by Jon Wuebben

Did we ever think that two college students with a gift for rhyming could hi-jack the advertising and promotions department for McDonalds for a few weeks with a clever rap about mcnuggets?  It happened.

Welcome to the Democratization of Self Expression.

What does this mean? It means that your brand is out of your hands. And it should be if you think about it. Your customers are important. What they think has always been important. It’s just that before, corporations loved being able to dish it down people’s throats. And look how far it got us. Chrysler. GM. Others. It doesn’t work, it’s never worked. The reason why Toyota came out of nowhere in the 70’s and 80’s and then eventually went on to dominate the auto market is because they listened to their customers. In a way, they were on the forefront of social media. They gave their customers a voice before they were able to have one on their own! With any news, we can now question it, put in context, analyze it and comment on it.

Who used to control content? Newspapers, TV, radio. Well, they don’t control it anymore. Now, it’s all about brand equity. Traditional advertisers can’t understand that they don’t control the message of their brand anymore. And they really don’t like it. But you see, they are doing themselves a great dis-service. Who controls the brand? Your customers. Your fans. Your prospects. And the way that you respond to them is the game. How do you do that? Well, you have to be able to deliver the goods for one. In other words, you need to be the expert. And secondly, you need to listen – very well. and this is hard for many people. It is a two way conversation!

Paul Levinson, a professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University and the author of “New New Media” said,” what makes these newer media so important is that it turns the consumers into producers. The idea that you can talk to someone and see their face and have a video conversation with them that doesn’t cost anything – that would have been science fiction 10 years ago.”

All human and business progress has led to this. This is the greatest opportunity any of us will ever know in our lifetimes. We need to grab it, take it, run with it, lead it and make it happen! Don’t squander this chance!

None of us understand how it’s going to revolutionize our society, but we’re in charge of where it’s going to take us, which in and of itself is revolutionary. And exciting!

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