12 Most Popular Social Media Alter-Egos

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Social media is about conversations, not technology. Social Media is about “being authentic”, open and honest. Social Media is about promoting others, not you.

Blah, Blah, Blah…

While I may agree with the need and philosophy behind these concepts in social media, the reality that I’m discovering is many individuals use social media to take on an alter-ego for personal or professional reasons…or just to be an ass. In some cases it is planned and calculated, and in others the platform simply emphasizes or exaggerates the individual’s personality.

Be it your social media personality or an alter-ego, we each have one. This list could easily be created with social-scientific personality names such as lurker, moderator or curator but I’ve chosen to title them by their celebrity equivalents to personify the corresponding social media engagement traits. Consider it a game: how many of the people you engage with online can you match with each personality:

1. The Hilton (Paris)

…carefully selects which conversation to join by assessing how their social status (or Klout score) it will be elevated. Status-seeking is their reason for being and they only appear when it’s in their personal interest.

2. The Beck (Glenn)

… compelled to share their personal opinions on other’s content and state those opinions “as fact” and inherently right. Many times they are a writer, author or similar creative type who focuses on what they see as the essence or meaning of the content regardless of the audience that is listening.

3. The Jones (Star)

…confrontational by nature, a critic, challenges all thoughts for the sake of it or to exploit a situation. Arrogant to a fault. Not always motivated by personal gain but for the sheer pleasure of challenging authority and peers.

4. The Maher (Bill)

…observes the world and shares/forwards information with “some” opinion or commentary. Unlike the “Beck”, there’s an acknowledgement that their content is opinion with entertainment value and is delivered with a tongue-in-cheek sentiment and self-deprecation. They don’t take themselves too seriously.

5. The Kardashian (Kim)

…migrates to where friends congregate online and keeps track of others activities and actions. Usually seen online even when they are very busy offline. This social butterfly needs community and follower validation.

6. The Seacrest (Ryan)

…uses personality or even “shtick” to deliver news and present other content. They are always looking for an audience and adapts their presentation based what “gets the laughs” (literally & figuratively). They become the “host” of online engagements.

7. The Clooney (George)

…listens even more than they speak and drives considerable action in many other areas. In social media terms, this person might be called a “lurker”, seemingly quite online but yields considerable power offline.

8. The Spielberg (Steven)

…takes historical, personal or current news content and adds their own spin to create unique and popular content of their own with a signature sytle.

9. The Hanks (Tom)

…focuses on very personal interaction with digital and/online friends, keeping those personal conversations in very tight circles. This person doesn’t have to work at being likeable, for those they choose to communicate with, they’re instantly best friends.

10. The Walters (Barbara)

…discussions are formulated by convention, rules and policies. Format is key. Engages based on their belief in what is expected from the platform or network vs from honest or genuine opinion.

11. The Winfrey (Oprah)

…focuses on group discussions and appreciates the totality of the conversation and group dynamics over one-to-one personal conversations. Seeks to engage – and educate – groups over self-promotion.

12. The West (Kanye)

We all know who these people are. They’re online “trolls” who succumb to the “little-man” personality trait, which means they’re compelled to belittle others just to make themselves feel bigger, more important. Their only reason for engaging online is to pull other’s down.

Do people purposely take on these roles or does the medium simply showcase them? Your call.

Join the community by posting your thoughts below.

Featured image courtesy of cambiodefractal licensed via creative commons.

Sam Fiorella

http://www.senseiwisdom.com/

Sam Fiorella is a globetrotting interactive marketing strategist who has earned his stripes over the past 20 years in senior management roles with corporate sales &marketing teams as well as consulting for more than 30 marketing agencies. Sam’s experience with over 1600 Interactive projects during the past 15 years spans the government, finance & insurance, manufacturing, national retail and travel/tourism sectors. Currently, Sam is the Chief Strategy Sensei at Sensei Marketing, where he is charged with strategic campaign guidance and marketing technology development that power the Sensei Customer Lifecycle Methodology. Sam is a respected blogger and popular keynote speaker on marketing, branding and social media communications having presented at more than 200 conferences in the past 2 years. Follow Sam on Twitter or Connect with him on LinkedIn.