David Meerman Scott (pictured to the left with me at The New Marketing Summit 2008) wrote an article within his blog, WebInkNow, about the one question anyone who is considering hiring a social media agency should ask.

During a conversation with a colleague, he was asked “if you were head of a major organization seeking to hire a major PR firm to help get your organization into the world of Web 2.0, what three questions would you ask to determine whether they had true expertise?”

His answer was simple. There really is only one question an organization needs to ask a prospective social media agency – what are they doing as an agency and personally to boost their social media presence?

I completely agree with David’s philosophy that if an agency can’t do social media for themselves with success, how can they serve their clients? I mean, you wouldn’t go to a dentist that had rotten teeth, would you?

You want to have confidence in the partner you choose that they have the first-hand knowledge and expertise to help your organization.

As a PR professional for the past 10+ years, I have embraced social media and pushed myself to become completely immersed and involved as much as possible. I have a ways to go before I can claim to be an “expert” but I am going in the right direction and working hard to do so.

Those who pass themselves off as experts with no substance to back it up are the equivalent to snake oil salesmen who were selling “medicine” that is nothing more than sugar water.

Don’t fall into that trap. When seeking a partner to help you achieve Web 2.0 status, do your homework and check to see where they are on the Web – Google them, go to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin. By doing that, you will know just how much of an “expert” they really are.

Update - March 24, 2009: I ran into David Meerman Scott during SXSW and asked him a few questions about his newly released book – World Wide Rave and his thoughts around what to look for when hiring a PR (or advertising) agency to handle social media projects. Here is my video interview with him originally posted to the PerkettPRsuasion blog!

So without further ado, for your viewing pleasure check out what some of this year’s SXSW Interactive attendees had to say for themselves. I am sure you will recognize a few of your friends and hopefully have a few laughs along the way.

A special thanks to everyone who participated and shared their two (and sometimes more) words and thanks for all the memories. See y’all next year – SXSWi 2010!

Disclaimer: The video quality and lighting varies slightly due to the ‘extreme’ shooting conditions of SXSW.

Translation: This was my first attempt and I didn’t lug around all the lighting and sound equipment with me for these impromptu shots, so some responses were a little more difficult to see/hear, but you get the point.

Music: Dan Tharp, Guitar Suite I – Movement I and II
Camera: Kodak Zi6 HD