-Aaron

I love your explanation for Chris’s blog. I continue to read his blog but I feel like some of his posts are like product placement in television shows. “And now, a word from our sponsor.” Except maybe more like product placement in the news (sorry Chris).

In my mind, being entertaining needs to be secondary to being true and authentic to YOUR audience.

I’d say that if Bear had no real survivalist background or if Les was abysmal in his engagement with the viewer, the scales might tip more decisively one way or the other. So relative to the social sphere, I think some modicum of personal authenticity is essential. It doesn’t matter how engaging you are.

On one hand, I have a far greater respect for an authentic “survivor” program. I have complete disdain for most so-called reality TV, but I’ll give due props to a guy who isn’t faking it.

On the other hand, faux reality TV is VERY popular. Again, I hate the stuff, but Americans love the manufactured drama of “Big Brother,” “Survivor” and the like. The popularity of such slickly produced drivel seems to squish the authenticity argument.

There’s a third option, too: Scripted TV. It doesn’t fit the survival show parameters of your post, but well-written TV drama also offers marketing lessons. People love good stories. Shows like Law & Order and CSI are hits because they tell compelling stories.

So which wins: the low-budget authentic story, the well-produced inauthentic story, or the well-produced script?

Beats me.

One clarifying point in my post that may not have come through clearly — I wasn’t calling out Chris B. as doing anything inauthentic. He disclosed his relationship up front. I was merely pointing out that I don’t think it’s the best way for companies like KMart to go about creating content. Instead, they should turn to their own product/marketing/customer service people to blog, twitter or podcast. If they wanted to invest in someone like Chris B, they should bring him in to teach them to be good bloggers.

@Gregorylent — ha ha, I think you’re onto something. To be honest, other than sports, I actually watch very little television. There will likely be a day where I get rid of it althogether (although I’ll likely donate vs. throwing it out the window).

The Survivorman vs. Man vs. Wild debate is very interesting and a seemingly perfect parallel to the world in which Aaron and other social media experts operates. Les may not be as compelling, but his show is truly organic. Yes, whiny at times, but that honesty is refreshing. Bear is indeed interesting and certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat, but I am always put off when he signs off each night knowing that he is probably holed up in a Hilton Garden Inn somewhere. One is honest and true to form (although a bit boring) where the other is flashy, sexy and entertaining (although a bit disingenuous). If Aaron is hired by Toyota to develop a blog and a community for their trucks, how does one quietly and organically deliver content to that group? It is painfully obvious to the readers/users that something fishy is going on (read:Chris Brogan and K Mart) when the content is corporate driven – or, again, not organic in nature.

Man vs. Wild shows that people will still watch ’semi’ reality television, but the web still proves to be unbelievably savvy in rooting out genuine content. Somehow people know that there is always going to be a little bit of magic going on when you pull back that curtain and expose what is really going on in the studio back in Hollywood. Unfortunately for businesses trying to move into the social media space – even when you are being brutally open and honest with your customers, people can ferret out paid for content, and they will immediately turn off the noise. Or, in the case of Man vs. Wild, skewer you in the court of public opinion.