| Foundations for Fame: Part 1 |
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| Contributed by K.D. Goodman | |
 Pablo Picasso There are degrees and levels of it from the best in the county to the world famous. In either case, the magic to it is usually an illusion and the foundations for it are manufactured. We as human beings tend to fall trap to what Dr. Robert Cialdini labeled as ‘social proof’. Social Proof is a dynamic force in persuasion and it works its magic on reputations like a wet snowball rolling down the slope. Social proof is a heuristic, a short cut in cognition that lets us bypass the labors of reasoning in decision making. I’ll be the first to admit laziness in this regard; I often make purchase decisions based on reviews I read online. I have purchased products ‘reluctantly’ because of a few bad reviews only to revise my opinion to outstanding. In vice I have purchased highly rated products that were complete rubbish, surely products of manufactured hype. My point is that we look for ‘Social Proof’ in our choices, we want validation. There is a belief that greatness is recognized by society and rewarded. This greatness maybe the arts, innovation, science, business, you name it, but this concept of recognition is wrong.  Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) Human nature! Competition, we are all striving for dominance. Overstatement? Not to those who study Kinesics, who see all actions as symbolic and subconscious attempts at dominance or submission. Yes there is a bit of an overstatement here because society needs its specialized mavericks. It does take a strong sense of self for those mavericks to dominate their particular field. I mean they did have to distinguish themselves amongst a racing herd. Striving to be the best among hundreds of peers/competitors who also want to be the best is not a position for the light hearted. But secondly is the fact that society needs the concept of ‘social proof’ in order to believe in greatness. Society does not confer the title of greatness but rather it must be convinced. The merits of a scientific theory, a poem, an invention, or a painting all lend their creators to the credibility of greatness not in themselves but in context. We may recognize an interesting work of art but we do not recognize a great artist by our own or their own merits, rather we look for outside verification.  Picasso's Self Portrait 1907 What made Jason’s movie gain acceptance after the ‘experts’ bombed it? Jason Epperson was already given his credibility just by making it on the show. Proof can be suggested by context as much as it is spoken or written. The idea off acceptance is multi dimensional in affect and pyramidal in structure. I mean this to say that there are levels of notoriety; we begin within a specific group, an area, a region, specialty, and then society at large. The social proof given to these affects will be proportional. The power of ‘social proof’ is obvious in the hype, perhaps even intelligence of referral marketing, networking, and peer references. In most fields, notoriety takes a greater than average competence. There is certainly some merit to celebrity, but this merit is as much social as it is specific. Picasso was a notorious self promoter, perhaps a genius marketer. He convinced the art word, whom at the time believed the impressionists were controversial; that his contorted often child like paintings were great. Picasso sold an idea, but first he had rise above his peers whom likely disagreed and thought much less over his less labored work. Picasso was pinned as a genius not by virtue of technical precision but by innovation.  Pablo Picasso Himself All of us have a little bit of Picasso in us and all of us can learn from Picasso. Picasso understood the concept of branding, promotion, advertising, and marketing, in the most modern sense (he probably wouldn’t admit it). The other two thousand artists are qualified, exemplified but the ones that succeed either celebrity or eternity are either natural promoters or have talented promoters working for them. The fact is that it all begins with ‘social proof’ and this can be built up, even fabricated, and it often is in the beginning. This concept applies to all fields, be it law, dentistry, industry but I don’t suggest creating false stories. I say fabricated to mean in context, by symbols as in controlling appearance. Thus we have the cornerstone of a public campaign, celebrity is manufactured, a commodity, a mechanism of industry. In part II of ‘Foundations for Fame’ I will show you how to build your own ‘social proof’, both for individuals and businesses. Sign up at my blog for updates to the ‘Foundations for Fame’ series and other articles. By Kevin D Goodman executiveblog.blogspot.com. This article may be freely distributed and published so long as the Author is fully credited. These articles contents may not be altered in any way without explicit consent of the author. Please link the authors blog. Kevin D Goodman is Creative Director for SDMC Article Directory: Article Dashboard |
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