Word On The Street

This weeks section from Naked Conversations, by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel focused on "word of mouth" advertising. They talked about how ICQ started and was the basis for AOL's AIM. In addition they brought up the introduction of "Skype", an internet-phone program. The main strategy to advertise these programs is through blogs and conversations, instead of the old approach of "interruption Marketing", as Scoble and Israel put it. I personally don't agree with this method of mass marketing to unsuspecting audiences and essentially bothering them. We've all been annoyed by telemarketers in this day in age and I don't know one person that actually listens to what they have to say and take them seriously. In fact, most people play jokes on them and make a game out of it; some say thats cruel, others say they deserve it!

With everyone being so well connected through the advent of the Internet, the best way to spread news is through blogs, posts, comments, and direct conversations. As I read the section, I recalled how I found Skype. I didn't stumble upon it or read about it in the paper; I was showed by my dad, who discovered it from a friend living in England. It's the same idea for AIM. I was 13 and in middle school when it caught fire in my community, simply by word of mouth.

This is so important for managers to understand because for them, they are able to save thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars through this method of advertising. With low expenses should come low rates for their services , which for anyone else, is nearly impossible to compete with. One critical thing to remember is that you need a two way discussion. To only blog about a program's or product's advantages can potentially hurt the company. As we learned from last week, be honest and quick, and the rest will follow.

Scoble, Robert, and Shel Israel. Naked Conversations. 1st Ed. Hoboken, NJ: Jon Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006.