Techno Goop

By Jay Levin

One of my favorite words in the English language is the word confluence. It not only sounds sexy, but its meaning has a seductive appeal for anyone interested in the organic mysteries surrounding the influence of technology upon media, marketing, community and response.

The word confluence, according to Wikipedia, is a geographic term meaning, "the point where two or more bodies of water meet and merge" or "the intersection of whole number latitude and longitude."

The word technology, again according to Wikipedia (itself a confluence of technology, media, community and response), comes from the Greek word technologia and is composed of the words techne meaning craft and logia meaning "saying." Wikipedia says it's a broad term "dealing with the use and knowledge of humanity's tools and crafts."

THE GOO THAT HOLDS US TOGETHER
Here's my take on the confluence of technology, media, marketing and response-based advertising. It's a goo--and it holds us all together.

This is the way confluence hits me. Right now, I'm reading three articles in business sections all reporting on media valuations. The first article is on the community of 63 million YouTube viewers and their running dialogue. The second article is about Yahoo! testing the power of packaging amateur user- video content. The third article of the day is about an investor's patience being fried over the continued poor return for Tribune Co., the parent company that owns both the prestigious Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, among other media properties.

And while I'm reading, a tune being broadcasted over my portable DELPHI XM2Go device catches my attention. It's distantly familiar and turns out to be an old favorite that I haven't heard in years. The song is called, "Nature's Way" by Randy California's garage band, called "Spirit," for anyone who remembers. There's a line in the song that goes like this, "it's nature's way of telling you something's wrong, it's nature's way of telling you in a song...it's nature's way, it's nature's way."

The words of the song are "spot on!" Sites like My Space, YouTube and Yahoo!--unlike traditional broadcast, television and print--get that the consumer is in charge. The consumer is now setting the supply and the demand side of the economy value model. The mechanics of the deal have changed. The motor, the drive train and the ride are different--as is the road.

5 Tips for the Savvy Marketer

1 Learn the technology around you.

2 Get the consumer experience firsthand.

3 Become the audience.

4 Get media neutral.

5 Deliver client need first, divisional gross revenue second.

THE EVOLUTION
New media technology is not only driving new socialization patterns, but also is telling us something is wrong with the old ways we have relied on media to relate to us. Even Wall Street is dancing in step to "Nature's Way."

In November, Wall Street reported profits up to 92 percent for Google because of its rising volume in search query. However, it was down for Sony due to a rotten miscalculation on its MCM deal. Yet, it was up for Microsoft, as the result of stronger than expected server software and X-box sales. Yahoo!, which missed out on the YouTube deal, saw earnings downturn due to what they say is a softening online advertising market. Not surprisingly, Tribune Co.'s profits were way down, reflecting continued consumer's toasted interest and participation in newspapers as a relevant info stream and community channel.

My point here is that we are living in the midst of a dynamically confluent period, where technology, media, marketing, community and response are intersecting. And all of us are getting or going to get splashed by its effect. This confluence is evolving not only our time and space-based definitions of community, but also our ways of interacting with others, our language structure, vocabulary and our ability to communicate through images rather than just through words. This confluent goop and goo are influencing the very social fiber of our culture down to the how(s) and why(s) we relate to others around us, be it down the street or from continents far away. Each of us is being splashed by a confluent wash of technology, media, marketing, community and response.

Founded in 2005, YouTube, just purchased by Google for a staggering 1.65 billion, is a prime example of nature's way of telling us that something's wrong with traditional media. YouTube describes itself as a "consumer media company," with the purpose of allowing viewers to watch and share originally created videos worldwide through the web. In its "About Us" section, it states that YouTube empowers people worldwide to become the broadcasters of tomorrow. Current estimates project that more than 70 million videos are watched, shared and commented on daily across this hyperactive Internet community.

That's some powerful goop holding us--along with technology, media, marketing, community and response --all together. We better learn how to move with it.

Jay Levin is president and COO of Mediapoint Network Inc. in Encino, Calif. He can be reached at (818) 995-1455, ext. 486, or via e-mail at jlevin@mediapointnetwork.com.