by kevin, on July 9th, 2009
Yesterday I posted a review for the book Groundswell. World Wide Rave covers similar territory. I have to begin with a picky complaint. Continually repeating the name of your book, in your book, is incredibly annoying. In this case, eliminating the incessant repetition of “world wide rave” could have easily reduced the book length by 10%. Have you ever shopped at a Whole Foods Market (WFM)? Next time you visit a store, try counting how many times you see the company name, logo mark, quotes by team members, or signage communicating the great job they are doing. You’ll burn out before you leave the produce department. An old adage goes – everyone loves to hear their own name. I don’t think there’s a company in the U.S. who talks about themselves more than WFM. Unfortunately, they may be talking about themselves to themselves. Although this is a harsh criticism, it’s coming from a friend – WFM has been a long time client, I’m a customer, and I have friends who work at the corporate level. But I’m getting off track.
David Meerman Scott, who also wrote The New Rules of Marketing and PR, focuses on how new media and new tools are changing the way companies connect with their consumers, current and prospective. The best take-away appears early in the book: nobody cares about your products, except you. Instead, as mentioned above, people care more about themselves and how to solve their problems. Most traditional forms of marketing and public relations are monologue instead of dialogue. Web 2.0 and its tools are connecting people in totally new ways. Participants are getting what they need from each other rather than from organizations or companies. If your business is talking at the Web instead of with the Web, you’ll quickly be left out of the discussion.
Creating a Web rave where thousands flock to you requires more than just access to social media and networks. Businesses need to relinquish control. After all, in cyberspace, they don’t have control of their brand anyway. The ability to get comfortable with that fact will determine a business’ success in engaging with, instead of talking to, those who seek their content. But remember that Internet content is more than products and services; it’s ideas, entertainment, concepts, and much more that cannot easily be packaged and sold. Some believe that cash isn’t the real currency of the Web. Instead, participants have time, attention, credibility, and content to be traded and shared freely.
Mr. Scott’s writing style is a little too casual for my taste, but that doesn’t mean he’s addressed the issues in a casual way. The book is a good resource. However, the content is perishable. Faster than we care to calculate there will be new rules, new tools, new applications, and new ideas. The best way to build a world wide rave today will be irrelevant tomorrow. Tell us what you think. What are some of your favorites aspects of social media?