Hip? Or Creepy Old Guys

So I have a facebook profile. I started it when I got to Georgetown after I realized that most undergraduates don't really use email any more and spend hours poking and posting on walls. My wife is suspect...she thinks I am not age appropriate. Which is probably right.

Greg Anderson writes an excellent article on this for Ad Age this week in the CMO Strategy section -- "Marketers, Don't Just Blindly Follow Latest Media Trends"

Give it a read. He makes several great points. The social networking space is moving really quickly. It is still too early to tell what will last and what will be fad. And, just because people are on these sites, in these networks, doesn't mean that every marketer and company needs to be there or should be there.

Authenticity is so important to a brand these days. Trying too hard, trying to be cool or hip when your brand really isn't, is a sure fire way to look like an old dude who doesn't get it. It would be weird for a 40 year old guy to go a high school party full of teenagers he didn't know. That is how your brand will perceived if it really isn't relevant to the audience. Marketers beware.