Richard Bird

Micro-fame

You do not need permission to be an expert.

Famous with twelve people.

I have a weird life. I mean it. Weird.

I have been interviewed and quoted in the New York Times, on CNN and NBC, in the Financial Times, on Bloomberg's The Close, and more blogs and podcasts than I can count. If you search for #theguywiththebowtie, you will find my smiling face staring back at you. I can walk into a conference hall and three thousand people know who I am.

None of those people know who I am in my daily life. They know my brand, my message, and my professional experience. That is micro-fame, and it is the most useful thing that ever happened to my career.

Richard Bird and Chris Roberts in a conference hallway, arms round each other's shoulders, both laughing — Bird in a black t-shirt and lanyard holding a coffee, Roberts in a tie-dye hoodie with a long white beard and red glasses
One of the perks of being micro-famous is hanging out with other micro-famous people. My friend, colleague and a legend — Chris Roberts.

The argument

Expertise is not granted.

Who decides if you are an expert? Not a credential, and not a committee. Being the best will not make people interested in what you have to say. Being intelligent, loud, audacious or brilliant is not enough either.

It is micro-fame, not fame.

Twelve is the joke, not the target. The number is how small it actually is — recognized inside the one community that needs what you know, and nowhere else.

And it costs something.

The price of popularity is being unpopular. The bigger your brand, the larger your number of non-supporters. That is a mathematical truth, not a warning.

People will listen to you because they believe you, and they believe in you.

What it is not

Being famous with twelve people is not about getting paid. It is about sharing, helping, and learning. There is a fine line between an expert and an influencer, and the difference is who the work is for.

You are not separate from the community that elevated you. When the criticism comes — and it will — inviting your critics to the table is the best defense there is. There is nothing more powerful in advancing the cause than making your critics your allies.

The book

Famous With 12 People cover

Famous With 12 People

A Career Guide On How To Be An Internationally Recognized Expert In Something Nobody Cares About

Published 2024 · ISBN 979-8-9905757-0-7 · Bird & Bird Media, Denver

Buy it →

  1. Before we begin
  2. Accidentally (micro) famous
  3. What makes you the expert?
  4. I wish I could get paid to talk for a living!
  5. Secret sauce — speaking tips & tricks
  6. Brand you
  7. The authenticity grind
  8. The mystical power of serendipity
  9. The necessary evil that ain’t that evil
  10. Maximum flexibility
  11. Content, content, content
  12. Look ma, I’m on TV! And in the newspaper!
  13. What’s in a name?
  14. The popularity tax
  15. Go forth and conquer

You have something important to share.

I hope to hear your voice out there. If you are working on getting heard and want to compare notes, say so.