Expert Manipulation?

I just saw this article about the things you "should" do to be able to claim yourself as an expert:  http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/how-to/growth-strategies/2015/07/how-to-prove-that-youre-an-expert.html?page=all  

If you can teach, and have good "bait," and do the "right" things then while claiming your "authority" you are one. 

I realize I may be overly reactive to the whole "bait" thing, but do we really feel OK with reducing our interactions as human beings to progressive levels of "reward?"

We may have discovered something helpful about human behavior, but instead of empowering ourselves with it, we are reducing ourselves by its very reinforcement. And we act like it is OK because we make it seem like it is a form of empowerment. We can gain status or make money that way. We also argue that people don't always know what is good for them, so we are doing them a favor.

But. If we were on the other side of the equation, we likely don't want it, or like it that much - but only if we recognize that we are being manipulated. But many times it is so subtle we likely don't recognize it. 

Then, once we have done something we could quite possibly regret or feel uncomfortable with, we have other mechanisms to make ourselves feel ok about what we have done. I would guess some of the best manipulations count on this fact.

Some would say, "this is the way it is...might as well just go with it." Some have pretty much told me that over the years. I have gotten to the point that I cringe at the suggestion. I just can't. I just won't.

Instead of my perception being seen as a "good" thing, I am seen as "stupid" or "naive" to think what I do. I have tried to go the prevailing route. I have taken courses, read materials, sought out things to make me more successful, but the thing is, the manipulation piece was never extraordinarily comfortable for me. Over time it got even less so.

As everything is relative, maybe I am missing a piece that could give me some peace around this subject and approach. However, I can't help but wonder if questioning it is a good thing, and if perhaps it is something we should reconsider.

Wouldn't it be better if people really wanted and used the things they had rather than collecting stuff they are told they should want? We really would have to think of others first, instead of our own bottom line and self-interest for that to happen, though.

Every time I talk about this, I feel like I am in a very small minority, so I don't expect great accord from anyone reading this post. But if anything I said resonates with any part of you, perhaps it is time to reconsider how you think of, or do, things. 

All I can ever hope for is that people listen more to their gut than to what others put in their head. I suspect if we had more of that, the world would be a much better place.