It is uncanny how Seth Godin http://sethgodin.typepad.com seems to read my mind. His post
today struck home with me. I have been thinking lately about paying your dues and how you earn the
right to be heard. In today’s world anyone can get on the internet and start
making noise, someone will listen to the noise and pass it on. The person who
generated the noise is now considered an “expert.” The problem is that there is
no substance, there is no there there, but now they are an expert. Just like you can’t enlist in the army
as a general I think you have to pay your dues and earn the right to be heard. Here are Seth
Godin’s criteria for earning the right to being heard from his blog post today.
- Be
informed - Be
rational - Pay
your dues - Have
a platform where a lot of people can hear you - Be an
impacted constituent, not a gadfly - Represent
a tribe of people with similar concerns - You've
been right before - You're
not anonymous - You
have a previous relationship and permission to interrupt - Listening
to you earns something of value