The war of words between the Internet industry's self-proclaimed
gurus and "experts" (come on!) is rapidly getting tiresome.
Barely a week passes without one taking potshots at another, only to
have that person - or, more interestingly still - a third party then
retaliating with a few choice words of their own.
The bottom line is that the Internet, both as a medium and as a
marketing vehicle, is so young that no one can possibly have all the
answers, let alone hold the key to unlock the secrets of using it
successfully.
Right now, it's all trial and error. Whatever may have worked once upon
a time for one client will not, by simple definition of what the
Internet is all about - speed and mutability, lest we forget - work for
another client.
Or might simply not work again. What is bewildering is the confusion
itself - surely the requirements of marketing on the Internet, or using
it as a medium, are simple:
a) People have to know you exist.
b) They have to know how to find you.
c) You have to give them a reason to stay with you.
d) And you have to give them reasons to keep coming back to you.
So why all the mud-slinging? Why can't practitioners be mature and
grown-up enough to admit that as long as the 'Net is still in flux, no
one has all the solutions?
