Digital Howl: Social Media Marketing

weBlog 101:09.06.2010

As I write this on my iPhone, I revel in the power of information without the hard-won quest for knowledge:

the apple in the garden 2.0—

When the Matrix came out in theaters, I felt strong empathy for neo: a genX narcissist who didn’t give a damn about anyone; the typical cyber-punk hero. As a villain, Agent Smith’s attachment to an omnipotent network of information was the epitome of evil.

The scene in which Agent Smith “unplugs” in order to get personal and torture Morpheus has stuck in my mind since 1999. It only occurred to me recently with much horror:

Social media has made everyone of us into an Agent.

Cast out from the garden, we are free roaming 2.0 cowboys chasing the event horizon and running from those who would seek to tame us with DRM, censorship and copy-write fences. To become a social media marketing specialist, we must be like rangers stalking prey, ear to the ground for the next big quarry. We have trained our children to shift their attention in an split-second because it is necessary to survive in this digital jungle where communiqués in 31 flavors can assault us at any moment.

We must be cautious.

There is no distinction between guerrilla and establishment,friendly poke or identity theft. Almost everyone has access, and everyone online can be reached. Web 2.0 is the holy grail of marketing and your worst nightmare all rolled into one. This is the cutting edge, and sometimes you might get cut.

How far down the rabbit hole are you willing to go? — but who says you have any way to fight the fall?

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-David Tanimura

[Sent from iPhone]