The Word on WOM - Ramblings from WOMMA Summit Vegas

The convergence of Social Networking and WOM is finally upon us. It did indeed take the forethought of Mr. Zuckerberg to shed light on this inflection point. But make no mistake, the 450 marketers gathered here in Vegas are waking this morning to a new era, a new paradigm and a new understanding that social media is where it is at. Brands are poised and enabled to enter the conversation like never before. A breakfast this morning was dedicated to the art and science of Influencer marketing. I'm not a big fan of the "influencer" label- but the discipline of firing up your "brand lovers" is core to my vision for Brand Networks. I'm bullish that this is the future of marketing (or I probably wouldn't have quit my job to pursue it), my only question is whether that future is now.

I might even classify the tone of the first speakers Ed Keller (keller-fay) and Peter Waldheim (womma) as revolutionary. Traditional advertising was served notice. Coming from that business, I curiously await the advertising industry's response to the gauntlet laid down here today and by the champions of social media in the blogosphere and traditional media.

The game is on (or so the head of marketing for Microsofts Halo 3 has pronounced). I'll post interesting tidbits throughout the next two days here from the front-lines of the revolution.