This was a statement from Jason Falls, the CEO of Social Media Explorer, during his keynote session, This Is All Such BS: How to Tell and What to Do When You Are Being Had in Blogging, Social Media and Beyond, while at Blogworld Expo in L.A.

According to Falls, he has a philosophy in calling bullshit, as he says “I like to criticize ideas, not people. I like to keep that in mind in calling bullshit on people.” He believes so strongly in this philosophy that he wrote a book about it called, No Bullshit Social Media.

It seems fitting that Falls works online, which he calls the single largest depository of bullshit. He goes on to say that people need to do their due diligence regarding the information they read. According to Falls, it starts with people like him, and other social media gurus. One thing you can do is ask better questions. You can’t just hit the easy button and just except what people are telling us is true.

According to Falls:

You probably said we need to know how to use it strategically, drive business and measure success. The social media evangelist I refer to as social media hippies and tree huggers. They used to say you can’t sell using social medial. They made lots of rules and put you in a box. They were social media purists. They say things like don’t post a marketing message on your personal Facebook profile. That is bullshit!

This is where a couple social media evangelist will fall out of their chairs. Not every business needs social media! My friend owns a lawn care company with three or four crews. He asked what should I do with social media? I asked how do you currently get your customers. He said from referrals. I said here is your social media strategy. Put your computer down and go to a neighborhood that you aren’t in and cut someone’s grass for free. Game over!

You’ve probably also heard other people say stuff like, you can’t sell things from social media. This is also Bullshit. Dell sold 6.5 million dollars worth of stuff from a single Twitter account, according to Falls.

If you hear people say you shouldn’t be doing something, ask yourself the following questions:

Where did the data come from?
Where has it been tested?
What are the variables?
How does it apply to my ….?

Do your homework. Ask questions. Don’t stop after the first question. Don’t assume that statistics are true.

Falls further details his thoughts on the myths about social media in the below interview with WebProNews reporter Abby Johnson:

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

While he is not the only one to raise such a point, Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer asked his Facebook fans a good question: "What if Conan went web-only?" More specifically, he asks:

- Would you watch it?
- Would you watch it regularly?
- Would you pay closer attention to the advertisers?

Jason has so far received some thought-provoking responses. One person compares such a prospect to what Howard Stern did when he went to Sirius Satellite Radio. Another notes that Conan reaches a young enough demographic to pull off such a move.

It would probably not be very hard for Conan to find a good partner to convert his show to the web and attract a good amount of advertising dollars. What if the show went a different route? Dare I say, even a paid route? Would you pay, let’s say a dollar a month, to see Conan’s show on the same regular basis?

Regardless of which way it was monetized, the show would have the potential to be successful (at least when compared to other online-only shows). But consider that consumers don’t have to turn to their computers to watch TV online anymore, perhaps the biggest obstacle for the medium. It was made abundantly clear at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that Internet-ready TVs are going to become much more common.

People watching TV online is a phenomenon that is growing rapidly already. Once the average TV watcher doesn’t have to get out of his/her easy chair to watch a show online on the same TV, what is to stop them from watching a show like a web-based Conan O’Brien show over the traditional TV alternatives?

In reality, it is highly unlikely that Conan will go this route. Maybe there’s too much at stake. But if it did happen, could it work? Would it? Share your thoughts on the topic.

Related Articles:

> YouTube And Hulu See Record High Video Views

> YouTube Gets Well Over a Billion Views Per Day

> NBC.com To Stream Late Night With Conan O’Brien

(WebProNews spent the weekend in Vegas at the BlogWorld Expo and chatted up the brightest minds in the blogging business. Stay tuned to WebProNews and WebProNews Video for updates.)

 Jason Falls

Jason Falls, Doe-Anderson’s director of social media and the author of SocialMediaExplorer.com, recommended that companies chat up bloggers before hitting them with business-related suggestions.  Avoid the BBC field, he said, and "focus on relationship and not the pitch."

The vice president of strategy and technology at CrossTech Media, Chris Brogan, continued this line of thought by suggesting that PR departments adopt a more human tone.  Keep it short, too, so that another piece of advice – "being human also means admitting your mistakes . . . say sorry" – doesn’t apply.

Brian Solis, the principal of FutureWorks, suggested something similar, saying, "Talk to people through brevity and clarity."  And as for whether contacting bloggers is worth special efforts, Solis added, "New media . . . represents the market that we’re trying to reach."

Here’s one last piece of interesting information: Falls believes companies can save time by using these tips to approach traditional media in addition to bloggers.

WebProNews Reporter/Anchor Abby Prince-Johnson contributed to this article.