We are weird creatures! (source)
One of the advantages/disadvantages of being an obsessive-compulsive blogger is that I not only dig the various theories of Influence 2.0, but live them on a daily basis too. While not all bloggers are alike – just as not all mothers, students, pastors or criminals are – there are certain traits which make us hardcore content producers who we are.
To make it easier for you to remember, let us term them the five Os of social media content producers.
Perhaps the most obvious characteristic of such a person is their relative OBSESSION with getting fingers to keyboard/button/touchscreen. True blue social media content producers love to tweet, update their Facebook statuses, blog, email, or jot down little notes of wherever they do. Many are also extremely trigger happy with their cameras – just notice how many photographs a typical blogger takes on any occasion!
Coupled with the first trait are the usually pronounced powers of OBSERVATION which go with the territory. Like the citizen journos/reporters/online diarists that they are, social media producers have a keen eye for the smallest details – a poorly written signboard, a peculiar person walking on the street, or a (God forbid) accident complete with flames and fumes. Nothing is too trivial for a roving eye equipped with a mobile camera phone with 3.5 G connection!
Naturally, social media content czars can also be OBSTINATE at times. I mean this in both a positive and a negative sense, being such a person myself. Equipped with a strong sense of activism, bloggers occasionally model themselves as champions for consumer rights, alternative preferences, or environmental causes. Many also have a strong and distinct point of view.
As online columnists and opinion leaders/shapers – be they to a crowd of 10, 100, or 10,000 – social media producers view themselves as somewhat ORACULAR in nature. We love to offer our opinions and insights on any situation that we report on, occasionally teasing it apart and breaking it down into its component parts. Again, this is related to the previous point on being an analytical or moral voice for various positions and situations.
Finally, as most social media content producers are doing it on their own free time, we need to consider that they are doing it during the OTHER 8 HOURS. What this means is that bloggers, youtubers, flickrers and twitterers are often doing what they over and on top of their regular 9 to 5 (or sometimes 9 to 9) jobs. The key drivers for them are thus passion and interest, and we all know how strong those qualities can be. As they usually don’t make a living out of this, their motivations are slightly different from paid journalists or producers.
