I recently heard a talk by Vint Cerf, the American computer scientist who is recognized as one of the fathers of the internet. One thing he said really stuck with me, that "the social norms of the Internet have not been set yet."
We see this all the time:
- In restaurants, where some people consider it ok to text or accept a phone call during a meal.
- On Facebook, where some friends post highly personal musings on life, while others promote their professional exploits, and teenagers try to get the most "likes" on their selfies.
- On Twitter, which continues to be a cacaphony of angry rants, discount coupons and the occasional nuggets of wisdom
The challenge is that there aren't clear guidelines for what is and is not acceptable in the digital world, despite the fact that many of these tools and channels have been around for awhile now.
Unfortunately, many market strategists are used to following best practices, and doing what has worked well before, and today, there's no rule book. As a group, strategy professionals are great students, with strong frameworks and discipline, but with a Wild West scenario in front of them, it's not clear what the best thing to do might be.
Today's environment calls for bravery, testing and getting out in front of the masses. And maybe then, writing the best practices yourself.
