After years of studying the Internet and its capabilities, as well as playing around with emerging social media options as they come out, I, like many others, have began to see a shift in the way people perceive communication. With the expansions in technology over, say, the last 5 years, it seems almost logical that new trends and social norms would begin to emerge as well. 
When looking at a broad picture, though, many leaders and business experts are just now seeing the shift in the direction of communication. Buzzwords like “social media” and “Web 2.0” are popping up in every marketing discussion, with marketing professionals and business leaders alike seeking to monetize these emerging technologies and jump on a bandwagon that represents a potentially fundamental shift in the way we do business and communicate to the public.
What many fail to realize, however, is that these forms of communication that are emerging are not new at all in theory. What Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube, and all of these other emerging communication tools represent is the empowerment of the individual to contribute to the overall conversation. In old local business, proprietors would know their customers personally and have frequent conversations about the quality of the product or service, accept the feedback and apply it.
Over the last many years, that model transformed from that good ol’ consumer-centric approach to a top-down advertising and marketing model, where images and messages were frequently dropped on the heads of the consumer with little option for feedback. Consumers watched what their television was giving them, with only marketing professionals guiding the content of advertising and outreach efforts and “market research” as the only line of feedback. Of course, this is a large generalization, but you get the idea. The consumer didn’t get to have a direct say in what they saw.
Things are changing, however. The true potential of “social media” is to create a conversation between the economy and the consumer, creating highly-efficient processes to develop products and services with two-way communication occurring between the consumer and company. Gone are the days where one-way advertising and dictation rule the conversation sphere. Where communication by the individual used to only be limited to his or her family or friends, individuals today enjoy the ability to address an unlimited number of people, an endless opportunity to let their message be heard. Suddenly, everyone has a voice.
Many organizations will naturally benefit from this. Think of charitable organizations. How better to deliver their message than through a conversation occurring between the organization and the visitor, and also between visitor and visitor. Technologies today make it possible for this communication to occur on a large scale. The same applies for government agencies. How better to maintain high ethical standards and transparency than through having regular open conversations with the constituent base. Government agencies can receive quality feedback more efficiently. The possibilities are very exciting.
This all requires effort, however. Just as it takes effort to maintain your family and friendships through conversation and genuine care, the same applies to principles of social media and new communication. To be successful in the future, companies and organizations will have to be committed to maintaining and fostering the relationships with those who will hear their message or else the communications channel will break down and the friendship will fail. Yes, I said friendship. If an organization or company is not willing to see their people as friends, then it will be rather difficult to remain genuine. The individual needs to feel as if they are part of the process, that they are important. If not, they will take their business elsewhere.
Social media is not another technological advance to just advertise a product or service. Social media represents a conversation that has always taken place. With social media, the personal influence sphere of an individual has simply grown to epic proportions. To be successful now, organizations and companies must realize that social media is not simply a new forum to advertise the next best thing or what they can do for their customers. No, it represents a discussion; a conversation among the consumer and the economy as a whole. We’re seeing changes like never before: where collaboration is the new competition, where companies and governments are being held accountable for their products, services and actions. For the first time, we’re able to see economy-wide transformations through internet communications where anyone holds the ability to deliver a message.
Millennial Associates was founded on the principle to help organizations and businesses respond to this shifting paradigm of communications today. Unarguably, things are changing. Traditional marketing methods aren’t as solid as they used to be and new models are emerging. Flexibility and adaptation are key to being successful. Millennial Associates seeks to help foster the discussion among companies on how to respond to these changes and allow everyone to win in the process, including the consumer. We see a need to address these changing times, are excited to do the research and find answers as they come along, and pass those answers on to our friends.
The community is back. We don’t have to hide our heads anymore and reminisce about the good old days of business and responsibility. Yes, the news is discouraging every time we read or hear about irresponsible behavior. Despite all this, new ways of doing business are here, ways that leave warm tingles whenever you think about them. It’s that feeling you get when you genuinely care about people and their success. It’s that feeling you get when you know you’ve done something right for someone else. That feeling is friendship.
Thank you for being a part of this process. We look forward to being your friend.
Categories: Government Agencies, Issue Advocacy Orgs, Lane County, Local/Small Business, Millennial Associates, Nonprofit Organizations, Political Campaigns
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