How many industries allow bad hygiene as the norm? I can only maybe think of a few where it is tolerated, (the zoo keeper who feeds the monkeys comes to mind). The other day I was greeted by some lackluster technie duds with dried mustard stains on their retro t-shirts. Obviously my questions during this B2B interview deeply bored them and I was taking them away from their corporate responsibilities, (… they were playing a multi user video game when I came in for my 8:30 AM appointment). This type of behavior seems to be disturbingly rampant.



I had additional problems with this group as I explained the fast turning techno shift in our economy. That is when it suddenly occurred to me. Are 40 year olds supposed to wear Sponge Bob t-shirts to the office or am I seriously missing something?

On the way out of the meeting I had to seriously laugh to myself. I counted about 80 SUV's in the parking lot. There is no way these vehicles could have been paid for free and clear. So that meant the people inside this ridiculous web company were on the hook for monthly payments. If things took a sour left turn they could end up taking the bus to work. I reminded myself of what happened during the not so distant dot com era when the whole tech wave came crashing down. How long would it take for this latest technical wave of innovation to cave in?

It's happened before…..

Who Is Shelling Out 40 Grand These Days For Anything?

Not too long ago I ran across a 20 page web site that received a 40 grand price quote. There was a brief time in our dot com history when those numbers seemed feasible. But now that quote comes off somewhat obsolete. The market is shifting and people are running to other solutions. It is amazing to see so many business owners take control of their own marketing and do things for themselves. I think it is really amazing to see people go after their own markets and completely cut out advertising altogether. This has never really happened at this level any time in our history.

This is hitting advertising at a very high level. The interesting thing is that this person to person exchange for goods and information has been going on in other industries for quite some time. If you remember a few years ago the big enemy of the music industry was Napster. This allowed multiple users to exchange songs for free. This system was abused for many months. It wasn't until the record companies started to prosecute individuals and make this problem public. Fans were cutting out the middle man years ago until smart executives got wise and decided to police the digital music scene. Now there is law and order and you do not hear of this being in the public's eye as much although it is still a problem.

Cutting out the advertising agent or agencies is starting to make adequate sense. Considering the problem with advertising lies within the fact that a good deal of it will bring questionable results one really must doubt its overall effectiveness. There is a wide range of bravado with the new Web 2.0 explosion. Now suddenly, business owners who once needed permission to speak to a broad audience are able to connect to ready buyers with a click of a mouse. This has shortened down the rejection time from business owners and consumers. The other cool thing about this recent revolution is that consumers are able to get what they want without any extra middlemen in the way. This has never really happened before on this level. There are some companies who are getting rich off of this new platform. It makes the dot com generation look like a bunch of talentless hacks. Having survived the fuzzy vision of the dot com movement, ( I am a former Art Director) I have seen the battle scars and deep flesh wounds of an over optimistic generation.

By the time it takes for a company to finally get their IPO and investment money you could be depositing money into your bank account. It is really just a matter of when you want to get started and do it. I already see signs of even the top web companies in the industry falling aside from the mighty Web 2.0 empire and the legions of people behind them. This is incredible due to the fact that you really can be an overnight success if you apply yourself and get some kind of strategy online. This is what makes marketing your business online so powerful these days.

The beautiful thing about it is that now you can write your own ticket.