The Importance of Seeing Ernest

Ernie "the Attorney" Svenson was in San Francisco I had the extreme pleasure to spend a couple of hours with him and his girlfriend Adriana. I had not met her before and was pleased at what a fine fit they seem to make.  They have the old couple feel of people who finish each other's sentences and the new couple feel of two people who have trouble keeping their hands off each other in a public place.

In my heart, Ernie is one of my closest friends.  This is part of the blogosphere's illusion. This was only the third time I've actually laid eyes on the guy. The rest comes from reading his blog, back channel email and reading some stuff he's written that may or may not grow into a book.

Ernie's a bit skinnier and grayer than the last time I saw him, which I suspect has something to do with the life changes someone dedicated to the New Orleans lifestyle has recently experienced. His ironic sense of humor is still there, but it's comes to the surface a bit slower than I recall it. His attitude about New Orleans has changed significantly.  He used to reside there.  Now he's committed to the city's rebirth and talking about it evokes passion.

Our time together flew past.  We made the usual non-binding vows.  He would come back to San Francisco.  I would come spend a few days in what was once New Orleans. Maybe one of us will actually keep the promise. Maybe not.

The importance of it is that it reminds me that the blogosphere is more of a social thing than a marketing thing.  Friendships, trust relationships and confidences are built and shared.  This is the aspect of the blogosphere that gets my passion.

Business that comes from the blogosphere comes because of the trusted friendships you make. These days, marketers are coming in droves to this new medium, and they are missing the fundamental importance of the Personal Web.

All that aside, it was just nice seeing Ernie--and all too brief.

Comments

[Jeremy Ballenger]

Maybe you've just answered your own question on renaming Web 2.0?

The 'Personal Web'? Nice one Shel.

[Jane Genova]

There is something else about the Personal Web (I agree with Jeremy, you have your new name for Web 2.0). And that's the relationships I develop online seem a better overall fit than those I develop offline in my everyday personal and professional life.

There's probably a book on why this happens. But it does happen.

My hunch is because the medium is so intense that we express what cannot easily be expressed in conventional society.

My first virtual friendship, which still endures, was with my blog designer and mentor Paul Chaney of the Radiant Marketing Group (http://www.radiantmarketinggroup.com). That was a year ago (the first anniversary of my blog is April 1st.) Since then I have added so many other new personalities to my virtual network.

Will polite society ever catch up to the ability to connect in the blogosphere? That's a good question.

[Jack Krupansky]

Sorry, but I do feel compelled to disagree with those who think "Personal Web" is a good new name for "Web 2.0", for this simple reason that so much of what falls under the Web 2.0 umbrella is *not* personal. Yes, it is clearly a "social web", but that covers a lot of mob behavior and distinctly impersonal activity as well.

I would say that it's not a Personal Web unless it *directy* leads to one-on-one connections and interactions between real people. Not necessarily in-person, but in-person meeting is an example of one of the benefits of connecting on "The Personal Web".

I suspect that it is rather hopeless to expect marketers to recognize the value of a Personal Web until overall corporate management migrates from traditional Corporate America to what I call Corporate America 2.0.

If you don't have true, *naked* conversations where a real employees who are empowered to act on their own are connecting with a real stakeholders in deeply meaningful conversations, you simply are not going to see the flowering of a Personal Webosphere.

The really interesting conversations will start happening as Corporate America 2.0 collides (in a friendly way) with all of our Personal Webospheres.

-- Jack Krupansky