| Ok, so I've been sitting here thinking for awhile now because I have the exact same feelings that you do about the growth hacking buzzword. I went and read your blog post and I have the exact same sentiment. I am a marketer and coder, so in theory I should love this new definition of "growth hacker" because it describes perfectly what I do. So why does the term bother us so much? Let me reiterate what you said in the other thread: "I have a huge respect for both Ellis and Chen, and stated that on several occasions in the blog post. The same goes for what 'growth hackers' do, in fact, I could call myself one since I do both marketing and coding! I just don't like the term growth hacker, as this is just another buzz word for something that just isn't new." I think the real reason we distaste this new buzzword, isn't because it is 'new' or a 'buzzword', but the PEOPLE that are now calling themselves growth hackers. Basically anyone who was previously a digital marketer, seo specialist, page optimizer, inbound marketer is jumping all over the term. Posts like this one, where it feels like it is equating people who use Geckoboard with growth hackers starts to become disturbing. Just using these tools doesn't make you a hacker. The definition of growth hacker is solidifying, but it seems to be getting more generic by the day. If I could throw my hat in the growth hacker definition ring it would include these things: 1. Can Code 2. Integrates growth at the product development stage (e.g. AirBnb using Craigslist) 3. Comes up with innovative/clever new techniques For #1, I think it IS essential. People will probably argue that point, but if you can't code you don't really know what is in the realm of possible.
#2 is just marketing: growth hackers are marketers and product development is marketing. The problem I see, is that there will be job descriptions for growth hackers used as band-aids after a product has been developed. People will just hire them hoping to grow their business, yet a growth hacker should be a position from the early stages of development. Sadly, it looks like the new buzzword is taking a death spiral that will ultimately make it a meaningless differentiator for people who can actually do #1,2,3. |