Very little NEW on the internet...

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Sandi Bowman

I've been sorting through old files in my archives drawer and have made the same discovery over and over again in one form or another.

A lot of folks thought the 'WOW factor' and the 'buzz' was the current in thing a short while ago. Well, I have just been looking at an article announcement titled "Add "WOW!" to create a buzz!" Date of article: July 12, 2001. Yeah, 2001! About the right timing...things often go around in 7 year cycles. They even made a movie about it years ago called "The Seven Year Itch".

Most of the new discoveries regarding promotion and so forth are just re-cycled offline info from years back. Putting a twist on things was common and, to a certain extent expected, if you offered something different back-when. Then it was called 'finding a new use for things'.

So, the next time you get the big rah-rah from some guru or wannabe, stop and consider just what you might be paying for. It may not be as revolutionary as the hype would lead you to believe.

Hi Sandi,

Thanks for sharing that, I agree... You're right! A lot (in marketing) is really the same stuff...

However, there are "new" things, usually to do with technological advances...

For example, online video. Michael Ross is right (for example) that online video has been around a long time. But what has changed is the ease of putting it online (such as via YouTube). Also, many people have faster connections, so lots of people can view it, and not just a select few with super-fast connections...

Most online video is still pretty low-resolution. Undoubtedly, over time, more and more online video will become "high-res", and more like the images on your television than the "grainy" quality it is now...

I believe "web conferencing" will also become more common. Yes, there is web conferencing software now, but the software I know of is aimed at corporations and is very expensive. The software I know of combines multiple web-cam video, audio, a "whiteboard"-like device, as well as "instant-messaging" like capabilities, along with the ability for one person to be a "moderator" (and activate or de-activate people's microphones) to avoid mayhem.

I have no doubt low-cost web conferencing software will appear, and we'll have "web conferencing" and "web meetings" for the masses. (Where multiple people can easily communicate with each other via video, and collaboration over distance will just become easier and easier...)

There are other innovations too. Facebook, for example, is a new phenomenon. In my own investigations, it seems almost everyone under 25 is on Facebook! When you explore it, it really is a pretty good "networking" tool, in that it makes it very easy to keep in touch with "acquaintances". You meet someone once, find them on Facebook, and you can easily stay in touch, get updates on their interests, etc.

Talking about Facebook, one guy (in his late 20s) once remarked to me that Facebook was creating a nation of "show-offs"! All these under-25s have their Facebook pages, "showing off" their hobbies, interests, funny quotes, embarassing pictures, etc. People in their early 20s and younger are no longer used to keeping all this "private"! So there could be cultural changes happening as well as result due to this...

Marketing via Facebook, though, is still in its early stages...

Just some thoughts!

Cheers

Dien