Why 3.0 is the new 2.0.
There is a tendency for those who came of age in web 2.0 to think of digital marketing as axiomatic. Or that “machine learning, artificial intelligence and cloud computing will combine to create a steady cascade of greater capabilities beyond human comprehension.” (Gilder et. al. 2019)
In other words, marketing is driven by an ever-better sameness until it achieves a perfection we no longer understand. While this fits in perfectly with Silicon Valley schemes, we are reminded of what George Gilder said about machines.
Today a new generation of what might be called web 3.0 thinkers are moving in the opposite direction towards blockchains of information that don’t require a FAANG registered digital identity to thrive. The stock market tends to support this train of thought.
Theories aside, it is an inescapable fact that the gap continues to widen between the efficiency of content delivery and the quality of content. Nowhere is this gap more pronounced that with content designed to create awareness or what we can still conservatively call advertising campaigns.
If you’ve ever paid Facebook to “boost” a post (i.e. reach and frequency) about your pets you’ll understand what we mean. Forcing more people into cringe worthy commentary doesn't work very well and yet "petvertising" is alive and well.
Part of this is due to 2.0 thought—which has never managed to separate immense brilliance that goes into creating advertising campaigns—from the act of “advertising” –which is still conventionally understood as paying someone (i.e. the FAANGs) to get the message out.
To 2.0 thinkers, advertising is simply content to be made more useful, relevant and engaging to a pre-determined audience that you pay to reach. Some believe ad campaigns have been obsoleted by whitepapers and infographics you send into cyberspace like so many carrier pigeons that eventually return with buckets of leads.
This worked while the internet was a garden of evergreen content. Today everyone is doing it. That’s what has Silicon Valley looking for surprises.
(to be continued)