Ever since my first attendance of the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco I wanted to be part of it. But it took me almost three years to find the right topic, with research to back it up, and of course enough time to actually write and send in a proposal to apply for participation. Here it is.

There is no Social Media (Or, How Brands Will Survive The Internet)

A great gap is opening right now. A separation between consumers and vendors, brands and the people living with them. In this changing era of media, one kind doesn’t know what drives the other, so it seems.

While some companies are going ahead, staffing up entire teams to handle Social Media profile accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo, others are in a waiting position. They are trying to figure out what they should do, reconsidering their strategies over and over, looking for familiar patterns of a return on their investment. The big question is no longer if or how to participate in Social Media, the question has become how it can be measured.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Measuring and reading data doesn’t grant your brand success. Statistics and empiric data can teach you a lot about the number of participants, it can show the intensity of usage and reveal trending keywords. But will it help to prevent sudden market shifts? Will it give you control over the landslide of branding, with consumers claiming their participation on their own terms?

“Brand Streams” is a term that describes a revolutionary idea about how branding will work from now on. It takes what we know about marketing and turns it upside down, revealing the benefits of an open brand strategy. It is a model that helps in adjusting our product strategies to current developments in an evolutionary way, a way that people want to participate in, making it a firm part of their lives.

I’m interested to hear what you’re thinking about this. Do you have questions? Feel free to comment!