The problem with the internet, the semantic web, Web 2.0 – whatever you want to call it is that there is a vacuum of effective marketing and PR. Nature abhors a vacuum and thats why you have folks from traditional marketing and PR rushing in to pick up the pieces and figure out the industry. The problem with that is that traditionalists tend not to really “get” social media and the web today. There are still vestiges of ancient (being 5 years ago) tactics and unfortunately, if things don’t change, traditional folks may not catch up with 2007 until 2010 and, well, we’ll be in another era.

If you go to marketing conferences, people are talking about Second Life and corporate blogs as if these ideas are new. They are angling to jump on the train but the train may be gone from the station already. For instance, there’s already a downward turn in the sentiment surrounding blogs yet the idea of corporate blogging is raging right now. Some people have discovered Twitter, like the Today Show, but it’s a pretty hit and miss game on whether these folks really truly understand the medium enough to use it effectively. It’s one thing to use Twitter but it’s a completely different issue to use Twitter.

Geoff Livingston has written a book titled Now is Gone which will be available later this year. The book tackles the idea that this ever changing landscape is actually usable to firms and instructs on how social media can effectively be leveraged in a business.

Folks, you gotta throw away this concept of one way dialogue. Brand and sales are intimately connected with voice and trust. I’m really thrilled to have Geoff writing a weekly column on sensical marketing and PR for both businesses and entrepreneurs. My feeling is that the common sense tactics that he uses with his clients and writes about in his book and on his blog make sense not only for business but also for those of us furthering our personal brands as well.

Geoff’s a great friend of mine and I feel like a stud when I’m around him – because he can’t stop telling people how much of a star I am. He’s full of crap, but it’s a great way to make friends and get people to ask him to write columns. :-)

Geoff’s columns will appear on Thursdays so stay tuned. If you’re not already subscribed to this blog, now is a good time to do so. Point your feed reader or browser to http://technosailor.com/feed. Because, like Geoff’s book indicates… Now is Gone!

Citation: Photo by Chris Heuer