It's the People, Stupid - New Marketing Paradigms in a Web 2.0 World

Image by Randy Stewart via Flickr

This is a great session about returning to old marketing paradigms of pre-modern times in a post-modern world. Awesome. The sessoion is given by Brian Oberkirch (www.brianoberkirch.com), Deborah Schultz (www.deborahschultz.com)

This is the essence: Turn yourself away from technology and turn to the people is the message.

"The most interesting problems on the Web are social, not technical. Once the open, social stack moves into wide use, the real work is going to be on us to create ongoing experiences that inspire, inform, evolve."

"The Internet only seems to have something to do with computers."
"We are inherently social animals."

There is currently an explosion of the personal sphere on the Web intermixed with professional and marketing messages. "We are entering a relationship economy" (again - didn't we have that 50 years ago and it was just forgotten for a while?). So, the Web 2.0 is about the human element, but how does one translate that into marketing?

New framework for a new social web:

• organic vs. static
• emotion vs. data
• relationship vs. transaction
• continuum vs. grand gesture

New human skills required:

• listener
• connector
• critic
• detective
• catalyst
• diplomat
• partial geek
• juggler
• approachable
• intuitive inquisitive
• relationship oriented

When you start marketing on the web: Think as yourself as hosting a party! So, marketers really become connectors.

Let's break it down - that's what you do as a marketer:

• handshake
  
• greeting
• response
• handoff
• feedback
• make me smarter about me

What does it mean in terms of social media?

• Hit enter - that's a handshake
• A date stamp is a social contract

"Smart growth seeks to amplify connection and community -because the goal isn't just to trade but to co-create and collaborate." (Omer Haque)