Influencer rankings: am I an orange or a?lemon?

My inclusion in a ranking of influencers in the Spanish edition of Forbes magazine has prompted a number of invitations from companies to “collaborate”, a euphemism that means “we pay you to use your influence to say our brand is the best.” Sadly, not least on behalf of my bank account, I think it is my duty to go on record as saying that this is not what I do. A good friend of reminded me: “these lists should be taken with a pinch of salt, both when you’re included and when you’re not.” But since a LinkedIn list a few weeks ago and now Forbes’, I have noticed a sharp increase in visits to my LinkedIn profile, so I thought I would put things in perspective.

In wrote about the phony influencer industry in July. The Forbes Spain ranking, from what I can see, seems fair enough, although by introducing the (apparently now heavily loaded) term “influencers” into the equation, there is an element of comparing oranges with lemons.

I’m a teacher. As simple as that: somebody who explains and shares relatively complex ideas in a reasonably simple way. I’m not interested in influencing anybody, that comes about through other things I do. I try to explain to my students that my opinion is my own, albeit arguably better documented than most people’s, given the time I spend reading up on my subjects. So, while I’m interested in getting my readers to think about new ideas, I don’t see them as an ”audience”, because I usually try, as far as possible depending on the format and the medium, to get them to participate. If some aspect of what I do, a product or a service I use, influences someone, that’s not an issue, because no money is involved. And sure, I’m always trying out new products, but never for financial remuneration.

As I said, the Forbes ranking, at least in the categories I know and can comment on, seems to have taken that fact into account. The proposals I have received, however, do not, or do not seem to. In short, if a proposal confuses the end with the means, or seems to be just interested in the metrics, then I’m not interested.

Does this mean I would never work with a brand? Not at all. But my rules are clear: if a company wants me to speak at an event on a subject I’m comfortable with, I’m happy to do it (and apparently I’m not bad at it), but I won’t be representing the company. I’m just a guest speaker chosen due to his expertise on the topic. It’s the same for my written work: I write about what I know, what I believe or what I think I know, but never on the basis of what I’m being paid. Anybody who says otherwise is very badly misinformed: in fact, if I had charged half of the companies that some claim I have charged, I would be a very rich man indeed.

Notwithstanding; I am grateful to Forbes Spain for the mention, and I promise to continue doing what I have been doing for all these years: preparing for my classes rigorously, reading to stay well informed, and writing to provoke debate and reflection. If that makes me an influencer, then that’s just fine.

(En espa?ol, aquí)

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