Marketing Above the Noise

2 Today's Marketing Environment: The Tempo Accelerates

It was the hottest thing on the planet: a new technology that allowed users to interact in a way they’d never been able to do before, using the Internet to create a virtual community, connect with friends and colleagues, and share personal and professional information with like-minded individuals. Users staked out their own turf and invited others to join them. They created their own way of interacting with one another, their own language, even their own currency.

In 2007, the number of accounts registered for this new technology doubled to two million users within a single eight- week period. The excitement was tangible. This was the future, no doubt about it. Businesses and corporations ...