social media is all ego- that is a good thing! Keith Ferrazzi

Social Media Is All About Ego – and That’s a Good Thing

16	Apr
	2013

Social Capitalist

Social media has been called many things – sharing, self-expression, communication, networking – but in the end, are we all really just feeding our egos?

Rohit Bhargava, the author of Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action, says yes—but also points out that even (and especially) a system driven by ego can lead to generosity.

Here’s Rohit, from his interview on our Social Capitalist podcast:

“I’ve always been a marketing guy, and early on, I embraced social media. I started my blog back in 2004, which was relatively early for a marketing consultant. I would say that, actually, the core of social media isn’t conversation; the core of social media is ego. We often say ego is a negative thing because we associate it with arrogance.

But at the end of the day, people care about themselves and what they’re going to get out of it. In some cases, they get conversations out of it. In some cases, they get to build their personal profile and feel important, which is such an important part of how social media has evolved, if you think about stuff like [social media influence measure] Klout Scores or the [Cohen-Bradford] Influence Model. It’s this idea of being able to have a virtual version of myself that is trusted in some way to give other people advice, to help other people, and then to get that back.

It’s such a powerful human motivator, so I think that generosity in that context is really important because what it means is that you have an expertise in something and you’re able to share that with other people in a way that feeds your ego but is also generous. I think that principle is really at the heart of why social networks work and why social media has become such a powerful driver of these relationships.”

What’s your take – does generosity balance out ego in social media?

To read the full transcript of Rohit's Social Capitalist interview, click here. To listen to this and other Social Capitalist podcasts, download them at iTunes.

Share