One thing that strikes me when I read people fearing and complaining about not making money online: they still don't get that the web is becoming a medium, strictly that.

What do I mean by that? I mean that internet  on the verge of becoming a medium comparable to the phone, a medium people use to communicate, share, organize... in short, to extend their reach.
Money is less likely to be made online for the same reason people just hate telemarketers (poor dudes) or being distributed leaflets.

Until now, the noise ratio all over social media make it easy for heathen marketers to

• Swamp you with targeted ads, my favorite being the one triggered by keywords in your emails, you'll never dare having a private conversation anymore
• Invite you to Facebook groups oriented around their obscure product
• Follow you on Twitter and tweet "Yes @whatsisname, or product is that great, thanks for buying it" on a scheduled program

Think about what would be their offline equivalents:

• A person appearing from nowhere, trying to sell you hand sanitizer every time you go to the bathroom, and shoes every time you say "run"
• Tupperware meetings for mainly EVERYTHING than can be bought
• People suddenly sitting at your restaurant table or in a next to you in a movie theater, saying "Hi, My name  is JohnMakeMoney, you like money? You wanna buy my inflatable dartboard?"

I don't see why these should be successful, I still have a shy remainder of faith in mankind.

Then, a second category, who actually have been using a browser for a little more than a minute. They understand a some principles about the online ecosystem. Still, one of them is bound, at one point, to blurt out something approaching " We are going to increase your organic ROI through multiple IPP to boost your CTR ratio and mogul-up your Web Estate with a Viral Meme and our secret ingredient - boobs"

Being around since 2000 helped them develop extremely refined acronyms, but it's too bad they're still stuck in that year.

You're going to ask what's wrong with these methods, since some companies are making millions, billions even, using them, it's written all over the web.
If you are Google, it's true for you, you've started it. Also true if you are the one actually selling the ad space. Try, and Google up "effective online advertising". Not surprisingly, only marketing services will show in the first page. They are the one making the money.

If you are the one advertising, that's another story, a story about one person clicking your link for every 1000 who see it, and that's when you're lucky and the click is not accidental. Then again, after a click, a sale is to be made. That's a lot of money invested in hope.

Now, some people I like to read are beginning to realize that this model is going to change, I encourage you to read this article, and this one, about what might become the next big thing: the influence of communities.

A website that understands the concept particularly well is LocalWineEvents, they have an entry on TechCrunch. The other one is Aardvaark (recently bought by Google, that's a sign). They understand that in order to exist after all the noise has been filtered is to join, build, and empower communities.
As opposed to blindly trusting an ad placement strategy, addressing a group already focused on an activity or around a thought will get you much more attention. Now if you don't just sit there repeating "My product - you shall buy it" like a mantra, but actually give facilities and advices to you audience, showing them you are human and interested on what they are doing, you have a much bigger chance to leave a print in their memory.

Another key is the real life factor. You don't do everything online. You just don't. People still like to meet, to talk around a cuppa sumthing, go shopping together and so on. Aardvark will send you emails and enable you to ask answer questions by messenger, and enable a human contact between you and the rest of their users, they don't force you to visit them and let you take control. LocalWineEvents doesn't claim to reach 'everybody-everywhere-whenever' but your winery, in your town. That's how the human touch is added, and it's a gateway both to building and empowering communities, presence through action.

And yes, third key: they understand that Internet is a medium, a support people are using. Not a farm full of users ready to be milked.

But hey... after all... if you want to invest in the tweeter bot that created the perpetual motion engine that makes you last longer in bed and get free coupons... it's your call.

Posted via email from @Danny_Fr