No longer do we want help finding information on the internet; we now want help choosing between the mass of information that is delivered to us in around 0.4 seconds.
…The impact on marketing strategy of this cultural shift is significant, and this is where social media comes into its own. People are now looking for recommendations to give them confidence and to back up what they read on a website. Being listed is no longer enough …
Social media provides a solution to the paradox of the web now giving us too much choice, from a friend’s recommendation on Facebook to a stranger’s opinions on a forum to a review on a directory site.
This trend will become even more significant for marketers as web 3.0 becomes reality. The concept behind the semantic web is that computers will be able to define the meaning of information on the internet without guidance from humans; the web will be able to define context and sentiment, and computers will be able to analyse content and links rather than merely connect. Given this, the influence of the social web can only grow. There’s no going back, and the sooner marketers fully understand this, the better.
