Old dog, new tricks

Part of my psyche still inhabits the glory days of old Silicon Valley, when multi-million dollar deals were consummated in the “library” room of the Lion and Compass restaurant.  A fine glass of Port could be had for as much as $250, and an occasional Cuban cigar ignited as an ebullient wait staff “looked the other way.”   The cost of this opulence was never in question.    At the end of such a gastronomical expedition the bill was paid with the company credit card (I actually had a boss that often said “you lie, and I’ll swear to it”) with the reckless abandon of a rock star.  In the words of those of us that are not Goldman Sachs, those days, my friend, are gone forever.
I find myself in great company during this time of fiscal “belt tightening.”  Once proud product line managers from such impenetrable institutions as HP and IBM are now elated to take t he occasional three-month consulting gig just to pay the rent.  Countless others of my “boomer” buddies are rolling naked, exposed, with no health insurance or employee benefits of any kind.  They’ve gone from stock options to part-time contracting in less than a decade.
Despite the demise of bloated expense budgets, huge advertising departments, unlimited travel, and yes even administrative assistants (remember when we didn’t have to do our own typing?) business is still moving forward.  This brave new world of social media, search engine marketing, iPhones, and Bing will supplant the 30 second network television spots of the past with something better.  Content and transparency will replace glitz and flash.  Schmoozing will be done via text messaging and my Facebook contacts will be my new family.
My travels are taking me from the traditional way of marketing into this brave new world of blogging and podcasts.  What makes sense for a small to medium business without a huge staff or budget?   Let’s find out together as I sift through the terabytes of relevant offerings on my journey to becoming a “Master of Internet Marketing.”