Home | Current Issue | Publisher's Notes | Archives | About Larry Chase | Sponsoring WDFM | Ad Calculators
|
=============== Publisher's Note =============== Goodbye 2001 Comparing last year to this year, we are very much different. That difference in us from last year to this is very much greater than in other recent year-to-year comparisons. The heady, frivolous days of 1999 seem to be much longer ago than a mere two years. Our values have changed. The way we relate to money has changed, and of course the way we relate to life itself has changed in the life-long shadow of 9/11/01. So much has been written in the wake of that unspeakable time, and so much of how it will shape us moving forward has yet to be written, because people just don't know. I'm not too bad at calling next trends. The truth is I look inward and imagine everyone else isn't that much different from me. I see my shorter attention span for irrelevancy. I see the need to laugh and appreciate small joys. I found a new sense of love, pride and caring for my city (NYC), my neighborhood, my country and my close ones. I see that life can be too short and remind myself of this a few times a day. So, how does this effect online marketers? I think we all realize life can be too short and naturally move to pay attention to things that are more directly relevant to our missions, our nature and our loved ones. The Net is such an excellent targeting medium that I think it will excel in relevancy both in content and in marketing campaigns. Relevancy is a term well-known to direct marketers; it will become better known to all marketers now. The Internet is also excellent for its immediacy, which is another important ingredient for marketers. Add to this, the Net is also a communications medium where the target audience controls their immediate and distant destiny. Mass marketers have decidedly not got their heads around this one yet, for they still practice "shove-it-down-your-throat" creative and strategic campaigns. Recessions historically force budgets and people to be more accountable and practical. The Net delivers on both scores when done well. Trying to make the Net like TV with streaming audio and video ads isn't where it's at. It isn't practical and it isn't how we use the medium. So not all Internet marketing will be in the winner's circle. The Net is also evolving. So what worked just a couple years ago may not work now. This merry-go-round of what works and what doesn't work will keep spinning faster and faster as our habits and uses of this medium continue to change. My passion and excitement for this medium has not flagged. I consider myself lucky to be one of the early ones to it. It teaches everyday. Some days, it's harder than others to be a student or a good listener. But I compare my lot in life at this juncture to other roads veered off or not taken and see how profound the array of options are. I think we take our options for granted, the same way some took life for granted prior to 9/11. Look at how the Net has permeated our lives both on the personal and business side. Is there any doubt that we have all been changed enormously by this amazing medium in the past eight years? If you harbor doubts, try not accessing the Net for a week or so and see what that feels like. That was what life was like less than ten years ago. Thank you all for subscribing to WDFM. I am preparing a gift for all WDFM subscribers that will be announced in an upcoming FYI from Web Digest For Marketers email in a couple weeks. Happy Holidays, everybody. :) LC |  Order Larry's Book Now from Amazon.com |