Seth Godin is one of my marketing heroes. He’s a thoughtful marketer and frequently on the vanguard of various new media applications. I read all of his books, and never fail to learn something from them.
But in one of his more recent blogs, I saw an inconsistency so glaring it deserved investigation.
In Drip Drip Drip goes the twit, Seth makes the terrific point that trust is built over a period of time - it happens over a long period as you get to know someone and come to understand who they are and what they stand for - and he drives the point home that the time to begin developing that trust is before you need it. So true. Publish NOW, he says, either in blogs or in little “twits on twitter”.
Odd, I thought. Seth has a twitter account, and I’ve never seen him there. I looked him up.
And there he was.
He has updated 448 times
He has 3285 followers
He follows no one. Zero.
Huh? I was surprised and more than a little disappointed. Seth’s using Twitter only to pimp his blog. How is this leveraging the power of new media? Isn’t this exactly what he says NOT to do in Meatball Sundae? To use New Media as a one way conversation? No way!


Incredulous, I asked the question on Twitter, and one of my better informed colleagues pointed me to this article by ProBlogger.
Ironic, huh? Someone is on Twitter, posting Seth’s blogs under Seth’s name. Even though all this presumed fan does is post links to Seth’s blog, it still is damaging to Seth’s carefully nurtured brand:
- People think Seth is using Twitter solely to flog his blog, and have “unfollowed” him as a result. Web 2.0 is two way - not one way.
- People think Seth is using Twitter as a one-way marketing tool, which is in direct contradiction to his own advice. This undermines his credibility as a teacher.
- People think Seth is ignoring them, which gives him a none too desirable aura of contemptuousness. This looks especially bad next to fellow A-lister Guy Kawasaki - who is following 9456 on Twitter, and being followed by 8713. Guy is active on Twitter, and has built a great core following through commentary and participation.
So instead of building trust a tweet at a time, trust is being eroded because someone has hijacked Seth’s name.
And I think we can all imagine the disastrous possibilities were this fan malicious, or possibly looking to profit from the exploitation of Seth’s name.
Readers: PROTECT YOUR BRAND.
Secure your domain names
Secure your brand and/or name on social media sites
Google yourself regularly; set up google alerts for your name
Defend your reputation and your name and your place
If this can happen to Seth Godin, it can happen to you as well. Don’t let it.
(April 2008) (
