Biznology

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In these economic times, you can be forgiven if you’re always looking for the next big thing. It’s only natural to be alert for something that will bail us all out of the trouble we’re in. Some have gotten excited about the newest Google ad program that debuted last month, YouTube Sponsored Videos, which allow advertisers to place video ads on YouTube. For me, however, the excitement is misplaced, which I go on to explain in my new post for Internet Evolution, “Video Ads Are Ill-Advised, Even for Google.”

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by Josh Greenfield
Anyone with agency experience will tell you how sick they are of the phrase, “It’s like comparing apples and oranges.” Why has this idiom become the standard excuse by which so many people defer making a comparison? Let’s say I like apples twice as much as oranges. Now, if you offer me an apple or an orange, my comparison and subsequent choice doesn’t seem too difficult to make. Sure, we haven’t exactly compared the apple to the orange, but we have successfully made a decision by comparing my preference for each. (I’m apparently not the first to make this argument, and Wikipedia does a great summarizing.)

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by Frank Reed
I tend to write about things that are “on my radar.” Many times it’s something that has gotten me excited in either a good or bad way. Well, this one is always a hot button for me and it needs to be for all of us “netizens.” Communication. Simple good old-fashioned two-way communication that achieves the goal of, dare I say, communicating. I fear for the future of communication. I think we are possibly slipping into a Dark Age of sorts regarding communication, where we THINK we communicate more but all we are really doing is talking / writing / yelling / marketing / “you name it” more, without truly communicating. If you have read anything by me on this subject, I apologize, but it is my suspicion that for the rest of my life this will be a subject matter that will stay hot.

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The nice thing about the Internet is that your business need never close–you can serve customers every minute of every day. The bad thing about the Internet is it gives us the idea that we shouldn’t ever personally shut down–we feel guilty going off the grid for even a few days. Today is Christmas and I am not going to be working (after I post this) and I won’t have any posts until January 5. (You’ll see some posts from some of our contributors, though.) Why am I telling you all this? Because I want you to commit to yourself that you’ll get some rest.

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The Internet is famous for fracturing the neat lines that divide traditional professions. Social media is one of those Internet forces, as different professionals might all believe that they should be in charge. Marketers, PR types, and market researchers all have legitimate reasons to lay claim to leadership in social media. To find out what my advice is for your organization, read my column in Revenue Magazine, entitled, “Blurring the Lines.”