Thursday, May 8, 2008

I'm an expert in...

I've had a few funny conversations the last few days about "experts." It's been weighing on my mind because we Rockstars are trying to carve our own niche of expertise in the virtual world space. Here are a few conclusions I've drawn from these conversation.

  • People will start to think you're an expert if you say you are. There's a danger here because then you have to back it up. My experience is that lots of so-called experts are actually yahoos. But you probably are already painfully aware of the shortage of true Rockstars.
  • Writing a book makes you an expert. This seems almost ridiculously simple. But writing a book really is a daunting task. Although I'm not sure that writing a book should make you an expert--shouldn't the book have to be good?
  • People are eager to accept you as an expert. People in general are looking for smart people who know what they are talking about. They'll give you the benefit of the doubt until you can either prove your expertise or reveal yourself as a fraud.

So, I'm working on developing my expertise in virtual world technology in support of learning. A book is in the works. I'm doing lots of research and experimentation. But I'm having a hard time determining when I'll feel comfortable passing myself off as an expert. It just seems too easy when everything else is so hard.

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