So, Twitter’s down today. (Everybody say booooo…) I feel a little lost, honestly. But my feed reader is getting major action, so that’s exciting.

I’ve seen talk recently about companies not needing their own websites. That instead, they just need to use all of the new media out there and be involved in “The Great Conversation” (capitals and snarkiness mine). Let the social web decide your brand. Be awesome enough that you don’t need to say anything about yourself.

I have a feeling this is one of those “let’s say something really different so that we’ll get a lot of traffic and be seen as innovative and controversial!” Because really. Come on.

Just a few reasons why the “all spokes, no wheel” method is crap

  • You’re limiting your substance. Maybe you really love working within the boundaries of 140 characters. If that is your medium, go for it. But don’t let anyone else decide on the format for your work. YOU decide that.
  • You have no glue to hold the other pieces together. There isn’t one cohesive “why” to all the “what” that you’re producing. Your story is scattered in fragments all over the place.
  • You don’t have your own stage. Instead, you’re sharing one. Your website allows you to have a stage that you have some control over. It’s where you put your flag in the ground and say “This is me. This is what I stand for.”
  • You’ve got to follow the pack. If Twitter dies or if everyone else decides that it’s time to move on to Bigger Better Things, then you’ve got to go where the people are. You may even have to start over.
  • You’ve got to be omnipresent. If you don’t have a wheel, you better have a ton of spokes to support your work. Mainly so you don’t suffer huge losses if your platform of choice goes belly up. And so you can figure out where the pack is moving when it’s time to migrate.
  • You’re putting yourself at the mercy of everyone. Am I the only one who’s noticed that there are weirdos out there? Spammers, hackers, and people who are just plain strange. Yeah, I realllllly want to give them something fun to do on their boring Tuesday afternoon. “Woohoo!!! Let’s mess up Sarah’s life. That would be fun!”

I’m sure I could come up with a list of 50 other reasons. I’m sort of baffled this conversation even exists, frankly. I’m really proud of the social web for becoming so mainstream, but even I have my limits.