Are You Amplifying the Echo Chamber?

Do You Amplify the Echo Chamber?

Posted on: 07-14-2011 With: 44 Comments Posted by: Jayme Soulati

I could probably link every word in this post with a blog that’s been written about the echo chamber; it’s a popular topic, and yesterday’s article here spawned some further fodder. I share a list for you, and ask you for your contribution, please.

You are amplifying the echo chamber if:

* You’ve created a stream of Twitter faves who are social media leaders and early adopters.

* You’re in Triberr (either one or more tribes, no matter) and your tribes are filled with inbreeders.

* You follow like-minded peeps in your space and don’t branch out to find new peeps from other verticals.

* You comment on the same blogs over and over.

* You’ve formed a comfy clique and don’t want to take the time to expand your horizons.

* You’ve depicted yourself as untouchable, inaccessible, and just a plain old social media rock star.

That’s my take…and, I am going to be changing it all up real soon — after I stop sucking wind this summer.

(Well, actually, I hope you’ve noticed you may not know anyone behind these links. I believe this is a great start — to share link love for those I don’t know to broaden my horizons.)

Bio
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Jayme Soulati

Business-to-business social media marketing with core PR for clients mid-sized to corporations regionally, nationally or globally. Blogger and on the Interwebz in all the social media channels delivering content marketing and message mapping. Strategic, seasoned and passionate about all thing social marketing.

Latest posts by Jayme Soulati (see all)

Read More, Blog Better – 06/18/2013
Highly Successful Elements Of One-to-One Selling – 06/17/2013
The Happy Friday Series: Taking Risk For Desert Passion – 06/14/2013
Blog Tips 1: Blogs Need Two-Way Comments – 06/12/2013
12 Most Snappy Headline Writing Tips For Bloggers – 06/11/2013

Categories: Social Media Strategy Tags: Echo Chamber, Triberr, Twitter

I promise I wrote you back last night and my comment did not appear. Let me reiterate, repeat, re-do and shout to the world, "BILL, I LOVE YOU TO PIECES!" All is well in our world; we're good, you're better; you Rock Hot, and I love you in my house. Can't a woman express an eeuw once in awhile and share a reaction? Can't a man write whatever he wants in a comfy space? ABSO-FLIPPIN-LUTELY. That, my friend, is all.

Jenn Whinnem

Jayme, thanks for addressing this! You even made a quiz!

One thing that's helping me get out of the chamber, so to speak, is my job. The focus is so different that that Twitter account is bringing me to different content all together. The other benefit is that what motivates those in business is not what motivates those in philanthropy. Personal brand - why would you need that? Sales, we don't need no stinkin' sales! The switch in mindset is fascinating to me, to say the least.

Also, I read more in our priority areas, all of which are health-related...watch out, soon this will carry over to my personal Twitter account.

davinabrewer

And I've got posts drafted, scheduled for the next couple weeks on the same theme. Like seriously, been editing and trying to refine them before publishing.. then Jayme scoops me.

davinabrewer

Not sure where to jump in (meant to earlier but got busy) and stick up for Bill. Yes indeed it was I who started the V discussion. @soulati:disqus has already checked it out, I assure you @47d58be98d1441a276245024c9457dbf:disqus it is perfectly safe. About PR even. :-)

Erica Allison

Must check that out! Had to do a double-take! :)

Jayme Soulati

Bill! I love you to pieces; it's all good! No apologies; all is well in our world, please. Riley Harrison is correct...no apology needed. Thank you though; you are always a gentleman.

Jayme Soulati

Heh. Liar, liar pants on fire. I told you you commented what I was already writing!

Riley Harrison

Bill you did absolutely nothing wrong and no apology is needed.

Soulati

Simply taken aback was all...had not seen @3hatscomm blog, but boy did I run over there. I fear Klout rising higher and higher on that title alone.

Leon Noone

G'Day Jayme,
Damned if I do and damned if I don't. But I've become addicted to Marcus and Gini and Danny and Erika and that lot. Do I need rehabilitation? I mean.... all I'm trying to do is sell something to somebody.

