Who said that the advertising models of print and yesteryear would be sustainable online? Everyone just hoped they’d translate, because porting old models onto new platforms didn’t require much innovation or effort. I’d argue that any publisher that has their eggs completely in the ad banner basket is missing the boat and is in for a Titanic-sized rude awakening.

The good news is that I’ve seen inklings of integrated campaigns online from some forward-thinking advertisers who are realizing that the old advertising methods don’t work so well online and that ad banner fatigue hit consumers in about, oh, 1999. Kudos to the companies who may not yet be getting it right, but are fighting the good fight to bust out of the old models and create some new ones.

So what are the new options for advertisers to reach potential customers? I don’t have a magic bullet for you, sorry, but I do have some wild and wacky ideas about advertising (hate it) versus social communications (love it).

• integration — think of how you can integrate your brand appropriate into conversations. Hint: Strategic social media marketing.
• placement — find interesting ways to place your brand into someone’s information stream. Hint: Virtual goods and gifts.
• overlay — develop ways to put your content into new places and spaces. Hint: Augmented reality.
• cross-platform — don’t just think Mac/PC or Firefox/Safari/Chrome. Hint: Hybrid online/offline.

I’ll leave you with these final thoughts and then let you ruminate — or argue with me, if you like. Most people do not want to consume ads. Many just barely tolerate them. A growing number of people completely reject them. If you look at the trends in communications over the last two decades, the patterns are clear. Learn from our past mistakes. Don’t be afraid to be different. Just make sure you have a strategy, some patience, and a flexible plan.

And please…don’t be an ostrich.

What is the future of advertising on the social web?

Photos by stock.xcnhg users flaivoloka and josecarli respectively

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Social Media in the Enterprise

Too many technical writing books and periodicals take an academic approach to the subject matter, which isn’t useful for readers who need real world advice to get their job done. Gentle’s practical approach opens the book up to anyone seeking to engage with their potential and existing customers online.

The book has lessons for all web workers, whether they are technical writers or not. That’s because the future Gentle paints for technical documentation isn’t just going to affect writers, but everybody who supports their customers via the web and social media. Her view of the future deftly shows how social media can take the place of tired old documentation standards — like print user guides — with planning, concise writing, and design skills aiding in the transition.

As well as being an excellent introduction to social media technologies in general, if you’re contemplating moving content to a wiki you’re going to find a lot of value in this book. The book’s coverage of wikis built upon the author’s real-life experience with the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project and working as a senior technical writer inside a major technology corporation. The is a highlight of the book, because she nails down the challenges of using social media — and wikis in particular — for writers and other content creators through real-life experience, versus the academic pontification that sometimes weighs down technical writing books. She also makes smart and appropriate usage of examples, focusing on well-known wikis.

The other element I liked about the wiki coverage is the author’s attention to the planning and management aspects necessary for a successful wiki implementation. Based on my own experience with wikis, these elements can be more integral to the ongoing success of the wiki, rather than the technology itself.

The fresh insights in this book transcend the technical writing profession; many web workers could learn something from it, or be challenged to think further about the role of the social web in engaging and supporting customers.

Have you read “Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation”? Are you using the social web for customer documentation?

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Charles liked the wide array of services you could claim with DandyID, along with its handy Facebook integration. I’ve been a user of DandyID for a while now, so I wanted to dig a bit deeper into what it has to offer and what differentiates it from the other providers in this space that I’ve looked at.

The thing I find most intriguing about DandyID is that it’s much more than just a list of services. It’s part of a grander scheme to facilitate a single point of entry for information that can be used all across the social web. DandyID has a well-developed API (Application Programming Interface) that enables other applications to communicate directly with your DandyID profile. So while on the surface it appears simple, there is a huge opportunity for integration between services here.

Imagine a profile that is entered in one place and then used  automatically across all of your services. Make a change in one place, and it updates all of your linked profiles automatically. Add a new service to DandyID, and a site like FriendFeed could automatically get notified to add a new item to your profile feed. The geek in me is tremendously excited about the possibilities of this; I’d love to see more sites enable this DandyID functionality.

The API has already been used to power the SNUM — Social Network User Mapper, a nifty Firefox add-on that will tell you what networks a person belongs to as you encounter them on the web. A Ubiquity command is also available.

DandyID lets you verify your identity with some services to confirm that you are actually who you say you are. Using the authentication functionality built into Twitter, Facebook, Brightkite, Flickr, MySpace and YouTube, you can confirm that the external accounts you are linking to are indeed yours. There is nothing to stop people from claiming an ID, but the verification is a nice level of extra assurance.

With an upgrade to the Pro service ($4.99 month) you gain access to some useful statistics, such as how often people are clicking through to your various profiles and which sites are driving traffic through to your ID.

Another powerful statistic allows you to see which services are being used by (and therefore are most relevant to) your contacts. This is useful because it allows you to focus your social media efforts to more efficiently engage with your contacts on the services that they are using.

