Scott M. Iseman’s Lifestream

In 2009, social media (a natural evolution of Web 2.0), is fresh, exciting and in fashion.

Clearly, I showed up rather late to the social media movement. And just when I do, thanks to the "timing" of several global events making huge news on the internet (Obama election, Mumbai-08, Recession), social media goes and explodes into global popularity. Millions of people from all walks of life are now connected on the web. Everyday social web users are driving communication innovation on a growing number of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

For nearly a year now, I've studied blogs, videos, and tweets of early social web pioneers who are now well established as A-list writers and thought leaders. Some of the best and the brightest. From Chris Brogan and Brian Solis, to Jeremiah Owyang and Steve Rubel, and several others. My evolving goal is to learn from their wisdom, and gain perspectives and new ideas for marketing, web strategy, selling and PR.

Nowadays it seems, anyone on the internet can be a marketing expert. Progressive voices write about new ways to look at things, or how with the rise of the internet, traditional marketing techniques are outdated. Seems in the business communications world, we're all interested in learning how to use the most effective marketing ideas, and techniques for our own businesses. Just need to discover what works.

Internet technology allows creative (and non creative) companies and individuals to publish and distribute their own content. Not only can social web users compete with the news, but users can make their own news, sometimes launching a viral firestorm of interest. The possibilities are endless.

Beyond the emerging technology that allows this web interconnectedness, what I am coming to realize is, it is within the combination of "personality, relevance, and content" as to what makes social media dynamic.