The Brave New World of Social Networking

Perhaps the most significant online development over the last year (and boy, have there been a lot of them) has been the emergence of social networking as one of the dominant spaces consumers are spending time. And we, as marketers, haven’t quite figured out what to do about it. I can tell you this—the ultimate answer is not putting banners on these sites (although it isn’t the worst short-term answer, and I have to admit many of my clients are using these sites that way). The ultimate answer, I believe is to join in these conversations and communities by adding real value—which is not something many CPG marketers have much experience doing.   

In future posts I will attack this area in greater detail, but, for now, I will leave you with what a new map of the world of social networking looks like—at least according to the Silicon Valley site, Valleywag.com.

Which brings to something the comic Steven Wright once said, “It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it.”