Marketing Evolution … or Revolution?

January 11, 2011: Well-recognized member of the historic Rotary Club of Charleston, Bruce Murdy, provided a focused report on the impact of technology on the broad industries of communications, marketing and advertising. He gave us a crisp and clear snapshot of the communications trends taking hold thanks to new and emerging technologies.

A centerpiece of his presentation was a short video of summary highlights that underscored the accelerating pace of new media channels and the explosion of the social media platforms. That defining video provided powerful statistics on how social media has grown exponentially in its ability to link millions of people worldwide in unprecedented ways. And, with no shortage of humor, the new reality came clear with summary phrases like, “What happens in Vegas, Stays on Facebook.”

Bruce masterfully assembled the mosaic of today’s global economy as fully networked, fully accessible and driven by increasing innovations in technology and communications. Social media, whether it’s LinkedIn, FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook or others, has forever changed the pace, scale and style in which humans interact. We are seeing fast-evolving opportunities as well as many new challenges every day from different parts of the world. One clear benefit is the democratizing of information and access that the new technologies provide.

At this writing, we all mourn the flooding disaster in Brisbane, Australia. We all are able to participate in their loss and rebuilding on a real-time basis at any level we wish. Technology will continue to evolve and astonish us — we just need to temper its capability with reasonable applications. These are exciting times for all people, and more so for those that lived in the dark for too long, who slowly are benefiting from the gift of transparency and access. The next five years are going to be nothing short of breath-taking.

Thank you, Bruce. Oh, look here, we see you’ve just checked in at Starbucks …

Submitted by Mark Danes, Keyway Committee