It's a worry. Did you know that Bunny Berigan died the day after he admitted himself to a clinic?

What am I to do? I can't even spell Twiiterr!

Anyway you're not cool saying "echo.' The cool word, Jayme, is "resonate.' Which is what I hope this does with you.

Make sure you have fun.
Regards

Leon

Soulati

Oh, dear Leon, you so do resonate with me! Cheers, always! Thanks for showing your wit here!

Soulati

Yeah, but, uhmm, this ain't Ms. D's blog; in case you forgot your whereabouts.

Kaarina Dillabough

OK Jayme, I'm jumping in to prevent a blogjack by that notorious Bill. I've got your back:)

Erica Allison

Whoa, Bill. I think you need some editing there, buddy.

Kaarina Dillabough

Jayme, since I missed all the excitement here yesterday, I wanted to be present today. Does that mean I'm echoing something or someone?

Funny you should post this (not)...I was just having a discussion with Mark Harai not that long ago, about branching out to people and fields unknown to "expand my horizons." But I also said I didn't want to do that at the expense of not-keeping-up with the people and friends I've now come to know and love. Horns of a dilemma. Only so many hours in day.

It's like dropping the pebble into the water and watching the concentric circles of ripples expand. How far can one expand before those original circles (people, friends, community) dissipate?

I'm reading this and wondering if I'm making any sense. The past few days have been a tad rough, and writing eases the pain. Good topic: important to consider. Cheers! Kaarina

Soulati

You are making sense, Kaarina; absolutely. Again, so sorry for your loss and, indeed, writing does help fuel the mind elsewhere. The circle (hi, Google+) of friends you create will always be there for you and with you. We'll notice when you're gone or in need. So, branch out, little dove, and fly home when you wish!

Kaarina Dillabough

Thanks Jayme: taking flight and flying home:)

Kaarina Dillabough

Brankica...what Jayme said.

Soulati

Brankica, I think you found me via Twitter; you responded to something I wrote or some comment I made somewhere, and the rest is history and looks awesome from this point of view. I am spending more time on your blog than most (please don't share that) because your area of expertise is what I lack. That's what it means to get out from the echo chamber; stop talking to ourselves and learn from people who have and know what you need. Thanks for all you do on your blog; the free-flowing tips and sage counsel. I will do all I can to send it back to you multiple times. You're a gift to many; glad I get the present!

Kaarina Dillabough

I. LOVE. THIS. Brankica, you put into words and perspective how to keep it "low as possible" in the echo chamber, and keep those concentric circles radiating outward. I'm striving to be in your 1%. Cheers! Kaarina

Brankica | How to blog

I will reply here to make sure both of you read it.

I thought about this a lot. There are so many blogs out there that you can not reach to everyone, but you need to reach out from time to time. There is this group of bloggers that keep commenting on each other blogs and pimping each other's stuff. And at one point of time, I realized that that is just not enough for me. So I started reaching out.

I have to say I had luck because Ingrid A. told me about Danny B. and Gini D. and Mufasa the lion and Joey S. and Mark S. So I started reading their blogs and refreshed my mind. I connected with most of those great people and ran into you two, that were in the "same circle".

By reaching out I got out of the first circle I mentioned that didn't allow me to grow. By coming out of it and meeting all of your GREAT people, I had new ideas and a great new circle of people to connect with. I am so busy with projects I put on myself all the time so I don't do that often but as soon as I find time, I will dig around and find a new blog I haven't read before. Then I will try to connect with that blogger, if it is worth it. That usually brings a few additional connections. I have done this a few times and it was well worth it.

I always tell people when they ask me about how to get more traffic to go and hang out in some new places. If we all read Mashable, Copyblogger and Problogger, how are we making anything different and better? We will keep RTing the same ol' stuff and stay in one spot forever, or until we decide not to blog anymore.

