Everyone is a self-professed expert these days. Really. Look around. Magazines continually cite experts to support an article or trend. Attorneys use expert witnesses to argue a point. The Internet births a new expert every day. What constitutes an expert? Is there accountability for self-proclaimed experts? Does anyone even care?

This came to my attention after researching social media and its role in marketing. Already, there are social media experts. Are you kidding? Beyond the Internet, this is a brand new medium for all of us. Perhaps I am cynical, but having your own Twitter account or blog does not automatically constitute expertise.

Wikipedia offers the following characteristics on the development of an expert:

• At a minimum usually 10 years of consistent practice, sometimes more for certain fields
• A characterization of this practice as "deliberate practice", which forces the practitioner to come up with new ways to encourage and enable themselves to reach new levels of performance
• An early phase of learning which is characterized by enjoyment, excitement, and participation without outcome-related goals
• The ability to rearrange or construct a higher dimension of creativity. Due to such familiarity or advanced knowledge experts can develop more abstract perspectives of their concepts and/or performances.

Right or wrong, at least Wikipedia references a timeframe for expertise—10 years. So, if social media has not even existed this long, how can one claim to be a social media expert? This is one of those words that has become so watered down that it no longer offers meaning. Think love. Or literally.

So the next time you are intrigued by the latest study, consider the source. Better yet, check the source. It may change your perception of the study.

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