The Times They Are A-Changin'

For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled. There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times they are a-changin’.  Bob Dylan (over 26 years ago)

When is the last time you were frustrated with a product you had purchased because of poor quality or poor service?  What did you do about it?

It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.  (Prov. 16:32; NLT)

Sunday morning I received a blog post from Seth Godin that really caught my eye.  I’m passing it along to you as today’s Link of the Day.  I was so much in agreement with what he wrote that I posted his link along with a recommendation on both Facebook and Digg.  By late afternoon, I had received a couple of comments from the Facebook post which tells me that the article is resonating with lots of folks.  That’s what motivated me want to share it with you.

I had just finished reading a book written by Godin the night before in which he made the point that the rules of commerce are changing, and that you can’t rely on the old tried and true techniques to work any more.  The driving force behind the shift is Web 2.0, an innovation to the Internet that allows us as consumers to engage in conversation with the manufacturers and marketers of products.  This may sound relatively insignificant on the surface, but the implications are proving to be mind-boggling.

Now if the consumer doesn’t like a product, feels it’s a rip-off, receives poor (or no) service, the consumer can step up and essentially tell the world via the Internet.  Smart manufacturers had better respond quickly or they will find themselves out of business in short order.  These new rules also eliminate the “gatekeepers” from arbitrarily (or for payola?) promoting a particular product while killing another just by ignoring it.  The gatekeepers I’m referring to are primarily the media, e.g., newspapers, radio, TV, et al.  For example, it is becoming irrelevant that some newspaper food-columnist dude, who thinks he is an expert, writes about his experience in a particular restaurant and thereby causes that restaurant to rise or fall accordingly.  The power is rapidly shifting to where it truly belongs…to the consumer.

As you might expect, the large manufacturers, Madison Avenue advertising firms, media moguls, etc. are resisting this power shift with everything they can muster.  This will require them to make major changes to adapt to the new rules or be left behind.   Think about it…newspapers are not as important as they once were; the three major TV networks are no longer calling all the shots as they once did; large manufacturers are no longer defining all the products as as in the old days because now consumers are going to the smaller manufacturer who can quickly adapt to what the consumer wants to buy.  This is a seismic shift of incredible significance.  Careers and fortunes are being made or lost accordingly.

But back to Seth Godin’s blog post that generated my little tirade.  In his blog he points out that trade associations or guilds, in their attempt to serve their constituency, are actually impeding the advent of a greater good to satisfy a few who don’t want the rules to change.  This is definitely worth a read.

These are truly interesting times to be alive.

Prayer Power
Father, we are so grateful to be living in times such as these.  Change is indeed uncomfortable for all, but we celebrate Your continual grace and presence to be a ready help and encourager as we take each step, one at a time.

Link of the Day
Beware of trade guilds maintaining the status quo

Blessings on you as you step up to make your voice heard.

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