The Internet
is dead. And as a professional communicator, I rejoice.
Remember
all of the phooey about code and secret information architecture and
site maps wallpapering closet cubes and boardrooms and proprietary back-end
technologies.
Man, it’s
over.
What I
am about to say makes tech-heads very nervous. What I am about to say
also explains why so many programmer-laden Internet firms are attempting
to recreate themselves overnight into marketing-communications firms
with experts in much more than high-tech trickery.
OK, here’s
the real secret to the Internet:
The Internet
is not about technology. The Internet is about technology in the service
of communication. ASP, HTML, XML, HTTP – it’s all a jumble
of meaningless letters if not yoked to a powerful and creative message.
Granted,
the Internet is a medium with many wonderful high-technology tools that
make it work. But as communications professionals, we should understand
that the Internet is not about technology; it’s about the newest,
most interactive, least invasive way to communicate. It is a tool. Look
at it as nothing more than print, television, radio and all other media
in one place and interactive at the same time. But better than that,
the Internet is our distribution network for our messages.
So with
that said, the Internet is not “new media.” It is all media.
That’s the big secret that most “we-are-now-a-marketing-firm-with-no-record-to-stand-on”
Internet businesses don’t want you to understand.
When was
the last time you looked at a magazine in the doctor’s office and
thought, "Man, this sure must take a lot of high-tech gizmos to
design, print and distribute!"
What? You’ve
never thought that? It does require sophisticated technology to ensure
that the magazine is where it is and what it is.
It is our
mission as communicators to make the Internet as clear to understand
and as effective as that magazine in the doctor’s office. That’s
not the goal for techies.
When you
read about another failed dot-com, remember all the faddish hype about
high-tech. remember the glory days (not really even months, and certainly
not years) of pitching any story with a tech angle and seeing the coverage
gush on. Now, we have to work for coverage. Good.
Now, communicators
run the Internet and help clients affect the bottom line. Now, writers
tell stories online, keep connected with reporters and the public at
large. Now, artists design integrated looks, blending what prospects
see in television spots and print ads with what’s online.
The Internet
as we have been forced to experience it from back-shop computer guys
is gone.
When you
start to plan your web site, understand that you have reasonable choices
that you can make as a consumer. The first choice is not about technology.
The first choice is about communications and marketing.
Communicators
and marketers in our market have years of providing clients with smart,
effective and affordable communications solutions. Those solutions include
direct mail, media relations, television, radio, print advertising (Gee,
this is starting to sound like the Internet), trade show support, public
relations; you name it.
I have
only one question when it comes to using the Internet: Why rely on any
company other than one with an impressive history for innovation and
success for communicating?
Copy writing,
graphic design, art direction, marketing and business strategy development,
and technology expertise are all necessary to construct successful web
sites, and successful businesses generally. You need these skills to
ensure success in any communications effort.
See, as
communications experts, we know what we are doing, and we know what
we do. For example, at CJRW, we were a marketing-communications firm
in 1961. We are a marketing-communications firm today.
If your
business is not using the Internet and interactive communications, you
are missing out on one of the most powerful marketing and communications
tools ever invented. And if your business is relying on a technology-oriented
Internet firm, you’re missing out on the power of proven marketing
communications skills and experience.
Let’s
stick together, communications brethren. For code-crunching-techno-cyber
geeks, the Internet is dead; for us, long live the Internet.
Simon Lee
is the Internet ivangelist for imazing!CJRW, Cranford Johnson Robinson
Woods’ Internet and interactive division. His e-mail address is
simon.lee@cjrw.com.