Newbie Tuesday: What the Hell Is a Guru, Anyway?

I keep hearing about social media "gurus" and experts. But the more I learn about life online, the more I realize that in keeping with Web 2.0 sensitivities, we each have some info, some value to share. A whole dang community of gurus, you might say.

I've also concluded that the pronouncement of someone's gurudom is a very personal, individualized thing. The definition of the word is "an intellectual or spiritual guide or leader." One woman's guru may be another woman's kindergarten teacher.

Now that I think about it, "guru" may be as over-used and under-fulfilled as "czar" in the federal government.

I'm pretty sure that the first time I ever heard the word was during the early '70s when the Beatles, especially George Harrison, went spiritually Eastern. And guru.com really uses the word well to describe freelancing professionals.

CONFESSION: Now that I've typed it several times, I realize that I really don't like the word "guru." Here, instead, are the Goddess' favorite cyberguides:

• Beth Kanter - a blog devoted to helping non-profits use social media effectively. Full of real-world best practices.

• David Pogue - New York Times technology writer. From phones to netbooks.

• Brian Solis - Like me, Brian has left traditional PR behind. He coined the term "P.R. 2.0" and helped to create pitchengine, the new social PR tool.

• Wayne Sutton - Always leads me to a cool site or app.

• Debbie Weil- Author of The Corporate Blogging Book. Insightful and for me, fairly easy to understand.

Those of you up on your gurus will note some popular names that I've left out, such as Peter Shankman and Chris Brogan. It's just personal preference. Visit all of these sites and stay awhile. Get to know some of the more knowledgable people that you "friend" and "follow." You never know where your next guru might be.