I love picking over the used books in Goodwill like a DJ leafing through old albums in a record store. I stumbled across a copy of Marketing for Dummies the other day. It looked brand new, so I flipped through it to a chapter called Marketing on the Web. Turns out, the book was published in 1997. But here’s the little time capsule of information I discovered: “The Internet and the World Wide Web combine to create a wonderfully versatile – and often misused – new medium for direct marketing. Most people in marketing have already dabbled with electronic media – Web pages are springing up like mushrooms. But I rarely encounter anyone who is making a significant amount of money on the Web. It’s not that you can’t. The Internet, like any mass medium, has the potential to be of great value to marketers (the Internet will someday be a major retail force, for example). But most people do even sillier things than usual when they try to market in a new medium.” (Hiam, Alexander. Marketing for Dummies, page 111).
It’s interesting to read about how early internet practitioners grappled with the mid-late 1990’s internet. The chapter discusses the great potential of banner ads, (“…can easily reach more than a million viewers in a single week.”) explains what a home page means (“The Net equivalent of an information booth about you.”) and recommends not trying to build your own webpage because “You probably wouldn’t design and shoot your own TV commercial…” I think my fellow novelty junkies can appreciate my giddiness over this find.
The chapter talks about how in 1997, publishing on the web was very primitive, almost amateurish. Back then, websites were just huge interactive advertisements and, according to Haim, most web trailblazers were marketers figuring out how to sell ads and advertising space online. I remember the early internet being very flashy, almost Tourette-ically distracting. Early attempts to optimize the web for advertising were clunky, audacious, empty, offensive, and campy. Now, web advertising is more integrated, seamless.
I had the New Car Sales Manager at the automotive dealership where I work in Hendersonville, North Carolina read a few passages. I asked him what it reminded him of and he immediately said Social Media. That was the first thing I thought about, too. I’ve been trying to convince ownership to dedicate more time and resources to Social Media. So far, I’ve had little luck. For them, technology is something to succeed despite of, something that needs to be overcome. For the initiated adopters, it’s surprising how unconvinced some people are about the importance of Facebook, Twitter and Blogs in influencing how people make decisions and seek information.
I’m sure early internet people were met with resistance when explaining its revolutionary importance to the previous generation of luddites. I realize it’s a little bit like comparing apples and oranges: the internet provided a new convenience and the opportunity for anonymity, whereas social media makes social networking easier and encourages transparency.
At 29, I remember little about the early internet (I grew up in rural Maine so never even used the internet until I was 16). What do you remember about the early internet? Consult the wayback machine if you need a refresher. Have any of you been met with resistance when trying to explain the potential and importance of social media? There are still people who think, like when cars, cell phones and television was introduced, that it's just a fad.
____________________________________________________________________
Ed Dugas is the Business Development Manager at Egolf Motors in Hendersonville, North Carolina. He can be reached @eddugas, @egolfmotors, eddugas82@gmail.com. His e-paper, The Social Media Observer, can be found here.
