4 Ridiculous Digital Marketing Topics That Won’t Die
July 18, 2011 
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There are no shortage of absurd conversations that keep coming up in technology and marketing blogs. But there are a few especially ridiculous topics that simply won’t die.
So in an attempt to move the conversation forward, I’m going to list out the topics in the hope the next time they come up you won’t share or react to them. Let’s stop the linkbait that just exists for the sake of pageviews but lacks any sort of substance.
1. The topic: RSS is dead
The argument: real-time streams kill RSS because they’re faster.
The reality: despite what the early adopters say, most web content is not necessary to get in real-time. In fact, RSS is more powerful for the person who values their time and actually has better things to do than surf the edge of the real-time web. Which in reality is a great way to waste your time and be unproductive. The cost of now is extremely high, as Seth Godin explains:
The closer you get to the source and moment of information, the more it costs.
More than ever, there’s a clear relationship between how new something is and how much it costs to discover that news.
You can check your email twice a day pretty easily. Once every fifteen minutes has a disruption cost. Pinging it with your pocketphone every sixty seconds is an extremely expensive lifestyle/productivity choice.
Sure, go ahead, stay hyper-current, but realize it’s not free.
Sometimes, in our quest for the new, we overpay. Most of the time, moving down the curve will decrease your costs dramatically, without hurting your ability to make smart decisions.
Besides, the way people consume information is distributed. New platforms, networks or ways of consuming information do not necessarily kill others. The web is more frequently “and” not “or.”
2. The topic: social media / email / internet marketing “expert” discussions
The argument: various ranting about -insert digital marketing specialization here- pseudo-consultants/experts and how they need to go away.
The reality: these posts are just silly, what’s the point? If a brand is too ignorant to conduct thorough research before hiring any type of consultant they deserve to lose money. Who cares that snake oil consultants exist. They do in every field. And the people who hire them probably aren’t the type of clients you want to work with either. They’re more likely the type that will make you insane.
3. The topic: you should give up your self-hosted blog / website for Facebook
The argument: a lot of people use Facebook (seriously, that is the crux of it!)
The reality: W…T…F. Sure, a lot of people use Facebook. But the web is far more than Facebook and Twitter. Giving up your web presence for a single platform is extremely shortsighted and makes a lot of assumptions (not backed in data) about how people discover and share information. If you at all care about your company having the ability to actually be heard long term, you would never yield your presence to the stream. A scorched earth approach to the web makes zero sense on any level.
4. The topic: SEO is spam / witchcraft / manipulation
The argument: people clueless about SEO ranting about why it isn’t “fair” or simply misunderstanding what SEO is, so they think it’s witchcraft.
The reality: really people? It’s 2011, every marketing and PR pro should at the very least understand SEO basics. Proper SEO is simply good web usability. Further, all the major search engines offer tools for webmasters to help create a website that performs well in search engines as well as open source their data to help marketers create more find-able content. SEO should be ‘baked in‘ to all online marketing initiatives: that is, if you want to be found organically by users seeking content in your category. Either answer search demand or your competitors will. It’s up to you.
What are some of the discussions you see around the web that won’t (but should) die off?
howie at sky pulse media replied | Jul 18, 2011 (1 comment)
There is easily 20 more but these are a good four to laugh at. The problem is Marketers are more gullible than any other group of people I have ever been around. The second problem is they are also often feel self important. This makes for a bad cocktail of wasted time. money, failures etc. And the sad thing is Brands should know better. But they don’t . They are broken just like the Federal Government because of the carousel of workers going from Agencies to Brands and back similar to the Lobbyist/Government Employment carousel. How can Brands keep marketers and agencies honest when the same suckers are working for them too?
Oh and having crappy marketing news sites like Mashable that consider critical thinking a waste of time. More proof people in the industry are gullible.
Adam Singer replied | Jul 18, 2011 (597 comments)
Did you see this post we wrote about Mashable a few years ago? What do you think – have they changed since? http://thefuturebuzz.com/2010/01/07/the-truth-about-mashable/ — Pete said they were going to incorporate feedback in that thread.
Matt Dollinger replied | Jul 18, 2011 (7 comments)
“The reality: really people? It’s 2011, every marketing and PR pro should at the very least understand SEO basics. Proper SEO is simply good web usability.”
This was priceless to me. After having spent the last 3 months going over our site with an SEO comb and truly understanding it’s interworkings you sum it up simply. As with #2 – seeing through the “We’ll get you to #1 on Google in 1 week” consultants and partnering with someone that really knows there stuff (if you don’t) is imperative.
Tatiana replied | Jul 19, 2011 (1 comment)
My constant favourite for a number of years now is Proclaiming the Death of Paper. Heard it first about 15 years ago, yet the printed media is still very much alive despite iPads, Kindles, laptops and such.
Classifieds replied | Jul 19, 2011 (1 comment)
Don’t agree with the 3rd topic. The truth is that the trend really is: people give up their blogs and move on Facebook. And argues with the fact that facebook is really a lot of services in one place. You’re right, that is not reasonable to do so, but it’s already happening. People tend to look for a path to simplification, and Facebook at least creates the illusion that facilitates communication on the Internet. Marketers should bear in mind the trend in planning their activities. For me, in this case, third paragraph does not really stupid. In all the rest agree 100%
lol pictures replied | Jul 19, 2011 (1 comment)
ok… i havent been doing websites for long, but im trying to take a big site, asking around all i hear is “improve you seo”… so i looked into that, learnt a bit and my view today changed after reading this… i didnt know which way to swing.
brilliant !!
especially the facebook seo… its a load of rubbish.. you might get 20 uv’s then thats it… unless you have a ton of people sharing which is highly unlikely
janwong replied | Jul 20, 2011 (10 comments)
LOL @ SEO is witchcraft. The truth is I’m friends with search engines that’s why they gave me a sweeter spot.
Nah… in all seriousness, the 3rd topic do seem like the trend now even in Malaysia. I’ve been seeing corporate clients going to web design companies asking for a Facebook page instead of a website. Don’t get me wrong, I too see the web beyond Facebook but somehow companies are taking that turn regardless. Putting all your eggs into one basket is never a good thing.
Tom Wilkowske replied | Jul 20, 2011 (3 comments)
My most reviled of digital marketing topics is “How to become a Thought Leader in 5 easy steps.” Mostly it’s my revulsion of the term “thought leader” and its overuse/abuse in online marketing.
Jeremy replied | Jul 20, 2011 (6 comments)
Hahaha! This was awesome. You expose their lack of research and your own intelligence. There are so many crappy blogs out there giving stupid sensationalist advice. Advice that is bent around getting attention instead of offering some kind of value.
William replied | Aug 17, 2011 (1 comment)
Finally someone speaking some sense. SEO is not the same thing as online marketing and online marketing is not the same thing as spam. Every website need optimization and expose, just not crappy spam software.
Bryan at e-Relativity web design replied | Aug 19, 2011 (2 comments)
I couldn’t agree more with #2. “The topic: social media / email / internet marketing “expert” discussions”.
Every week I am bombarded with applications, facebook messages and email from people claiming they have the secret to social media marketing. I am so sick of this, if I want marketing I will get some one who specializes in marketing, if I want to get big on facebook I will higher a 18 year old who has 8 years of experience on faceebook and knows it in and out. Facebooking marketing guru is slang for no reel talent or specialty!