As the dark nights get longer and colder, I’m not sure whether I’ve been struck down by SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder – or I just need to get real and chug a few mulled wines a couple of weeks early as.......to tell you the truth......I’m a bit depressed!
Last week I spent four days with a BBC film crew traversing the East Sussex countryside in search of an Escape in the Country. When the director and producer tried to get to know me and my girlfriend Ashley (she works at Microsoft Advertising too) they were fascinated to know about internet marketing for precisely ten minutes before I called time on the conversation because their eyes had started to glaze over. Was it because their jobs seemed far more tangible and, dare I say, interesting than ours, or are we so used to talking in CPMs, CPCs, SEOs and ROIs that we sometimes forget it took us a while to grasp the theory and shouldn’t expect everyone to be over-enthused on first exposure just because we live and breathe it?!
I can’t tell you the amount of times I have just had to swallow my pride, nodding in agreement when I get introduced as someone that works in IT or computers! If I correct the introducer saying I work in advertising, the two simply don’t connect in most people’s minds so we all end up looking a bit silly.
So am I over-reacting? Do we digital folk live in a bit of a bubble? Are we facilitating billions of pounds worth of clicks and impressions for advertisers to connect with users who don’t care how it works, but just want to experience it?
Should we just be quietly proud because we’re at the cutting edge of marketing advertising and it’s taking a while for the mainstream to catch up?
As he opens his presents on Xmas Day, will my nephew announce that he wants to do a degree in Search Engine Optimisation when he goes to university?
Will my father want to discuss the Google/Yahoo deal or the impact of social networking on the youth of today when we go to watch Plymouth Argyle on Boxing Day?
Probably not................maybe next year?