These analytic tools are useful, but I’d like to have it easier to access — a daily summary email or RSS notification would be great.

Overall, I am tremendously impressed with the DandyID service. I’m also excited by the opportunities that more widespread adoption of it could bring.

How do you bring all your Social Web IDs together and manage them?

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Describe your job/career

In August of this year I founded a design and consulting company called Bokardo Design. I focus exclusively on designing social web applications doing interface design, evaluation, and strategic consulting. The types of problems I help clients with are things like:

1) “we launched our web app and nobody is using it” 2) “we see the promise of social features, but don’t know where to start”. 3) “we have a great feature set but are having trouble generating interest and motivation”

So, basically, I’m a social psychologist in designer clothing. :)

Describe your working situation

I work in my home office. It’s on the 3rd floor of our house, with our living quarters on the 2nd floor and an apartment that we rent out on the first. Thankfully, I have the ability to get the entire floor to myself during the work day, which helps cut down on distractions. Before I moved upstairs my 20 month old would constantly want to know what’s going on, and as much as I love her curiosity and enjoy seeing her it really wasn’t good for work. So I’ll go downstairs every hour or so and play with her. No matter what is going bad in the world, she makes it instantly alright.

I’m also starting to work at the library some half-days. This helps me get more exercise (a hard problem) and breaks up the day into 2 chunks. I find that just the act of walking downtown every day helps to keep my attitude more positive, as I’m seeing lots more people and participating in the community. This seems like something that lots of independent folks deal with, the loneliness of working by yourself. But I’ve found that simply getting out regularly helps a lot.

What are the key web and desktop tools you use?

I use a Mac, and live in the old standbys: Mail, Firefox, iCal, iTunes

I’m using Twitter all the time to stay loosely connected with people like me. It’s been a really big deal now that I think about it…just to see that other people are in the same boat that I am…working indepedently and remotely. Twitterrific is my desktop Twitter client of choice.

I use Google Reader and Google Docs, of course.

I use Dreamweaver and Fireworks religiously. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, of course.

Twitter, Skype, and Adium

Writeroom for text. I find its super simplicity as the best text editor out there.

WordPress! I’ve been using wordpress for a few years, and it’s what I publish my blog with. Indispensable.

MS Word for interop with clients (less and less all the time) who use it.

Parallels for testing interfaces on windows-based browsers

I have a Highrise account but have found that it’s not quite what I need. It’s close, but not quite. So my client relationship software is an amalgamation of all of the above.

Describe your productivity system

Well, I manage my email according to how things need to be done. If there’s stuff in my inbox, then I need to attend to it at some point. It grows during the week but hopefully I can get to email zero by the end of it. I have tried GTD and other “all or nothing” type systems, but those don’t work for me. I find that I have spurts of efficiency, creativity, and productivity, and that trying to be those things all the time just doesn’t work for me. Some days I’ll get very little done, while the next I’ll be in super-efficient form. It’s a crapshoot, really. So I’m all over the place productivity-wise.

What advice do you have for people wanting to succeed in the profession or business you’re in?

Four things:

1) Passion. You have to love what you’re doing. If you don’t love what you’re doing, stop immediately and find something that you do love. This makes all the difference in the world. I know too many people doing work that they don’t love. Sure, you can be successful at it, but success is no substitute for happiness.

2) Differentiation. The more I focus on a particular field or topic, the more success I have. When I decided to focus on social design, there were very few people talking about it. Now, with MySpace and Facebook in the news *every* day, there’s a tremendous amount of talk.

3) Build a foundation. Success doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t get discouraged by bumps in the road. Stick to what you love, and chances are there just aren’t that many others who will stick to it as long as you do. There are tons of other folks talking about my topic of interest, social design, but few of them will be there in a year. I will, and I’ll be known for it in part as a result of simply sticking around long enough and being part of the conversation.

4) Actions, not words. This one has been tough for me because I love a good debate as well as the next guy. But refrain from entering frivolous debates, unless part of your business depends on it. For example, I’m a blogger and a consultant, so it makes sense for me to join conversations and talk about design *some* of the time. But if I wasn’t actually *doing* design, my ability to talk about it coherently would soon dissolve. So make sure you’re practicing what you’re preaching, and not just being a critic.

What would you do differently if you had the chance?

I would have started out on my own much earlier, like *before* I met my wife. When you have a family to support, the window of opportunity for going out on your own feels a lot smaller because you need a steady (higher) income. When you have a steady income, the tendency to keep it and the comfort it brings is a huge deterrent to any risky move. I wrestled with this for *years*.

I’m not sure if I would have gone out on my own without the support of my wife. She knew that it was best for me in the long run…it just took a lot of time for both of us to come to that conclusion. And now that I’ve done it, I’m happier *and* just as successful.

If you want to share how you use the web to work better, submit a field report. Whether you work in an office, cafe, or out of your house, we want to hear from you.

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