Beware those who shout about the shiny object.

I admire and respect people who test and try out new ways of digital marketing, but i detest those that proclaim new ways of digital marketing as the next big thing everyone should adopt and then keep doing so long after it's obvious that's not ever going to be the case.

Throwing bright shiny things in people's faces—especially those that might actually be uninformed enough in the digital realm (and the numbers that aren't are stunning once you step out of your own little echo chamber)—benefits no one in the end. In fact, I'd argue it hurts things in the long run because when they fail, people trust less and less in digital or social tactics.

I've been involved with digital outreach and conversations since the mid-'90s, so I have a clue when it comes to this, and it angers me when others with similar time in the trenches as me abuse that to try an inflate their own reputations without regard for actually pushing the actual relevance that social tactics should carry. It's irresponsible and I've seen far too many people that are guilty of it in the past few years. Idealism mixed with narcissism is often misconstrued as visionary and that simply leads to disaster, at least for those left in the wake, in my humble opinion.

Whew, that felt good to get off my chest!