But therein lies the dilemma. Social Media just provided a way to let ‘unmeasurables’ expose themselves. Maybe for some, it came out through writing in blogs or joining Facebook, still all of these is an individual expression that exposes itself without initial thought to criticism, perception and even ROI or what’s in it for me.

You got it right when you pointed out that it’s about values. And speaking of something valuable, the more time passes, the more you find that you’d have given anything just to have them back (despite not being able to really describe it except the feeling that it evokes – like music).

Bless you Dave for speaking to me.

Best.
alain
http://www.mor.ph

PS> Just noticed that ‘David Byrne plays a building’ post below. Reminded me of the time he went to Manila (home) and wrote a long honest piece about it. Another good read if you haven’t heard about it.

I guess social media is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

I can’t believe I missed this! I’m going to have to do some more reading me thinks….

To stir the pot……

It seems the proliferation of Social Networking has distracted many marketers from an important truth.
The brand still has a responsibility to deliver an authentic and delightful experience of its own. After all, there has to be something meaningful for advocates to socialize about.

If brands would focus on innovation and experience rather than messaging and positioning like say, Apple, then perhaps your consumers would socialize for you.

Also, a counter argument…. Social networks can’t deliver the emotional experience at the retail point of sale where 2/3rds of products are sold.

All things considered, social networks have their place, but aren’t relevant for every brand.
Cult and luxury brands, yes!

The 75% of other brands we buy, no.

Any thoughts?

Consumer culture has become this sort of defining nature of culture, popular culture in America. It wasn’t so much far from it during the first Gilded Age. And what consumer culture does is to privatize people.

It makes them focus on their own personal well being. And not just material well-being. Why shouldn’t people be concerned with their material well being? But they see in acquisition of material goods a kind of self liberation, a kind of upward rise socially, and a kind of freedom. And to the degree that consumer culture captures your imagination, you lose a social imagination. You no longer see yourself as part of some kind of collective.

the intentional leveraging of word of mouth and the inclusion of the messages of marketers necessarily chips away at the community that exists.

i do agree that there will be an increased agency in the marketing process. by taking part, we can replace the freedom of expression with the freedom of structured brand collaborations & individualized product placements. i keep thinking of the exercise yard in a prison.

http://www.webguild.org/2008/06/web-20-organization-adoption-survey.php

But as much as we need direct connections, we also need metaphorical distance. We crave the mediation of technology and brands. This is where advertising has to do its work — not in the need for connections, but in the need for mediation.

The truth is, advertising has a very limited role in the future. As we become a more connected world, there aren’t millions of anonymous people to broadcast to anymore. Think about you and I. I have a relationship with you, so if I were to try to communicate with you in the form of an ad, you’d feel put off. Your response would sound something like, “Hey Justin, it’s me man. It’s Dave. Why are you talking to me as if you don’t know me?” Advertisers will have to shift to become either conversationalists or entertainers. Entertainment will still have a place in this world that can function similarly to advertising back in the day, except there is no media to buy. Media buying ad firms, which are the majority of them, are in real trouble.

As a journalism student, while some of my peers and professors talk of the ‘rocky’ terrain ahead of media professionals, this changing landscape makes me feel excited and empowered, not unsure or nervous to enter into the world of media

I suppose what’s missing from this is community development – the strategy of a company creating a community environment (blogs is only a part of that) and how they go about cultivating a sense of openness and trust.

yes it’s long and you’re right – it actually is the first part of a white paper I’m writing. I wanted to get it up on here though as I think that the comments that come in will be useful in guiding my thinking through the rest of the paper. .pdf download later…

Dave

the navel gazing echo chamber has consigned philosophers to obsolescence.