The Inkstained Mind: Digital Moses & His Ten Commandments

29 Oct 2011

Digital Moses & His Ten Commandments

Douglas Rushkoff is one of the very, very few people who can see the big picture - not the complete picture - but close... Don't believe me; watch his documentaries.

I highly recommend The Persuaders (2001) and Merchants of Cool (2004). Both are goose-bumps inducingly accurate insider-view of the evolution of Advertising and brand-building - and its possible future.

The latter documentary introduced a then-obscure Advertising Agency called Acxiom. Six years later, Ad Age Agency Report 2010 declared that "For the first time in the history of the Agency Report, the ranking's biggest agency is far removed from the clique and clack of Madison Avenue. The largest U.S. agency is Arkansas-based Acxiom, a major player in data-centric marketing and customer-relationship management."

(I'd posted first about Acxiom on 27 April 2010, and Rushkoff's 2004 "prophecy" about Acxiom on 30 April 2010.)

This is the Ten Commandments for the Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff.

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WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

It's often called the world's second oldest profession.

But while the scope of the oldest one has changed little over time, the evolution in the way we communicate has had profound impact on Advertising.

In the ancient and medieval world, Advertising meant word-of-mouth. In the 1500s with the development of printing it became a 'paid public notice', disseminating the message to many. And it had Copy & Art.

Then came radio, TV, computer, cable TV, Internet, mobile phones, Internet on mobile, and it's still not done... Even what we perceive as 'change' is changing. Continuously.

So what is Advertising today?

Honestly, I don't know.

But I do know from a dozen years evolving with the business, that Advertising is most valued when it can make a tangible difference for the advertiser.

That has not changed. And probably won't.

UPDATE: Nothing's changed. But in a way, everything has.

As you see, my focus has shifted - evolved in a way - to a larger canvas. The shift or evolution was gradual, and may be have been discernable to the more observant reader.

While I was delving into the influence of media in society to better understand how perceptions are created, evolved and disseminated, I chanced upon a thread of knowledge that I frankly never knew existed.

My conclusion is that a deep pool of awareness and consciouness exists beyond the shallow narcissistic boundaries created by the convention view of social media and the Internet.

My aim is to send my readers down any path that can lead to this quenching pool.