June 25, 2007
On an advanced panel discussion on Wednesday at OMS. I shall be discussing the role of brands in social media with
- Stefan Glaenzer – Chairman, Last.fm
- Philip Wilkinson – co-founder, Crowdstorm
- Russel Davies – Blogger & Marketer
Full topic is:
What is the role of brands when blogs, social networks and recommendation services are harnessing people power to answer the questions the search engines can’t?
My view is that brands will adapt. They are not as stubborn as people like to think, and brands will learn that there are benefits to becoming the social currency of conversation. I like Rushkoff’s idea that brands will learn to tell stories and that is how they will engage audiences.
I also think that marketers will learn to understand the niche. Love the longtail and flex with consumers in collaborative and participative ways. But then I am always the optimist.