This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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Have you read Seth’s latest shtick on the new Digital Divide? You need to (damn it’s good). And keep in mind that Seth is not a blogger. He’s just another lying marketer who happens to write a blog (all the more reason for you to listen to him).
"Today, though, the Net is far more robust and far more ubiquitous
than it used to be. And it’s bloggers who are setting the agenda on
everything from politics to culture. It’s bloggers that journalists and
politicians look to as the first and the loudest."As a result, your most-connected, most influential customers are
part of the digerati. They can make or break your product, your service
or even your religion’s new policies. Because the Net is now a
broadcast (and a narrowcast) medium, the digerati can spread ideas."The second thing to keep in mind is that the digerati are using the
learning tools built into the Net to get smarter, faster. A new Net
tool can propogate to millions in just a week or two. Unlike the old
digital divide, this means that the divide between the digerati and the
rest of the world is accelerating." emphasis mine
No, the sky is not falling and you won’t be out of business tomorrow. It’s just that the race is never over (well, until it’s really over). Skill sets become obsolete. World views are subsumed – transcended. Styles fade. Missing out on a fad is no big deal, but you’d hate to be on the wrong side of a serious inflection point.
It’s time to zig. You need to be as connected as "your most-connected, most-influential customers." You need to be on the leading edge. You need to be a savvy solopreneur. "Get smarter faster." Confidence is great. Arrogance is deadly.