I had the pleasure of presenting to the Danish e-Business Society (FDIH) Financial Services conference in Copenhagen today. I did the opening and closing keynote speeches—you can download my slides for “Understanding Online Behavior” and “Understanding Online Strategies,” but I wanted to bring out one point made by fellow speaker Jerry Michalski.
Jerry made the bold statement that the “Information Age is over and the Relationship Age had begun.” It’s the kind of statement that begs to be refuted, because it’s oversimplified and overwrought, but I happen to be a big fan of oversimplified and overwrought.
I think Jerry has a point here. What he is saying is that the kinds of technology that are coming to the forefront are not about knowledge anymore. They are about connecting people with other people. Whether it is blogs (comments and trackbacks), social networks, social bookmarking, or Twitter, connections are all the rage.
I think that marketers need to keep this in mind when plotting their strategies. What connections do you want to make? What relationships do you want to form? Those are the questions that drive how you participate in the Internet conversation. Knowledge might be King, but relationships bring home the bacon. (If you’re vegetarian, you’re on your own for this analogy.)
