From Mass Media To Mass Marketing

Andy Warhol once said "In the future, everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes." Later he stated: "I'm bored with that line. I never use it anymore. My new line is, " In fifteen minutes everybody will be famous."

I don't think Andy Warhol knew how right he was - Twice!

We are going from mass media to media from the masses. Blogs, Vlogs and Podcasting give anyone the possibility to reach out and influence others.

Imagine the power of an individual when they are able to publish and internationally distribute audio and video more effective then a TV network. The net is creating world famous stars and the audience is listening.

Today it has become more difficult and more expensive for advertisers to reach consumers via mass media. Consumers are no longer the "mass audience" they used to be. They expect a more personalized and creative approach. They show an increasing lack of tolerance for marketing that is irrelevant to their lives, or that is unsolicited.

No wonder creative marketers came up with new marketing concepts like "word-of-mouth", "creating a buzz" and "network marketing" - What we all know as "viral marketing" on the Internet.

A new concept where the salesperson is the same as the consumer has been born. It's using bloggers like you and me, to reach out and influence others. If this is true, USWeb.com are paying people to blog about USWeb.com's advertising clients.

Besides the legal aspects of the idea, what happens if smart mobs become paid mobs?

The whole concept makes me wonder if it's a marketing trick for...you know who?