The Brave New Marketing

The brave new marketing is Facebook, Twitter, and the whole gamut of social-networking. Rod Evans, a photographer who is both a wonderful artist and good at social-networking (hereinafter referred to as S-N), has a very good audio interview out on the subject. You can find it at "Behind the Camera Talk" ( http://www.behindthecameratalk.com/?p=52 ). In the 10 or 15 minutes of this audio interview, he explains both what this (S-N) is, and how it currently works, better than any other explanation I've seen.

He notes to begin with, that this is based on how we as humans meet and mix at light social functions, like parties. If you go to a party, step up on the sofa, and say, "Will everyone here please be my friend" they're going to think you are weird and avoid you. But if you just play it cool as you would in real life, you can make a number of friends by say, offering to take them out for a drink after making their acquaintance and getting a pleasant exchange of light conversation going. And he goes on to explain the way that you use your product within this milieau, instead of a drink, to please folks and gain acceptance and a growing circle of "friends".

It explains to me exactly what is happening in the pages of the people who are VERY successful at this brave new world of S-N, and why I don't have a clue how to fit into their "conversations". As the fitting father of two children somewhere on the Aspergers/Autism spectrum, though not far enough out on the spectrum to be noticeable myself, I do not "get" light party-type conversation. It seems aimless, pointless, and mentally scattered to me. A riddle I've never understood, and a jungle in which I am utterly lost.

This is the kind of talk that to my brain sounds like: "Loved the blue sky today | yea but I forgot my shades | didn't hardly see the car ahead of me | you never see anything anyway | Jonah's got a lousy cell | my texting was over-limit last month | my neighbors' built a new wall and it's UGLY | the new one in front of the place on 15th is cool | I can't believe the new Bachelor is that snarky | I wish I could go to see the Druids play on the 27th ...".

I have never been able to fit into those conversations with any degree of aplomb. In fact, a high degree of dabomb is more like it. This type of conversation twists and turns and never seems connected to any thought pattern and never ... gets anywhere. What is the purpose? What does it do? And why is anything anyone says in this conversation of interest to anyone else in the conversation? Most of the time, they don't even seem (to me) to be paying attention to anyone else's comments.

These flowing, burbling, rocky, twisty streams of words clearly are interesting to those "normal" folk who get it. Why is it so interesting for some people to note on their Facebook or Twitter that they are stuck in traffic? Why is someone's poorly-worded chocolate craving post a matter for 20 follow-up posts by howling others?

Intellectually I do know what is different my comments. There is some kind of rule-set, some pattern to the patter, some vague pathway that others sense and fit their words into. I am totally blind to this ... whatever it is ... and so, I'm never on the same path as those around me.

This brave new marketing world is rather depressing for someone coming from my vantage point. The straight marketing of a superior product through all the "old" marketing tools is passe. It is now the marketing of the hip/cool/haughty/whatever-is-hot persona that scores. Yet how does someone like me compete in this marketplace? I'm not the only one in this wilderness, and there have to be ways for "us" to win too.

I, like James Tiberius Kirk of Star Trek fame, do not believe in the no-win scenario! But this has me stumped. I'm having a great deal of trouble figuring this one out. I am very open for answers out there in the great beyond. Help, anyone?