I go to a bunch of events, and these last few days I was a bit of a lurker at IZEAFest in Orlando. I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Ted Murphy before, and I not only enjoyed him and his personality, but the event was full of some fresh faces and great information.

Aaron Brazell did a keynote on Saturday morning that was refreshing. He talked about influence, and true to fashion, Aaron didn’t pull any punches. He pointed out some very compelling bits about the notion of influence, which prompted me to revisit this topic through the lens of what I’ve learned in the last little while.

I have trouble with the idea of influence as it’s often presented. It’s kind of like authority, or trust, or worth. It’s in the eye of the beholder. And when it comes to business, we have to remember that – much like sales – influence is a result of your work, not the strategy itself.

When you’re trying to find someone that’s influential in your industry or in relation to your business, you need to be looking for people that encourage and compel others to listen and take action.

That doesn’t mean that the influencers in your sphere are always the ones with impressive follower or friend counts, or blog stats, or even money or press. If they have only five people paying attention, but those five people are always motivated to act as a result, you’ve found yourself someone that can move things to a new place. Having a platform (i.e. eyeballs) only gives someone potential for distribution. It doesn’t give them the trust, authority, or reputation that makes impressions or inspires others to build something bigger.

Influence also has a dark side. It can be thrown around in terms of threats, or fear, or subterfuge, or using established authority for “bad” things.  There are people who are compellingly contrarian and stir up trouble or controversy for a living. There are bullies. There are insecure, angry saboteurs that are skilled in finding an audience but lack the imagination to find something constructive to do. Influence isn’t always something to be used for good, and it behooves businesses to remember that, too.

The other thing that events teach me? And remind me, every time?

Influence on the web is incredibly fragile. The web gives us one set of lenses through which to see things. And depending on if you look through one or several at a time, it can present a wholly different picture of who someone is. Collecting a following does not equate with influence on the web. Influence, to me, implies a consistent ability to empower others over time. True influence has lasting effects long after the influencer has left the center of the spotlight.

And as I watch people around me that I admire, and whose work I believe in, I see how much that  notion of “influence” online is made or broken when the in-person, human element comes into play. There are people whose work leaves me invigorated, inspired, and challenged to do something more. There are people with whom I have conversations and I walk away wanting to be better, to CREATE something. And never – NEVER – has that ever been solely proportional to their “ranks” in the fickle popularity contest that is the world of the web.

True influence is not created, nor is it synonomous with popularity or notoriety. Influence is earned, and it only reaches its potential in the hands of those who are inspired by it. The results of influence that matters won’t be evident for months, or even years. And they’ll be present in the collective works of those who have been motivated. Those who have gone and done.

In the wake of Aaron’s presentation, I had someone come up to me and chat for a bit, mentioning that he considered me an “influencer”.  I asked him why, and he said it was because he “heard about me” often enough that he figured I must know my stuff.

I asked him to hold that judgment for a few years, and tell me if the evidence of my hard work was still present somewhere without me, long after the fishbowl forgets me. If he could find ways that I’d made an impact on the people and things around me, for the better, and in ways that put them at the center of the brilliance, not me. Things that will last long beyond Twitter, or this blog, or the days when people recognize my curly, crazy hair in a crowd.

Then – and only then – would I believe that I have ever influenced a thing.

What influences you? Think carefully. Think beyond the web, and beyond business. What you discover might surprise you. It has me.

photo by urthstripe

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