It is funny and sad at the same time, when a person comes to my blog and says "You are doing this wrong, you should be doing it like this, because what-ever-big-blogger does it like that". Seriously?? Are you for real?? Don't you think I have a mind of my own to think about what I want to do on my blog and try and test things I think will work for me. That is why my mom gave birth to this smarty pants. To think with it's own brain.

Do I never add to the echo chamber? Sure I do. But I sure try to keep it as low as possible. Love the post and the idea and I hope at least 1% of all the people apply what they read here, that will make a big difference.

Laura Click

Thanks for the kick in the pants this morning. I think we all need to hear this every now and then. Now, off to find some new folks and blogs to interact with. Later! ;)

Erica Allison

I would leave a comment, but I'd be echoing what you've said here.
Duly noted. Already on the path to righteous redemption.
Loves and kisses.
E

T. Shakirah Dawud

That was the perfect comment, Erica.

Marjorie Clayman

Hi Jayme,

I hope you don't perceive that the Blog Library is amplifying the echo chamber. In fact, my hope with that project is to introduce as many new perspectives and as many new bloggers as possible.

Soulati

Oh, good gracious no! Quite the contrary...your project is so fantabulous; I'm duly impressed. I wanted to provide you link love here as you helped me; I was trying to identify sources I had never linked to in the past. I'm going to be closely watching and participating with The Blog Library and will send you peeps whenever I can, absolute!

Marjorie Clayman

oh, ok. cool! I wanted to make sure I wasn't going off track. Thank you!!

Kaarina Dillabough

I vote this comment the "comment of the week". The visual it conjured up alone is worth the price of admission.

Soulati

Silly girl; Trix are for kids.

davinabrewer

Ok, we really DO need to take a break from each other Jayme - this mirrors yet another post I have drafted, based on a comment I left here a couple weeks ago. Seriously, in some ways it's almost bullet for bullet.

It's also why I want to try a comment hiatus or 'diet' - in the effort to find and share new, different things, I added too many. I didn't skip the same blogs I've always read; I just added more. So a general scale back, with finding other things to share (perhaps eve w/out a comment) is what I'm attempting. I want to do all the things you describe to expand, yet find a way to do so that still supports my community. And it's tricky as we have some folks in our community who don't parrot the echo chamber, do challenge the status quo once in a while - makes it harder to not read, share. Still thinking... FWIW.

Soulati

D, we've been doing this since the start of our relationship up here. I still recall calling you out on the itty bitty Fast Company post you wrote and published before I had the chance -- it was such a small item, yet we both took it as fodder.

We have similar thoughts, presented differently and with varied perspective -- it's all good, yet it's also hard to be a differentiator, too. When you begin to feel like taking a break will freshen you up, then by all means. But, seriously, the level and length at which you were commenting -- you were gonna burn soon; no way to sustain.

But your brand is rock solid because you've been doing some serious work to create it. All the links in this post (besides a few -- Ms. Clayman) are sites off the beaten path presented more as an example of what we're missing if we stay in our comfy clique.

Soulati

Hmm, I wrote you back, Neicole. Promise. Why isn't it showing up here? So, did you go to bed at 2 a.m.? Yow! What's a mom like you doing up that late? I awoke at 4 and couldn't return to ZZZ; here I am blogging and commenting with Europe!

Neicole Crepeau

Man, that picture is scaring me! I don't want to be in the echo chamber!! I'll branch out, I promise. Oh no! I'm still commenting on a familiar blog! I don't know if I can do this, Jayme...

Jayme Soulati

That is hilarious; now let me look at when you posted that comment. Nearly 5 a.m. my time which puts you going to bed at 2 a.m.?? WTH -- now, I awoke at 4 a.m. and couldn't return to sleep, so here I am at the crack of dawn tweeting with Europe. They're the only ones awake!

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3Hats Communications: Marketing, Public Relations and Social Media Blog | Atlanta, GA says:

07/25/2011 at 10:14 am

[...] thought it fit with this idea. And damn if she didn’t beat me to the punch with her post on amplifying the echo chamber, then Ari Herzog topped her last Thursday. (Grrr [...]