The title of this blog, from a quote credited to Peter Tosh, came to mind when I was thinking of most people’s approach to the new digital media.  Everyone wants to “do digital media” but no one wants to do the hard work.  So “let’s do an e-mail blast” really means “let spam.”  And giving an opt out option on the first spam does not make it any less spam.  Ditto text blasts.  There is no short cut.  Building up your lists one by one is really the only way to go.

I’ve been trying to get people to blog in my small ad agency.  Offer of prizes has not helped.  Begging has not helped.  It can only come with genuine interest and desire to blog.  I happen to like writing, once it’s short, so blogging for me is manna from heaven.  When I interview new people, I look for interest in this new space.  So in time we will bring people into pepper who are more likely to blog.

I have also invested a lot of time in building my Linked-in connections and it’s up to me to leverage it now.  After resisting Facebook, I’ve started to pay it more attention, partially because of how I saw it used to their advantage by the UNC/COP in the last elections.

What excites me most though about this new media is its relevance and measurability.  And if we are to make its relevance work for our brands, I need to quote a T&T icon Pat Bishop.  One of her favourite pieces of advice to any team she’s coaching has frequently been “Just do the work.”