The Value of “Big Mouths” in Helping Grow a Company

November 18th, 2008

2 comments

Posted in: Front Page News, Inside Chitika

Michael Arrington is a big mouth.  So is Aaron Wall.  And ShoeMoney.  In fact, one of my all-time favorite big mouths is Darren Rowse (someone who I have collaborated/worked with for a long time on my journey here at Chitika).  To make it perfectly clear - I’m referring to the term “big mouth” as a web-influencer, and I believe being one is a good thing.

A long time ago, before I worked in the online sphere, I’m pretty sure that I saw the term “big mouth” in a negative light.  Like - something you would call someone who really liked to hear the sound of their own voice.  That all went right out the window when I entered the internet industry.

Online, having a big mouth means that you have a certain amount of influence over others.  It means that you have a lot of people who watch/listen to/read what you have to say.  It means that your fans/readers/followers (Twitter anyone?) respect you enough to take action based solely on your opinion.  And in this industry, the big mouths are the most respected (and valued) individuals of all.

I can speak to this personally - at Chitika, we’ve seen the impact of big mouths first-hand (what I like to refer to as “The Big Mouth Effect” - trademark pending).  Like when Darren Rowse writes about us on ProBlogger, or Aaron Wall does a piece on SEOBook, or Patrick O’Keefe speaks highly of us in his newest ebook.. each one of these holds tremendous value to our company.  And I don’t mean just emotional value (although we definitely do love those guys!).. I mean value as in dollars - specific addition to our company’s bottom line.  The value of a big mouth is unquantifiable, and it is what every company strives for (online and offline).

This blog post actually spurs from an email that I mistakenly sent to a big mouth, where I referred to him as such, and he (understandably) took offense to this.  But I’ll tell you what - not only do I have tremendous respect for him professionally, but I’ve met him and hung out with him before, and he’s just an awesome guy.  And the bottom line is - without big mouths like him, it is very likely that our company would not be where it is today.

So - for all you aspiring bloggers and internet rock-stars out there - if someone calls you a big mouth in the future, be proud!  You are most certainly on the right track.

-Posted by Ryan Travis, Chitika Director of Client Services

2 Responses to “The Value of “Big Mouths” in Helping Grow a Company”

1. Popular Wealth Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 3:39 am

   Big mouth.

2. max Says:
   December 1st, 2008 at 11:14 pm

   I agree Ryan, that’s probably the best pyro/buzz marketing strategy and you guys are right on that. :)

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