Al Gore, Rolling Stone, the Internet, and reaching buyers

In a recent issue of Rolling Stone (November 15, 2007), Al Gore was interviewed and offered some interesting views on reaching people through the Web.

(Note: This is not a political blog and I am not making any political statements here, just writing about the use of the Web in marketing and relating an interesting viewpoint.)

When asked what advice he would give to someone going into politics, Gore replied: "Go into it, and use the Internet. Focus on authentic, passionate communications of exactly what you believe, and wait for people to come to it."

Yes! You could substitute any business or industry and Gore’s answer would be true!

He goes on: "The age of print, which lasted for 500 years, gave way sixty years ago to the dominance of television. The Internet age and the digital world is clearly the world of the future but we are in this time warp where the most powerful medium, by far, is still TV."

What are you doing to harness what Gore calls "the world of the future?"

Comments

[ED]

I had an opportunity to listen to an interview given by Mel Karmazin, the CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio and noted industry veteran of analog media. In it a similar question was asked about the internet and its impact. In his reply he said that, still today analog brings in dollars, while digital brings in dimes, but that clearly the wave of the future was digital and this will cause a complete restructuring of the traditional media company’s business plans.

ED

[Raza Imam]

Open source software, YouTube, blogs, RSS feeds, and other forms of user generated content are more specifically the wave of the future. The power brokers of yesterday are losing their dominance everyday to the common man.

The digital age is leveling the hierarchical structure of traditional media. Now's the time for the common man to make his mark on the world.

Raza
www.BoycottSoftwareSweatshops.com

[Shama Hyder]

Our entire company is based on a virtual platform and I do believe this is the future.

[Chet Kent]

Interesting comments indeed. I once had a boss who was offered a job with IBM in the 1920's - he turned it down - no future he said.

A few years back I tried to interest someone in creating an online presence for his very successful business. Sorry - the Internet is just a fad.

So what am I doing to harness the "world of the future"? I'm learning to connect with lots of new people in minimum time. It's a challenge because I do mean "connect" and not just shake hands with as many folks as possible like a, well, politician.

One way I see me implementing this is using cutting-edge tools like the Freedom Business System to automate as much tasks as possible without blasting people with junk.

There are great opportunities out there but it's a high-wire act too as the mere ability to influence as many people in the blink of an eye can be overwhelming.

Chet

[hikdis57 (Over Googled)]

Although I am of the "Baby Boomer" generation, I have spent most of my life working in the electronic technician field (mainframe tech for NASA mission control at JSC, Texas).

I can remember vaccuum tube radios, transistor radios, and the first digital transmitter I worked on in the Air Force (somewhere int the early '70s).

This new digital age is only in its real birth for the common man, however, even now with programs like http://www.FreedomBusinessSystem.com , the average person can actually step up in life!

I commend Al Gore and people like James Brausch (creator of http://www.FreedomBusinessSystem.com ) for their deep insight into communicating with people on a "real" level - with the technology of the future.

Sincerely,
Don

[Bernie Mac]

What are you doing to harness what Gore calls "the world of the future?" I'm using the Freedom Business System to build an Internet business and effectively leverage my time in doing so.

[Tim Dempsey]

The challenge in the Gore / Stone piece is right on, but I would argue even broader than politics. I'm working out some notions to structure a thesis that in fact social networking / community phenomena on the web are changing how market development will occur across the board. I'd be interested in your thoughts... www.elasticbrands.com.

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Tim,

Good to hear from you! I agree with you (of course). Thanks for sharing your Flickr commentary on your blog. Great analysis.

One thing that I keep coming back to with all this social media stuff is that it humanizes companies. Instead of faceless corporate entities, all of a sudden companies are shown as being made up of humans just like you and me. That always resonates with buyers.

Take care

David