Why bother?

Mich Joel beat me to the punch, but is so right. Gggrrrr .. he always does that. (Full disclosure, Mitch is President of Twist Image and Scotiabank is a client.)

Now more than ever before it is incumbent upon marketers to know what is going on and be part of the changing landscape by involving themselves in it.

Mitch writes:
"As Marketers, we have a duty to understand every channel of communication that people are using. When we make statements like “my schedule is too busy to add another appointment, like meeting in Second Life,” what you’re actually saying is, “I’m closed minded.” Our roles are to help our clients understand the world of new marketing and social media. Like it or not, it is greatly impacting how consumers live with brands and there’s no stopping it."

So right.

I've had countless conversations with senior client and agency side marketer/advertisers where eyes just glaze over when the words podcast, blog or viral are mentioned. When they do speak of them it is just lipservice - they don't get it. Downloading a podcast, participating in a viral or sms campaign, or contributing to a blog or wikki is a world they don't get and make no effort to understand.

I hope they do begin to show more effort, as the quote goes, "If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less" - General Eric Shinseki, Retired Chief of Staff, US Army (thanks Ken)

There is nothing wrong with saying, "I dont understand, help me figure it out". While there is a world of wrong with saying "it's not for me, there is no point, it is a fad and its just not important".