Here’s a question for you:
Are people who dish out advice online even good at their craft? And does it even matter?
We recently came across a conversation on Hacker News about whether software developers who write blog posts like “How To Be A Great Developer” are really great developers themselves.
It’s a good question for marketers: Should you be listening to people giving advice online? And if you do, how should you decide who to listen to?
Here’s the deal. The way most people view internet advice, there are two categories:
- Unsuccessful “gurus,” or people who give advice but don’t have the credentials to back it up. Anonymous, course-peddling Twitter advice accounts are one example.
- Successful “teachers” who give advice and can back it up with past success.
Our take? This is an extremely dangerous way to filter advice.
Being good at something and being good at teaching something are two separate skills.
Somewhere out there, there’s a kids’ tennis coach who probably couldn’t take a point off Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in a real match.
But when the goal is to teach tennis to beginners? The kids’ coach is leagues ahead of all the tennis greats.
Insight: When deciding who to take advice from, don’t focus on credentials. Focus on the quality of the teaching itself.
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified book reviewer and editor with over 10 years of experience in the publishing industry. He has reviewed hundreds of books for reputable magazines and websites, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Goodreads. Alex has a master’s degree in comparative literature from Harvard University and a PhD in literary criticism from Oxford University. He is also the author of several acclaimed books on literary theory and analysis, such as The Art of Reading and How to Write a Book Review. Alex lives in London, England with his wife and two children. You can contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
