Web 2.0: More than marketing

This research from McKinsey Quarterly reminds us with “6 Ways to Make Web 2.0 Work” that social technologies are for more than just marketing.

But why do we need reminding?

Here’s my six reasons we’re obsessed with the ‘media’ in social media (based purely and speculatively on my own very particular biases)

1. The communications bit is scary enough – its one thing letting the bastards mess with the brand – god forbid we should let them mess with the actual company
2. There’s something to do with the strongly conversational aspect of social media that tends to make brands feel that its about marketing – y’know – communicating?
3. A lot of us interested in this area come from the communications industry
4. Web 2.0 is on the …web – and its still seen as a presentation media by a lot of brands and their agencies – more a designers mindset than a developer’s mentality
5. Generally as humans in a post-responsible age we’re communicating to create an impression rather than to actively affect a change
6. After decades of being spoon fed our media we’re just so excited to be communicating at will and at large its the communicating that;s got us all excited and like the pamphleteers of yore – it will lead eventually to more substantial change

Its really exciting that consultancies like McKinsey are getting involved in and championing these technologies and the changes they agur. Because until the technologies and the ideas they represent are adopted at the heart of companies (not necessarily at the head) I’m afraid a lot of web 2.0 initiatives are just going to be stunts.