Since today is holiday, I thought I’d publish a more lighthearted blog. Today I ask the question – are there any broadband influencers? Influencers are an interesting recent phenomenon and are folks who make a living by getting enough followers on social media to earn money from the volume of followers or product endorsements.

A friend of mine is a tax preparer, and he pointed out a number of people trying to make a living as influencers in his field. These folks create short videos talking about tax issues that are posted on YouTube, Tic-Tok, Instagram, and other platforms trying to attract followers. While some of the tax influencers also do tax returns, some don’t, but all are trying to make a modest income as an influencer. What my friend finds troubling is that some of the advice from influencers is incorrect, and there are no standards or rules against giving poor advice online.

This made me wonder if there are any broadband influencers. I’ve never heard of any, but I don’t spend time on the social media platforms where influencers operate. I’m curious if there is anybody who is making a living by just talking about broadband issues online?

Folks inside the industry think broadband discussions are interesting, and a lot of people read my blog and articles published every day by various industry magazines and news sites. There are folks in our industry with podcasts and webcasts. But it’s hard to think that any of them have enough podcast viewers to create any real revenue from it.

Decades ago, there was a person in the industry who probably would be categorized as an influencer. Esme Vos created a portal called Muniwireless.com in 2003. Esme wasn’t an engineer or an ISP, but a technology lawyer. Muni wireless was a hot topic at that time, and many cities were considering ways to bring broadband to citizens. A few cities, like Philadelphia, made a big investment in wireless technology. Esme attracted a lot of attention and created well-attended conferences and a magazine to discuss and support the issue. At the time, most people in the industry knew about Esme – which is probably one of the definitions of an influencer. When it turned out that early mesh radios didn’t operate like promised, the idea lost appeal.

Since Esme, the tech industry has become flush with influencers that promote every new technology that comes along, like blockchain, cryptocurrency, or AI. Influencers who are not experts have been able to carve out a living by becoming the focal point for folks who want to learn more about the various new technologies – and that seems to be the definition of a technology influencer.

I think I know the answer to my question, but I wouldn’t mind being surprised by finding an influencer. I’d love to know about anybody who is making a living just by talking about broadband. That would be fascinating.