The internet has changed communication and has improved it forever. Or, has it? (see comments). The communication between individuals, between individuals and companies as well as between businesses used to be characterized by a one-way dialogue. To do business, companies would send out messages to consumers based soley on what they wanted us to know. Now there is a two-way dialogue going on whereas companies can solicit feedback from consumers, and the consumers can share their opinions and suggestions via the internet. Before the internet, companies controlled information released to the public carefully crafting it as a singular message through advertising or PR to represent their views or motives. The internet has changed all that. Consumers can post comments, reviews and suggestions for other consumers to read, thereby taking control away from the company.
While Corporate Communications departments try to protect a company's public image by controlling all information that is released to the public, the internet has made this a more difficult talk. For marketing purposes, a company may set up a website and place advertisements on the web to bring consumers to their websites to "listen" to information they want consumers to hear. However, now because anyone with a computer can post comments based on their experience with or about about a specific product or business, companies have little or no control over this "truer" information being released to the public.
The Internet as a Marketplace
"The net is a real place where people can go to learn, to talk to each other and to do business together. It is a bazaar where customers look for wares, vendors spread goods for display and people gather around topics that interest them. It is a conversation." (Cluetrain Manifesto, Chp 4, Pg 82)
The internet has connected buyers and sellers in a way that nothing has done before. Sites like Ebay and Craig's list are the truest examples of sites that connect people solely for the purpose of commerce. Ebay has allowed people to create completely new businesses by selling products online. Craigs list brings personal ads to the web, created for individual cities but through one site.
The Internet brings people together
"Never in history had so many had the chance to know what so many others were thinking on such a wide range of subjects."(Cluetrain Manifesto, Christopher Locke, Chp 1, Pg 4)
The internet opened up communication between individuals with like minds. People could find groups on the internet and join discussions of topics that interested them. First there were chat rooms, then bulletin boards and now blogs.
The Internet and Advertising
"The only advertising that was ever truly effective was word of mouth, which is nothing more than conversation. Now word of mouth has gone global." (Cluetrain Manifesto, Chp 4, Pg 83)
Prior to the internet, the best way to send marketing messages to a large group was through TV, however, TV is passive and viewers are isolated. The internet allowed for active communication with the masses. Individuals can request information from companies, click to a particular website or search for information they want. It also invites participation enabling people to be connected to each other and to companies they want to reach.
The Internet has leveled the playing field in the advertising world - those with money could advertise and reach the masses with their message. Now smaller companies and even individuals can use the internet relatively free to disseminate messages or information to a mass audience or even a specific target audience.
In Cluetrain Manifesto, Locke points out that without the gamut of communication, "companies can't innovate, build concensus or go to market. Without it they don't know what works and what doesn't: don't know why they should give a damn. Cultures need it. Without play and knowledge in equal measure, they begin to die. People get anxious, gloomy and depressed. Eventually, the guns come out."
Another Example for independent reviews on movies: www.rottentomatoes.com
(POSTED BY HUEY-MIN CHUANG)
Over 5.4 million readers each month use Rotten Tomatoes as a dependable, objective resource for coverage of movies and videos. And no wonder. With more than 127,000 titles and 644,000 review links in its ever-growing database, Rotten Tomatoes offers a fun and informative way to discover the critical reaction on movies from the nation's top print and online film critics, neatly summarized via the Tomatometer™. With features such as integrated price comparison for DVDs, soundtracks, video products, and more, Rotten Tomatoes is committed to saving its readers time and money.
Another Example on company insider information and message boards: www.vault.com
(POSTED BY HUEY-MIN CHUANG)
Vault's Electronic WaterCooler™ is the Internet's first collection of company-specific message boards for employees. Every day, tens of thousands of people visit Vault's expert-moderated message boards to share the latest corporate and career news, network with each other, ask for job advice and learn about trends shaping the workforce. (Called a "killer app" by The New York Times and "vastly popular" by NPR.)
Vault's Electronic WaterCooler™ is the Internet's first collection of company-specific message boards for employees. Every day, tens of thousands of people visit Vault's expert-moderated message boards to share the latest corporate and career news, network with each other, ask for job advice and learn about trends shaping the workforce. (Called a "killer app" by The New York Times and "vastly popular" by NPR.)
Comments (9)
Anonymous said
at 4:11 pm on Feb 25, 2007
I agree that the internet has changed communication forever, but is it true that it's improved it forever? Having businesses care about what customers think is great - but all these web-obsessed people seem to be forgetting that internet communication is in a sense still one way. I'm typing this up now and it's in my head and on the screen - but there isn't a live interaction with another human being. Will the internet and all the new technology gadgets actually make us feel further apart in the long run? I see so many people at dinner in restaurants, each on their cell phone - they're not really with each other. Is there not something missing in that? Are we losing social skills? Is this perhaps just the first step in us actually re-connecting with each other, both us as people and businesses? I think people will eventually tire of only being online, and the internet will morph into a tool that will help us get together more on a one on one, face to face basis. Or maybe I'm just old...
