Steven Tyler, despite the painfully obvious plastic surgery and creepy old guy infatuation with young female American idol contestants, is a rock star.
Bono is a rock star. Bruuuuce Springsteen is a rock star. Lady Gaga and Kanye West are entire galaxies all their own.
The social media world has its rock stars too, such as my friends and former colleagues Steve Rubel, David Armano and Michael Brito, among others. They are all talented and deserving, and I learn from them every day.
But for all the rock stars, there are also those who toil in mass anonymity. Good people — great people many of them — yet without the wider visibility bestowed to the top acts.
Not everyone can be in Aerosmith or U2 — some of us have to be in The Kinks.
Why The Kinks? Yes, they are in the Hall of Fame. Yes, they were unquestionably influential. But rock stars? Not even close.
Sure, their peers know who they are and acknowledge their contributions. Rock music would not have evolved the way it did without them (punk began with the strangled distortion of “You Really Got Me.”) But their career nevertheless went by relatively unnoticed.
Good music, small audience. The Davies brothers were talented artists, but not rock stars. Just like me.
I am a Kink. I’m in the “social media business” and have had my share of success, though mostly under the radar of the industry elite. I’m often just as smart as the rest but I go largely unnoticed. And that’s just fine with me.
There are a lot of Social Media Kinks out there and they are worth a listen.
Gary Goldhammer -- Strategic storytelling for brands, organizations and executives 