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The Participation Age - don't miss it

Submitted by ChuckBlakeman on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 07:47
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We are no longer in the technology age, but the Participation Age. This means that no longer are products and services defined by one for use by many, but are created in community for the community. But of more importance to you as a company, your brand is now created by your customer community for your customer community. You are no longer in control of your brand - the community around you is now in control of and owns your brand.

The implication? The Participation Age allows for Sharing, which means any delta between who you SAY you are and who you REALLY are will no longer be tolerated with your clients. You can't hide the difference - there are too many people participating together in Shared Information. You have to be who your advertising and branding says you are.

The advent of social media requires that we participate in the Participation Age, and Share with our customers in community. Companies that don't get this will have significant difficulty learning how to do business in the Participation Age, will make less money, and will fall behind those that have decided to join the fray.

Stop trying to control your brand - it's too late. Instead, jump into the conversation and learn from your client community what your brand actually is. if you don't like what you're hearing, change who you are, not what you say.

Comments

The Participation Age

Submitted by bpitch on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 22:50.

Jonathan Ian Schwartz (born October 20, 1965) is the current President and CEO of Sun Microsystems, as well as a member of the Company's Board of Directors.
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