LightThread – IT, Business and Marketing Strategy

We Don’t Say Goodbye Anymore . . .

Have you recently connected with anyone from your past?  If you have a facebook account, the answer is probably a big fat resounding “Yes!”  If you want to frame Web 2.0 as a paradigm it can be done thusly:

We don’t say goodbye anymore.

Back in the day, if you wanted to stay in contact with someone, you had to be “pro-active” — call them, schedule something, etc.  If you graduated high school, moved on to a new job, or moved out of state, you also lost touch with those people you shared space with.  Today, the act of staying in contact with someone is “passive.” Just log onto facebook, myspace, or twitter and read what all your friends, old and new, are up to.

Case in point, I recently tweeted the following:

“Incidentally we are going to see @average_jane‘s band this evening at the lake “whatever” pub by Lake LottaWatta. c’mon out. no big whoop.”

Because I use my twitter account to auto-populate my facebook status, two of my best friends from high school instantly knew what I was up to and surprised me by already being there before I arrived.

It was one of the most pleasant surprises of my adult life.

And as the paradigm shifts for individuals, the same thing is happening for business.  Companies are becoming defined more and more by identities, (i.e. people who actually work for the company).  For instance, the twitter world recognizes “Frank” as the man behind comcastcares.  jgoldsborough is the man behind Sprint. GaryVee is really the brand, WineLibrary is just where he sells wine.  And for their companies/business, these identities are becoming of premium value.

If one of these people happen to say “Goodbye” to their respective companies, who will you say “Goodbye” to?  The company or the person?