Do you have to have a superpower to be super?

Someone asked me today what is my superpower. At first, I kind of laughed it off because I feel like the phrase has been way overused over the past few years. But then I began to consider the idea — and pondered what actually is my superpower.

It got me thinking about the power of cultural colloquialisms (I think I may have just made this up). The idea that a word or phrase can become Inst-famous (in word terms) for a moment in time, only to fade away and be replaced by another cool and happening term.

Superpowers is one of those phrases. Do we have superpowers? Maybe…

How about being an Evangelist? Just this week I noted in a Linkedin comment that for a minute I felt close to being a data-driven content evangelist. What did that mean? It meant that I had an opinion on what content should be and wanted to share it with outers and bring them into my tribe.

Tribes? Remember when we were just groups of like-minded people? I do. Now I have a tribe — another friend seems to have built a posse. Community? Nah. We need something sexier than a plain old team or community.

Can I be an Evangelist with superpowers who has a tribe that comes along for the ride? Maybe — but that could be a lot of pressure. But if I dreamed of this status I’d:

Have the superpower of helping people see that data-driven content marketing is what they need to grow their businesses online (oh – and the super ability to “beam” myself – Ster Trek style – from place to place).

Evangelize the idea that content should be both a story and backed by data that made it more likely to get seen online — and that anything else is a waste of time. Maybe I’d be a digital marketing evangelist…

My tribe would include folks who want to learn how to create their own digital marketing to grow their businesses and those who would rather hire someone like me to do it for them. I’d probably also have a sub-tribe (is that thing?) dedicated to the pursuit of morning walks, hot chocolate, and slow Sunday afternoons.

There are so many names that we give ourselves and each other. It can feel overwhelming and I know that there are folks out there who spend a great deal of time trying to create branding and content that uses these ever-changing terms.

Here’s what I think. Use the titles if it makes you happy, but more importantly be the person who tells your story (evangelize for your business), help make people better in your way (it’s your superpower), and finds like-minded people who like what you say and what you offer. 

Doesn’t really matter what you call it.