Why I broke up with Seth Godin
Pretend you’ve known me for over a year, because then you’d come into this post knowing of my love for Seth Godin. It was a fanboy, otaku kind of love…nothing scary, nothing obsessive, weird, or creepy.
I read his blog, he commented on mine a couple of times, and I even had a chance to speak to him once. It was all very dizzying in a “you’re my marketing hero” kind of way.
One of my friends joked to me once that if there was a bracelet that said WWSD? (What Would Seth Do?) that I would probably wear it, and look at it before instituting any online marketing programs for a client. (My friend was probably correct…I could easily see Seth-fans selling and buying many of those bracelets, especially if they were done in brightly colored rubber, because then boys could wear them too.)
But then there was this whole Community Organizer thing going on at Squidoo, and I really wanted to be that person. Long story short I received an email stating that they’d shelved the idea and he’d let me know if they unshelved it (or something to that effect, just as short and sweet). I tend not to directly quote even if I have it in writing because I’m not trying to throw a gauntlet or be challenging. I’m just telling a story.
Two weeks later I get my first email blast from the new Squidoo Community Organizer.
I don’t have a problem with Seth, or whoever, picking someone else. I just didn’t like putting (a lot of) effort into a project only to hear that they’d decided not to do it at all, and then find out they’d done it, like, a minute later. Don’t get me wrong, I realize I’m not important enough to receive a personal email letting me know why I didn’t get the gig, or why I was told it was shelved instead of just being told “no, thanks” – I’m pretty sure I wasn’t uber-fan enough that he was scared I’d stalk him or go all single white female and track him down with nothing but a four inch stiletto heel and thoughts of murder.
What I did do is some serious thinking about the person I looked up to as someone I wanted to emulate in my marketing efforts. I mean, he is the darling of the online marketing world.
But…when you break up with your hero, you think about how human they are. How one of the first things (if not the first thing) he sold online was Email Addresses of the Rich & Famous – just another Internet marketer selling to the masses. Yes, he was the first to have the epiphany that there was a better way and the uber-epiphany to sell the s**t out of that first epiphany, and that’s great, but yeah…five books later and Meatball Sundae comes out and really, I just can’t say I’m enthused. No matter how much I respect Brian Clark’s opinion.
I’m just a little sad, in a nostalgic kind of way because I still want to look to Seth Godin as my marketing hero. I still want to be one of the masses that believe he’s found the holy grail of being an honest person and a marketer simultaneously.
But I think he just explains the same stuff in ways people can understand. It’s all out there, and everyone’s doing it, I think he just figured out how to explain it better, faster, and easier. And he’s perceived as the first person to do this, the grandfather of relationship marketing. That very same relationship marketing that’s been around since the dawn of time. But he made it fresh, and interesting, and different.
I hate it when I find out my heroes are human. It’s such a buzzkill.
All is not lost, however. I’ve found a new Oz – Mark Earls – I like reading things that aren’t written for everyone to understand and enjoy. I love the fact that I understood myself a smidge better after reading today’s blog post. It felt cathartic, it had references, it was enlightening. Being called “Herd” certainly doesn’t hurt either. This is one blog I wouldn’t kick out of bed in the morning.
This all gets so tiring. I really just need to come up with my own theory instead of finding other people with theories I want to learn more about. If I didn’t have an Oz I’d never have to worry about pulling the curtain aside and seeing that whoever my hero is, they will always turn out to be human.
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7 Responses to “Why I broke up with Seth Godin”
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Yep – I’m a Joiner!
Your last paragraph is brilliant.
I’ll miss you. Be well!
Seth
Though nothing close to being a “fan” of anyone, there are “gurus” that I respect and so far I haven’t had a disappointing oz moment. You have something there about finding your own theories…after all the hoopla isn’t always about how new something is, as you said it’s often times just finding someone who’s found a fresh way of communicating something.
I like the way you communicate, so keep searching and I’ll keep visiting!
[...] as a few other businesses. Not only is she smart & funny, she can also be downright poignant. Read on as she talks about pulling the curtain on her hero. Dorothy would be [...]
Your descriptive powers are definitely very cool. It took me a long time in life to relaize that all “gurus” are human — and we all need to remember that, myself included.
Diana
Jennifer, If I were in your shoes and had worked hard to apply for something and received the email that you received only to see that it did happen shortly after – I’d be annoyed too.
As far as issues of Oz go… people are always more potable from a distance. The closer you come to anyone the more you realize they’re just people like you. Or not like you… which can be even more saddening.
You’ve struck on an interesting awareness in all this. The guru’s aren’t usually guru’s because they invented something – but because they communicate it better than anybody else at the moment. We’re drawn to people who help us ‘get it’.
I don’t even know who he is.
Sorry you had to break up with your Sethy poo …. I’ve gotten to know some guru’s a bit too well and ended up losing respect for them. Stinks.
You are a brilliant writer. You communicate great depth and a sense of your feelings and who you are, not in any sappy sort of way, but in a way that makes a first time reader smile while reading – because they get it.
Michael’s last blog post..Rewarding the ‘No-Shows’