“… the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies. It may provide the individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within their own society; a society itself is formed through a plurality of shared norms, customs, values, traditions, social roles, symbols and languages. Socialization is thus ‘the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained’.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialize)

Lots of conversation on different ways to approach this, lots of different ways to approach this conversation. Here’s what I’m hearing and reading: (1) I spoke with a Planning Director in Austin who mentioned an opportunity in the digital space for planning. Digital clients are asking his agency to provide content strategy and data analytics. (2) Then, I read Faris’s (hi?) repost of Fallon’s ‘The Engagement Opportunity’ which calls out the “liminal space”,  labels the value of digital planners, and provides a POV on implications and next steps with some proprietary tools. (3) Yesterday morning, I attended a coffee catch-up with the Austin AMA (American Marketing Association) chapter on the topic of Integrated Marketing Communications. The conversation became energized when the group started discussing the new (marketing) environment and how to stay ahead of the curve. Controlling and herding were suggestions from one side, while parallel pathing and forwardly creating came from another. THESE (control & create) are the two sides of this dynamic.

There’s no doubt we continue to be in the midst of shift. In terms of from / to language, it’s:
from mastery to invention
from telling stories to getting others to tell them for us
from listen/absorb to speak, share, comment, update, check-in
from making stories to making experiences
from campaigns to commitments (Fallon pres- see below)
from talking to doing
from making to being

IMO…
Brands live (lived, have lived) by being a part of life. While there is desire for socializing digital, there is also the reality of our state of being which I see as one of perpetual adaptation. Part microscope (tools/organism in place), part back-packing (packing tools needed but finding the value in the new experience). I hope to speak more with Aki (at Fallon) about this subject…

Relevant fodder for your reading pleasure:
1) BBH is looking for ‘rare breeds’: http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=142795
2) Fallon, The Engagement Opportunity: http://www.slideshare.net/akispicer/fallon-brainfood-x-vcu-brandcenter-the-engagement-opportunity
3) Article on the new creative team: http://edwardboches.com/the-new-creative-team-and-getting-it-to-work?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Creativity_unbound+(Creativity_Unbound)&utm_content=Netvibes