A dire il vero, la spaccatura definitiva per l'impero Romano fu la sua stessa tracotanza. Se qualcuno pensava davvero che Roma fosse impossibile da conquistare, erano proprio i Romani. Pensavano di poter trattare tutti in qualsiasi maniera, senza subire alcuna consegenza. Era questa credenza, non un esercito, non una persona, che finalmente causò la caduta di Roma. I Romani erano così tanto sicuri di essere invincibili che fallirono nel vedere quando i tempi cominciarono a cambiare. Fallirono nel leggere i segnali tutto intorno a loro.
Nel mondo dei social media, l'arroganza può essere un nemico esattamente allo stesso modo. Quando cominciamo con i social media, si spera che crediamo in noi stessi e nelle nostre capacità. Mentre il tempo passa, cominciamo ad acquisire follower su Twitter. I nostri blog ricevono più commenti e più sottoscrizioni. La pagina fan comincia ad acquistare più fan. E' difficile, specialmente con questo tipo di lessico, non sentirsi fiduciosi. Avete dei follower! E' incredibile, vero?
Più si sta nel mondo online, e più questo vapore si accumula. Forse adesso le persone ti chiamano un esperto o modello, o leader di pensiero. Cominci a sentire che non puoi sbagliare. Se qualcuno ti accusa di sbagliare, i tuoi followers e amici attaccano quella persona e la liquidano come "invidiosa". Il mondo, come si usa dire, è la tua ostrica.
Ed è qui che le cose diventano pericolose.
Quando si diventa troppo arroganti, ci si può trovare ad attaccare le persone senza un reale motivo. Si crea distanza persino con gli amici. I supporter forse non vogliono più essere associati al tuo nome. L'impero inizia a tremare. E sì, può succedere anche a te. E' successo all'Impero Romano!
Non lasciate che l'arroganza vi renda deboli. Non c'è niente di sbagliato nell'essere fiduciosi, ma esagerare può avere solo conseguenze negative per voi e coloro che vi stanno attorno. Siate cauti.
Marjorie Clayman | @margieclayman
Arrogance can take down your Empire
Over the course of my history series here at Intervistato, we’ve already talked about Rome a couple of times. We talked about how the Romans kept mistreating the Visigoths and how that eventually led to the sack of Rome and really, the end of the Roman empire. We also talked more recently about Hannibal and his elephants, who took Rome by surprise as a result of out-of-the-box thinking.
Rome – its power and its fall – can teach us a lot about how we can present ourselves and preserve ourselves in the online world. From the beginning, Romans believed they were a force to be reckoned with. They conquered their neighbors, then they conquered regions, and finally they took over entire countries. They hosted epic battles, enveloped other cultures into their own, and grew an empire that really is hard to imagine in today’s more segmented modern world. For a long time, it seemed like the Roman empire could not be defeated. It was the most powerful core of strength in the world. Nothing could unseat it.
Of course, the ultimate crack in Rome’s empire was its own hubris. If anybody believed Rome was unconquerable, it was the Romans. They believed they could treat anyone in any way without consequences. It was that belief, not one single army, not one single person, that ultimately caused Rome’s downfall. The Romans were so sure they were invincible that they failed to see when times began to change. They failed to read the signs that were all around them.
In the world of social media, arrogance can be an enemy in the exact same way. When we start out in social media, we hopefully believe in ourselves and our capabilities. As time goes on, we start to gain followers on Twitter. Maybe our blogs start getting more comments and more subscribers. Your Facebook page may start to earn you more “friends” or “fans.” It’s hard, especially with that kind of terminology, not to feel pretty confident. You have followers! That is pretty amazing, right?
The longer you stay on in the online world, the more this steam can build up. Maybe now people are calling you an expert or a role model or a thought leader. You’re starting to feel like you can’t do anything wrong. If someone accuses you of being wrong, your followers and friends attack that person or you dismiss them by calling them a “hater.” The world, as they say, is your oyster.
That’s where it gets dangerous.
When you get too arrogant, you can find yourself lashing out at people for no real reason. You can create distance between yourself and your friends. Your supporters may not want to be associated with you any more. Your empire will start to crumble. Oh yes, it can happen to you. It happened to the Roman empire.
Don’t let arrogance make you weak. There is nothing wrong with being confident, but taking it too far can only have negative repercussions for you and those around you. Be cautious.
Marjorie Clayman | @margieclayman