Blogging Authority
January 28, 2010 by mm
If you’re making the most of the new Web 2.0 world of social media and you’d like to get enough readers to fulfill your goals (whether it’s better AdWords Quality Score or just a desire to have more than your cousin reading your blog), it really helps if you’ve got authority.
Y’know, authority? That credibility thing? The reason that people should give a damn about why you think you are so important that you must write and share with everyone?
It’s one thing for Joe Schmoe to sign up to Twitter and get a few followers in a month or pay for 10,000 followers, but if Oprah gets a Twitter account, it’s news. In fact, just the other day Bill Gates got a Twitter account and I read about it in the news (um, fark actually).
Does he have authority? Is he an expert in his field? Should people listen to Bill’s tweets? About 370,000 people think so…at least so far.
So, if you’re not Bill Gates and you want people to read what you write, then what do you need get all those readers, followers and friends? First, you need to think about authority.
Authority 101
Authority is the reason why people should listen to you. They don’t call the cops “the authorities” for no dumb reason; if I see flashing lights and hear a siren, I’m all ears, man. They carry shotguns and tazers so I’m not going to ignore them.
Authority is a conveyance of the power of what is being said as well as conveyance of why it is you should listen. This is why the root word here is “author” as in someone who writes and creates what is being said or written. They say how it goes. When the judge says, “Life without possibility of parole.” then you had better believe him.
Authority is something that can be earned. If you carry a title, such as Doctor, it means you have authored a paper on a subject with scrutiny and have joined the ranks of the rankled professionals and other cantankerous folks who know more than everyone else. You are no longer James Dean; you are now Dr. James Dean, thank you.
And, in the same light that authority is something that can be earned, authority is the end result of accomplishment. When you are the first to do something such as climb Mt. Everest or break a world record, then you are instantly an authority. You have said, “I will circumnavigate the globe on my motorcycle-powered kayak and no one can stop me,” and then you proceeded to do just that; congratulations, you’re now the proud owner of the title “guy who sailed around the world on a motorcycle-powered kayak” and that is what it will say on the news below your face when they interview you on TV. You’re such an authority on motorcycle-powered kayaks!
More To Authority Than Meets The Eyeball
Just like other things such as “leadership” are, we can’t cut you open and find “authority” per se. It isn’t a thing. You can’t buy “authority” although you can buy a title such as Doctor or CPA by investing time and money and hard work.
Can you be an authority without being behind a badge or a bench, elected or appointed, studied or authored? Do you have to break a record to avoid sounding like a broken record? Must you do something unique to be an authority?
I’m going to say yes and no to that one.
For all the obvious reasons cited above, yes, besides the obvious “role authority” that comes with certain jobs or positions, you must have something about you that is unique in terms of accomplishment to be an authority.
If you are someone who can achieve fantastic results with Google AdWords, then people are probably going to come to you for advice or your name will appear on thousands of emails going out to people who can’t do as well as you.
The guy who does the funny-as-Hell video series called You Suck at Photoshop is certainly an authority and he’s entertaining. The Ask A Ninja guy didn’t really become someone until he got thousands and thousands of hits for being a kooky goofball that was fun to watch while has answered questions; he’s an authority.
So, must you do something unique? Not always and here is why. Writing is not unique. There are more bloggers than ever and more blogs are being created each second. Some people, like myself, have several blogs. Am I an authority? Well, yes.
Authority Rests With Each of Us
I am an authority on my point of view. Everyone is the author of their point of view. Our point of view gives us unique powers.
My point of view during the last election helped decide who should run our country and my state and what legislation and levies would pass. If I walk out of a polling center, I may be approached by a film crew to ask me which way did I vote and…hey…I’m an authority here! They are asking me what do I say!
As a blogger or a writer, I may write something brilliant one day like so many writers who have penned inspiring and memorable quotes from their prose. When Maryanne Williamson wrote, “Our deepest fear is not the we are inadequate,” she became a voice that inspired Nelson Mandela to repeat her words at his inauguration. She is an authority; someone to listen to.
If you were walking down the street and noticed a crowd of people gathering, wouldn’t you want to know why? If you went over and looked and found that Robin Williams was there making people laugh, wouldn’t you listen? Why would you listen? Is he an authority? Yes! He is likely to say something that you will repeat to others. If he makes a really funny joke, you will repeat it and bring laughter to others.
The authority we bear is the expression of self. No one can expression themselves like you can. You are the authority in that matter and no one can trump you. Someone else may be louder, but no one can say that your words are not your own and that whatever you author is not yours. You get the byline. You are the creator of worlds starting with your own. You are the authority. No one can be you, keep your word for you, create your words for you.
You are the authority and if you practice the way that your write, thinking about the many things that make a writer or a blogger successful, then you will reach more people and perhaps carry a title to burnish your credentials as an author. You may have a title or you may not have a title, but either way, you are the authority over your point of view and your self-expression. What will you share today?
