Interesting video from Gary Vanynerchuk. There are several points I unequivocally agree with and other parts I disagree with (I think because I’m approaching the internet from the perspective of a journalist, not a ‘marketer.’)
First point: We are in the national anthem of an 18 inning ball game. The analogy I use: We are in that strange period of time when automobiles and horses shared the road… and those roads were dirt. The basic idea: Don’t assume anything other than the internet becoming bigger, better, faster and stronger.
I disagree: His main idea is to just hold out. I think Gary should keep doing what he is doing and hold out… dugh, it’s working for him. Should newspapers? Obviously not. Okay, perhaps you think newspapers as brands suck (I won’t disagree), but the goal they serve, to inform citizens and keep democracy churning, is something that can’t be left behind. So to that extent – newspapers (or people/brands that will serve the same goal) shouldn’t ‘stay the course’ – they should be kicking and screaming to figure out how to become relevant both in terms of people’s media habits and economic sustainability. In other words: We are in a Cambrian period of evolution – lots of experiments going on. Not everything will survive. Gary’s suggestion to just be patient only works if you are already sailing. If you said that to the Dodo bird, you’d be an idiot.
Second point (agreed): The kids: Children who grow up with the internet have it in their blood – they crave it. What does this mean: the internet will be bigger, faster, stronger, better. Young people go online to solve their problems. Because of their age – those problems are limited. I often use carpooling as an example: there are few (if any) successful carpooling social networks. Know why? Because people my age and younger don’t need to carpool – we don’t have kids yet. In 5-10 years we will and we will have a new set of problems – and we will turn to the web to solve them.
Bottom line: Hip Hop in 85 is the internet in 2008. I like this analogy. I know a fair amount about the history of hip hop (thanks VHI) and without a doubt we are at a breaking moment in social media, as was the case for hip hop in 85. But the internet isn’t just music or entertainment. So often social media is about marketing, branding and making money. The internet isn’t a new type of culture – it’s a rapid evolution in the exchange of information. We used to exchange information physically by horse – then cars. We used to exchange ideas via paper, then television and now through the internet. It’s a paradigm shift: Not just a new form of culture (as hip hop was to music).
Regardless: I think Gary is a fascinating guy to watch – in my opinion he is riding the best wave between life-casting and random blogging: Creating a healthy balance. Gary is also applying these practices and principles to his business – Wine Library TV, but I’m not sure if it could work the same for journalism.