What I Learned From Robert Scoble About How to Become Internet Famous

What I Learned From Robert Scoble About How to Become Internet Famous

Andrew Warner is an Internet entrepreneur and the founder of Mixergy.com.

I’ve interviewed Robert Scoble several times about how to become Internet famous because I’m dying to get some fame. I know it’s not the kind of thing I’m supposed to admit, but I’ve noticed that people who are better known have an easier time launching and growing projects.

Scoble is one of Forbes’ 10 biggest Web celebrities, but he’s also ultra-patient, so he indulged my quest. Here’s what he taught me:

Attack Where There isn’t a King
Web 2.0 already has its big names. Why waste time fighting them for dominance?

Scoble told me to notice how big Gary Vaynerchuk became by going after wine, an industry that didn’t have an online celebrity until he got there. “If I started out today,” he said, “I think I would follow Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV.”

Follow the 15 Reader Rule
Building a reputation takes time. So you have to focus on a subject that you’re passionate enough about to keep pursuing, even when hardly anyone else notices. “Passion,” he told me, “will keep you going after you figure out you only have 15 readers.”

Get With REAL Celebrities
I think Hollywood is a big waste of time, but I can’t deny that movie stars are the real celebrities. Scoble told me to find ways to connect with them. I’ve interviewed several Internet CEOs who told me their traffic jumped just by featuring movie stars.

“Mix in celebrities from movies with the technology,” he told me, when I insisted that I’m obsessed with interviewing Internet success stories.

Start the Avalanche
I wake up every morning wanting to take over the world. Scoble suggested I take a step back and dominate one small niche first, then another and another until I start my avalanche.

“All avalanches start with one snowflake,” he said.

Keep Producing
I got to know about Scoble because I kept seeing him online. That’s part of his plan. He keeps producing content so that he stays on top of Google’s search results and stays connected to his readers. I’ve watched him pull out his iPhone between conversations and add content to FriendFeed, Twitter and other sites.

His biggest message to me was: “Publish a lot, because this is a Google world.”