There is a lot of talk these days regarding social media business models. Let me propose one that's truly social -- give content away freely. That is to say, share what you've learned from others with others who have a need to learn it, and do so without a financial transaction being involved.
Think of it as mentorship or paying it forward or, to put it in somewhat biblical terms, discipleship. We all have individuals who have influenced and taught us. What I'm talking about is becoming that sort of person to someone else.
For quite some time I've been influenced by something author David Meerman Scott said, you've got to turn loose of your content, making it freely available to others. Ungate it, don't charge for it, don't put up barriers to its access.
I've even thought it would be a good idea to take on some "mentees" and teach them everything I know, charging nothing for the privilege. If they want to pay me, fine; if not, that's fine as well; they still receive the benefit of my knowledge.
In some respects that's what Chris Brogan is doing through his blog. He exemplifies this "give and it shall be given" attitude. (And I think you would agree, he's done quite well because of it, at least if book sales are any indication.)
Yet another such person is Mike Sansone, who the people in his home town of Des Moines refer to as the blogging "godfather." Every month he meets with a group of others at their local Panera to discuss the hows and why of business blogging and social media marketing. Having talked with Mike at some length about this, I told him its as if he's a shepherd to these people. They hold him high esteem and implicitly trust his insights.
While I think my time and intellectual capital is worth something, I hate to propose that it's worth a certain something. No matter what amount I may determine, it's going to be prohibitive for some and not enough to convince others that I have what it takes. I'd rather remove the financial barrier from the equation altogether and let the individual (or company) make the decision for themselves. If they can afford to pay, they determine the worth. If they can't, they still have the opportunity no questions asked.
Besides, it's not "my" knowledge anyway, as if I ascended some mountain and was given information that was proprietarily mine to claim. Whatever knowledge I have has been gleaned from others and forged in the fire of my own experiences (experience which came as a result of working with others). How dare I assume that I even have the right to charge for that unless I am willing to pay royalties to each of those who influenced me.
Do I have the temerity to do it? Am I willing to trust that if I "cast my bread upon the waters" that it will come back? I'm not there yet, but am moving in that direction. In fact, I have a couple of people with whom I'm working in this respect and I'd like to work with more.
I realize this is "blue sky" thinking, as Social Media Club founder Chris Heuer would put it. (You might refer to it as "pie in the sky.") I admit to being a starry-eyed idealist, no question about that. But, if we can create a framework whereby everyone benefits regardless of their ability (or willingness) to pay, I think there is value there both of an intrinsic and fiscal nature.
What do you think? Does this way of thinking belong more to a ".org" mindset than a ".com?"
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