Where better to find out the strengths and weaknesses of traditional media than traditional media.  Last week I wrote a post about a study that shows the strength print continues to have in bringing us news.  I also pointed out that it is no longer so strong as a marketing vehicle and suggested they will likely change the way they generate revenue.  Relying more on the consumer rather than advertisers.

Many popular news vehicles have started charging for content and The New York Times has announced plans to go back down this road again after having attempted it sometime back. It failed the last time but the world is a little different now, maybe it will work with many other news sources also beginning to move in this direction.

The Internet is buzzing with a variety of blog posts about this decision (click here to see just one of them or explore Google if you want to know more). Exploring several of these articles we find many go pretty deep in giving details on the continued decline of print and traditional media in terms of circulation and advertising revenue.  Those like me who have been inside the traditional media world for the past several years know the realities.  Whether they are said out loud depends on a variety of circumstances.  It’s like the elephant in the room.  It is easy to suggest it is the economy and I’m sure it sped things up but I don’t think that is the reason for the decline.

In the past I did want to believe it was the economy causing the slide downward.  The alternative gave me a sick feeling since selling advertising in a print publication was my career and I happen to still truly enjoy print publications.  Like many of my colleagues (both those still hanging in there and those who’ve moved out) I just didn’t want to contemplate this as a permanent trend.  I believe many are still holding onto the notion that things will just go back to the way they were or maybe just a slightly modified version once we pull out of this recession.

The decision by a media giant like the New York Times to take a second run at charging for their content should rattle at least some who are still clinging to this notion.  Social Media, the Internet, email marketing, RSS feeds, etc. are not toys and they are not going away.  There is a lot of fumbling around by everyone in trying to learn how these tools fit into the big picture but that’s normal.   This is all fairly new and there are no experts.  That’s right, no experts.

Since the sand shifts every single day out here on the Internet there can be no true experts, only authorities in the sense of spending a lot of time experimenting and learning what these new technologies offer.  I read a book recently, The Outliers by Malcom Gladwell.  In it, he takes us through a series of discussions about geniuses to illustrate we don’t necessarily have to be the smartest but instead just smart enough. So don’t worry about being an expert or even finding one…just get smart enough.

That’s the benchmark we need to strive for in stirring in social media and other Internet gadgetry to the marketing mix.  Smart enough to use it to grow our businesses.  Smart enough to recognize the need to change.  Smart enough to just get busy and do it.