Anonymous said
at 4:43 pm on Feb 25, 2007
No, I agree with your view on that the Internet is only one channel of communication that provides a wide global reach. It is not the "Answer" for all. Isn't it proven that the majority of our perceived communication from one another is actually based on body language and not so much on what is said?
Anonymous said
at 11:09 pm on Feb 27, 2007
Yes! I think that for marketing purposes right now, getting back involved with each other online is important right now, but I think that those who want to look down the road, we need to be looking at using the internet as a way to get people back in touch with each other on a one-to-one, face-to-face basis. The online community will eventually take their discussion offline.
Anonymous said
at 11:40 am on Mar 1, 2007
the many-to-many interaction which the internet enables does have the draw back of being an isolating element to a certain extent. The more we have access to individually furthering, deepening, nurturing certain penchants (tastes, curiousities, etc....)and the more we are not conforming right? So its only natural that there develops a certain sense of isolationism cause the nexus of 'mainstream' lessens I think as times goes by. Mainstream is the product of cultivating and harvesting commonalities as opposed to differences so i think as times goes by we will invariably be more divided cause our tastes will be so different.
Anonymous said
at 12:59 pm on Mar 1, 2007
Although the Internet can never replace personal face-to-face interactions, it has completely changed the landscape of consumer marketing across all industries, to the benefit of both consumers and manufacturers alike. For example, look at the automotive industry; it's the largest advertiser in the world. A decade ago, going to a car dealer was worse than visiting the dentist. Consumers had to rely on secondary sources (Consumer Reports, Bluebook, etc) for unbiased info and reviews. By making objective info freely available and allowing consumers to share experiences, the Internet has completely changed the dynamics of this industry. According to The Polk Center for Automotive studies, traditional mass media is practically obsolete among younger consumers (ages 18-30). Web-based media outweighed all other channels--35% ranked the Internet as their most important informational tool. That is compelling.
Anonymous said
at 1:06 pm on Mar 1, 2007
I do agree that the Internet might have an isolating effect on the way people interact one another. However, I just see so many pros on the use of the Internet that the isolating factor seems minimal to me. The internet allows individuals to be themselves in most cases. We tend to be formal in person and it takes time with strangers to loosen up. On a marketing point of view, I think that we could not get any better insight from our end users than on the Internet at the moment. I do not think it is just a trend, this is a real revolution of the way we communicate.
Anonymous said
at 2:27 pm on Mar 1, 2007
fyi: Piper Jaffray references the term "communitainment" in a recent study. Here's the Feb 26 MarketingVox article: A new report by Piper Jaffray entitled "The User Revolution" describes how users are going from simply exchanging information, to sharing information, ideas, content and entertainment, all within a social context, as part of a process dubbed "Communitainment".Piper says that as Communitainment rises, users will move from traditional media forms, to spending more time with niche internet sites, MediaPost reports. Piper estimates that half of all media consumption over the next decade will be related to Communitainment, up from 30% in 2006. With 'Communitainment,' there is no implicit contract between advertisers and viewers to provide free content; as there is in traditional media. Content is created and shared by users. It's a closed system and advertisers have to find a way to get into it. But once you get in, you're actually part of the family," says report author Safa Rashtchy. and this is the link to the PiperJaffray press release: http://www.piperjaffray.com/1col.aspx?id=287&releaseid=966627
Anonymous said
at 4:50 pm on Mar 1, 2007
I totally agree that there are so many pros to using the Internet to market something so don't get me wrong! I'm just looking a few more years down the road and am wondering if the Internet will become less of a social place itself than a means to find something social to do or interact with. Your MySpaces and the such will turn more into your Meetup.com's. I think the ability to access a lot of information from many sources is a revolution - as is the ability to reach millions of people for free. But once big business really finds the Internet, will it change again? I think it will. I think it will constantly evolve - so as a marketer of social issues, I'm interested in how it's evolving. So, maybe I should say communication has improved - but it the way we use the Internet to communicate will evolve and change over time. What we have now is only the beginning.
Anonymous said
at 12:13 pm on Mar 21, 2007
through technology we are eliminating the need for human contact (bank tellers, human voices on telephone help-lines, etc.), but craving human contact (i hope) is part of human nature - technology will just make that harder to come by - we'll actually have to make an effort to seek that out...maybe we should all buy stock in companies like meetup.com ;)
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