Yes, quantity != quality. However, anyone claiming to be a SM expert would define success in some manner to anyone retaining their services. We're asking the contestants to do the exact same thing.

Something to note though — it does boil down to numbers — there are entire companies dedicated to providing metrics on campaigns.

Whether it's an SM campaign to drive donations for a non-profit or increasing downloads to a music artist's website, it all boils down to numbers. There's certainly good and bad numbers but it's still numbers. That's the business we're in — circulation, impressions, pass along rate, viewership, VPMs, etc. We weigh these numbers differently based on if they're good or bad hits, but it's still numbers.

Regarding the violation of Terms of Service — I haven't reread the TOS of each, but I know there are numerous corporate/persona/fake accounts on twitter that are accepted (even permitted), as there are on FB. If it becomes an issue we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

I don't see how it's irresponsible at all. Here are the possible outcomes:

1) One more person chooses not to self-label as an 'expert' — Win

2) The half-dozen or so that have signed up so far get out there and engage with the world. If they do it right they'll make new friends, provide conversation, etc. If they do it wrong they'll a) not engage and not bother anyone except themselves and/or b) if they start spamming, etc. will obviously be out of the challenge (and if they of the spam variety they'd do that whether or not the challenge existed) — Win.

Will it “prove” anyone's an expert — of course not. We're not giving out crowns or medals or claiming to be formal expert licensing group. We're seeing who's willing to take on the challenge, how they do it as they would on behalf of a client, and seeing if they achieved their goals.

Shouldn't you be a bit more responsible than trying to see who can astroturf the best?

Joe (my “persona”)

Yes, quantity != quality. However, anyone claiming to be a SM expert would define success in some manner to anyone retaining their services. We're asking the contestants to do the exact same thing.

Something to note though — it does boil down to numbers — there are entire companies dedicated to providing metrics on campaigns.

Whether it's an SM campaign to drive donations for a non-profit or increasing downloads to a music artist's website, it all boils down to numbers. There's certainly good and bad numbers but it's still numbers. That's the business we're in — circulation, impressions, pass along rate, viewership, VPMs, etc. We weigh these numbers differently based on if they're good or bad hits, but it's still numbers.

Regarding the violation of Terms of Service — I haven't reread the TOS of each, but I know there are numerous corporate/persona/fake accounts on twitter that are accepted (even permitted), as there are on FB. If it becomes an issue we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

I don't see how it's irresponsible at all. Here are the possible outcomes:

1) One more person chooses not to self-label as an 'expert' — Win

2) The half-dozen or so that have signed up so far get out there and engage with the world. If they do it right they'll make new friends, provide conversation, etc. If they do it wrong they'll a) not engage and not bother anyone except themselves and/or b) if they start spamming, etc. will obviously be out of the challenge (and if they of the spam variety they'd do that whether or not the challenge existed) — Win.

Will it “prove” anyone's an expert — of course not. We're not giving out crowns or medals or claiming to be formal expert licensing group. We're seeing who's willing to take on the challenge, how they do it as they would on behalf of a client, and seeing if they achieved their goals.

Shouldn't you be a bit more responsible than trying to see who can astroturf the best?

Joe (my “persona”)

Thanks for your comment. Since everyone entering the contest will have their own goals each will also have their own guidelines. If part of the goals is a follower count we'll certainly be discounting any spam accounts collected and while I thought it went without say spamming would not be permitted.

Thanks again,
P

Thanks for your note, I look forward to your email.

There's room for it to be not misleading and still not be what the person is normally about. I'm certainly not advocating creating a false product/service for the purposes the challenge.

Anyone branding themselves as an expert is doing it (most likely) to get clients. Here the client is the expert themselves. The persona could engage the public in a hobby, on any topic from photography to SciFi novels of the 60's, or even discuss their professional life (w/o letting the cat of the bag). That's entirely up to them.

We're all more 3 dimensional than we let on in our public profiles and that additional depth should provide plenty of material for someone to work with while still staying genuine. At the end of the challenge they can continue with their personas, merge it with their real identities, or simply fade.