Another interesting week in the worlds of marketing, media, culture and politics (and all of them mashed together). Some random thoughts:

• Oprah Gains a Million Twitter Followers — That is a clear demonstration of the mainstreaming of Twitter, and social media in general. It stands to reason that media mega celebrities like Oprah will be just as popular (and followed) in the social media world as they are in the traditional media space. Now, what happens next in the Twitterverse? Who the heck knows? But, it is becoming very interesting to watch the Twitterlution. Twitter certainly has become the topic du jour in the marketing world. I think the big trap for marketers is that they will use Twitter in pretty much the same way that they have always used media, which is for broadcasting…one to many. That, of course, flies in the face of what social media should be, but it is the trend nonetheless. Certainly Twitter stars like Oprah and Ashton Kutcher (and Megan McCain), are not conducting one to one conversations on Twitter. They are using the Twitter megaphone to broadcast to their fans. Brands are starting to do the same thing. We’ll see how that works for them.
• Green Shoots Go Brown? — In a case of hopeful self-fulfilling prophecy, many of us have been heralding the "green shoots" poking out of the wrecked economy. You know, the signs that the recovery is starting to take hold. Then Wall Street had to ruin it all last week by moving back into semi bear market territory. That said, I do believe the economic free fall is over…thank God. I am no longer afraid to look at my 401(K) and, believe it or not, the value of my home on Zillow has stopped falling through the floor. Indeed, there is a floor there! But, the recovery will take time. Unemployment is still high, and that is not going to change anytime soon. Companies are still reluctant to investment-spend, which hurts us all (especially marketing firms like mine, which rely on clients getting back in the game and mixing it up). What do you see as the most accurate sign that the recovery is starting to pick up steam (or not)?
• Healthcare Reform is Moving? – Or perhaps not. Who knows? For healthcare reform it always seems to be two steps forward, three backward. Clearly the momentum is there on so many different levels and from varying groups who have a strong incentive to ensure major changes in our broken healthcare system. But the entrenched powers protecting the old dysfunctional healthcare system are just so strong and implacable. Indeed, the Healthcare Swiftboating has already begun. I am constantly amazed at why the public just does not rise up and demand that every politician fix healthcare NOW. Except for the fear of losing a job, there is no greater stress creator for the typical American family than rising healthcare costs, and the fear of a catastrophic illness for a family member. But, even with that, the American people just kind of sit back and let the special interests fight it out in front of them. It’s Go Time for healthcare reform, and it will be interesting to see if the Democrats actually have the smarts and the courage to finally make it happen. I remain dubious.
• Al Ries Argues for Less Math in Marketing — Good for you Al, to take on the rising influence of "quants" in the marketing world. Ries wrote a pretty provocative piece for Ad Age recently in which he argued that the marketing pendulum had swung too far in the direction of the numbers crunchers. (You know, the current obsession of CMOs and their ilk with measurement and the dreaded ROI!). Ries commented that the only thing that matters in marketing — what really breaks through and differentiates your brand in the minds of consumers/prospects — is the creative expression you use to tell the brand story. Well, I agree with him to a large degree. As we all know (at least I think we all know), marketing is a careful mixture of "art" (the creative) and "science" (the math and ROI). If you get those two key elements out of balance, that is a problem. It has been fashionable of late (especially by the afore-mentioned CMOs and also digital marketers) to emphasize ROI and measurement, seemingly to the exclusion of creative. That is wrong, and it’s where I particularly agree with Ries. But, effective marketing is neither just about creative for the sake of creative. The creative you put out there has to be based on sound strategy, which is also a mixture of art and science (especially real research that comes from, more than anything, listening to the people you are trying to sell to). The reason I like digital media and interactive marketing so much is that they allow for both creative and powerful analytics and measurement. Best of both worlds of art and science.
• Will Adam Ultimately Prevail? -- Naturally, I am referring to this Tuesday’s American Idol final. It is now down to the Arkansas pretty boy, nice guy crooner, Kris Allen, and the force of nature banshee (in a good way…mostly) Adam Lambert. As much as I love Adam because he truly is original (for Idol), I think the young girls who constitute the prime Idol voting block will probably go for Kris. Also, you would think that Kris will win over most of the Danny Gokey votes now that the Gokester is gone (thankfully). One interesting story about Idol this week revealed that even as the total viewership has steadily declined in recent years (that is all relative, the show is still a ratings powerhouse), the Idol "franchise" is more profitable than ever. Idol has really become a major brand, and as such, it is being exploited in inumerable ways to generate ever growing revenues. According to the story, the Idol producers and Fox are making a killing in all of the merchandising, licensing and advertising sponsorship tie-ins and cross promotions that Idol enables. Now that is smart marketing for the 21st Century!
• Saving Private Newspapers…Now!  — The fashionable thing to say these days is that, as a medium, newspapers are dead. Certainly, the evidence for that thesis is all around us. But, I strongly disagree that newspapers have to be on the endangered list. I love newspapers (showing my age?!), and do believe they have a future in an increasingly digital world. I also don’t believe that future has to be about an alternative viewing/reading device like Kindle. Nothing wrong with eminently portable, disposable, readable paper to me (works for books and they are still very popular worldwide). Newspapers (including their digital versions) need to find a way to become valuable and relevant in people’s minds and lives again. I don’t have the life-saving answer yet, but I think we need to come up with one. With that I am herewith starting the "Saving Private Newspapers" Business Model Contest. What is your suggestion for a new business model that will ensure the continued and sustainable future of newspapers? Is it a shift to a non-profit foundation model, as some have suggested (David Geffen is reportedly looking to invest $200M for a 20% stake in the NY Times to keep it in business as a non-profit)? Or, is it figuring out some clever and compelling way to charge for content, a la the Wall Street Journal’s success (it’s the only major newspaper that has succeeded at this)? What is your answer to Saving Private Newspapers? We will post all of your suggestions on this blog, and then widely publicize the most promising ideas. There is no financial prize…yet. We are working on that. David Geffen, are you reading this? Stay tuned!

Now, what were your favorite marketing/media/culture stories of the week?!

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