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A Shepherd in Wolf’s Clothing

November 30th, 2005 by Larry Adams

How can the son of a Nader’s Raider, grandson of a civil rights activist, nephew of a revolutionary justify a career in Internet marketing?

You might think it’s a stretch, but here goes…

When an individual is born into this world, the strongest predictor of their future prospects for health, education, economic status, etc. is their geography. I cannot think of a greater inequity, and I was born into a family that loathes inequity. A free and universally accessible Internet is a critical factor in eliminating that inequity. I believe that a free Internet will help to improve the standard of living for billions of people who have spent years, decades, centuries struggling for basic survival. A person anywhere in the world with a computer and a connection can now stand on the shoulders of countless giants for free, no strings attached.

The free Internet we have come to know does not exist without the work that you and I do every day. There are two critical elements for the Internet to be useful in underprivileged areas:

Free content
Access to hardware

I am not presently equipped to tackle the second problem. Thankfully others far more capable have already begun to address the issue (1, 2). But I do think that I can make a meaningful contribution to an economic environment that ensures free content and services will continue to thrive. The money that consumers spend directly with advertisers via the Internet, the investment in the infrastructure to support the necessary communication, and the subsequent dollars spent consuming and servicing the things they buy has provided the stimulus to build the Internet we know today. It will fuel pushing the Internet out to users who would otherwise never have a chance to engage in this global exchange. And, it is enriching people and companies with a penchant for change.

Companies that strive to protect the interests of their current and future customers are those that will win in the years to come. To wit, in the wake of Katrina, it was Wal-Mart, not FEMA that was able to mobilize efforts to help people in afflicted areas immediately following the disaster. Wal-Mart was heroically philanthropic, but I’m sure they secured untold future profits (and deservedly so) by being able to reopen stores and keep shelves stocked better than their competitors. Twenty years ago, Wal-Mart would never have been able to respond to the disaster as it did. Say what you will about Wal-Mart’s business practices, a thousand mom and pop hardware stores would never have been able to do what Wal-Mart did.

Technology has changed advertising just as profoundly as supply chain management. Digital advertising facilitates the most efficient and effective communication and commerce services between merchants and their consumers aside from face to face salesmanship. This places immense power in the hands of marketers; and with power, obligation. We have seen countless ways in which advertising has broken users’ trust. If trust is lost for good, the whole system will break down. The cost for currently free services would be forced directly upon individual users. The people who need the Internet the most would not be able to afford it.

On the other hand, if trust is cultivated Internet use will continue to grow. Just like Wal-Mart, it is in my (and your) company’s best interest to ensure that our customers - the individuals at the end of the wire - can reliably interact with us and have faith in our intentions. Doing so means sustainable business models and the continued evolution of the free services that make the Internet so valuable. I have the privilege of being in a position where I can work from within to help build the system the right way. I want to push the Internet’s reach as far as it can go while ensuring that it is done in a way that helps and not harms the people that we are reaching.

I am very excited to have an outlet to engage in a purposeful dialog with those who have the power to guide the future of an industry that cultivates billions of relationships across all barriers physical, economic and cultural. I’d like to thank Jim for inviting me to join the discussion here, and I hope that my contribution will meet the high standards set by my fellow authors.

1 Comment | Filed under: Online Marketing