Marketing guru Seth Godin recently wrote:  “Should I write blog posts that increase my traffic or that help change the way (a few) people think?”

Seth goes on to lament the ponzi scheme infested, culturally devolved online waters that we see prevailing today.

My fear is that the endless search for WOW! further coarsens our culture at the same time it encourages marketers to get ever more shallow.

Culture has been getting faster and shallower for hundreds of years, and I’m not the first crusty pundit to decry the demise of thoughtful inquiry and deep experiences. The interesting question here, though, is not how fast is too fast, but what works? What works to change mindsets, to spread important ideas and to create an audience for work that matters? What’s worth your effort and investment as a marketer or creator?

The difference this time is that drive-by culture is both fast and free. When there’s no commitment of money or time in the interaction, can change or commerce really happen?

I’ve been writing about cultural devolution (evolution?) + the role of marketing lately…so when the extremely popular author of Purple Cow laments the “endless search for WOW” from marketers, naturally I took notice.

What I think Seth is calling for is a return to reflection.  He envisions a world where commercial creators think twice before hitting the “approve button” on content that just perpetuates shallowness & clicks.  He does not want to see marketers create a culture of jaded spectators who decide in the space of a moment whether or not to participate.

Click here to read the full article from Seth.

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