I've taken on a new guilty pleasure: reading freebie, cast-off business mags at the gym. Oh, what a lovely addiction. First it was Inc., then Business Week, and this morning - Fast Company. They had a fabulous article called "Revenge of the Nerds" on how the nexus of cheap, high quality consumer goods and the boundless viral marketing potential of the internet let the no-name hack give a shout-out to the world.It is occasions like these that make me very happy. And I can't help but give a smug mental smile to the folks that believe advertising is just Big Brother brainwashing us. Because we are advertising. It is a reflection of us. Because we wanted cheaper, better digital camcorders, we got them. Because we would trip over ourselves at the chance to network socially on a large scale, we got Friendster. And MySpace. And YouTube. And now even major corporations are trolling blogs in order to find out what we think about it all, so that they can be the first to provide it.
But back to the happiness part. Ham radio is back. You want your own station? Make a podcast. And the framework is there that millions may listen to it. And, like in this article, if you want to make and promote your own movie, your own band, your own art, your own business, you can do it. And do it without breaking the bank. All you need is a computer and an idea. Then tell a few people about it online and watch the message spread.
2 comments:
You nailed it! We ARE advertising. What the people demand they get - especially since companies are listening closer. Granted their are ways to steer the public (the government is the worst culprit I think), but for the most part, companies keep a watch on what people want...and theres' the "trend." It's a crazy world.
I think what amazes me the most about consumer culture is that I believe people are catching on to the fact that they influence a company's products, offerings, services, etc and yet they still don't realize that they can move mountains and make a difference not only in material items, but in the state of their community, their world. People, working together can make such a HUGE difference, but for some reason, as a collective mass, we feel like an elephant chained to a pole ... even though there is no chain. Elephants are trained to not stray far, so even when the chain isn't there, they don't run off. That's us. We feel like we can't move - but like an elephant, if we all took off running, we could make a big impact.
I agree. My concern is that not all people want to head of running in the same direction...which is a real bummer because I think my direction is a good one ;^).
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