In social networks there’s a phenomenon called the first mover advantage.  The first person who shows up gets some advantage.  This happens in business as well.  The first person to create a commodity always has the upper hand over the next guy who replicates it.

I showed up early to Twitter as a physician.  I was a unicorn and people followed me to see what I’d do.  Then I wound up on lists and more people followed me.  And when people make new lists, they just take the names from the old list.  That’s what we’ve come to expect.

The unfortunate thing is that influence is determined by Klout scores rather than looking at what an individual curates, collects, creates and says.  Of course I’m thankful for those who have nice things to say about me.  But we need to find a new way to make lists.

But I take nothing for granted and I work hard.  I write early in the morning and late at night.  I try to make and shape ideas that you won’t find in other places.  I hope to make the right lists for the right reasons.

It’s a noisy world.  You need to work hard to be heard.  Just doing what I do isn’t enough to establish a workable public presence.

Because I’ve got the first mover advantage.