Interesting to see the surge in activity on online news sites over the past week as people scrambled for news on what was unfolding on our political canvas. Local events overshadowed the global financial meltdown temporarily, but the web remains the first port of call for instant info. Someone called me this morning for a couple of media contact details - it was quicker for me to Google their blogs than get my cell out to check. But more than using the web as a news source or a research tool, is the need for us all to get savvy with the branding opportunities that exist. Web 2.0 is dominated by the 'prosumer' generation - those individuals, formerly known as your consumers or your audience, that don't want your content exactly as you want to package it to them. They decide what content they want and how they want to receive it. The only way to understand them is to upskill yourself on the web, if not for the brand or service you work for, then at least for your own career. At a recent conference Web pundits highlighted the fact that fear and a lack of knowledge keeps many largely offline, apart from email and a few web searches. We have to move away from the assumption that everything 'online or web-based' is the domain of skilled-IT professionals - it is not. Even they are scrambling to understand this new UCG generation (user-generated content). Today we publish a step-by-step guide to at least get the individual or brand started on the social media super-highway. It's basic stuff, but I know from my own peer interaction that many are not really online at all.
Go get connected! Louise Marsland, editor: editor@bizcommunity.com. All marketing news to: marketingnews@bizcommunity.com. Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive or on our blog: http://blog.bizcommunity.com.