But lately I have been surprised by the number of business people I have come across that do not understand the cost (or, more importantly, VALUE) associated with interactive marketing and making digital efforts congruent with other marketing activities.

Grace Smith does a great job providing a basic explanation regarding the process behind quality strategy development and interactive marketing execution in her blog post, “Why Web Design Doesn’t Cost £40.”

There are certainly opportunities to scale pricing, design, technology and even the skill-level of people doing work to cater to clients’ budgets and there are certainly resources that can provide “a” solution for whatever budget a client determines.

But for me the biggest hurdle to any quality project is client education. Having to opt out of negotiations because the client and the agency are not on the same page regarding project scope or objectives is the absolute worst. Having a project end sour because of poor communication regarding expectations and deliverables sucks. Every decision-maker cannot take the time out of their full-time responsibilities to learn all there is to know about the web. Not everyone is willing to trust an agency to guide strategy. It’s my goal on my projects to make the process a little less painless and to develop trust with my potential clients.

A few things I have been working on to ease the pain of these scenarios include:

1. Upfront communication about process, deliverables, timeline and budget
2. Set measurable objectives at onset of the project to evaluate success of initiatives
3. Document, document, document everything
4. Keep up to date on latest solutions
5. Really understand my clients’ businesses, challenges and motivations

Knowing that I work in interactive marketing where 99% of our products are never even printed out onto a laser jet, I started reflecting on how much has changed in my industry, and our world, in the last thirty years.

My mom took computer classes where they used punch cards. My grandpa was on the original ARPAnet team. I remember the days of DOS. And here I am today.

I wonder what the future holds for technology, marketing, and, well, my life.

In a semi-related note, my childhood friend, Lauren, just had her first cover story published in Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine. Her article is about obsolescent technology. Read it! http://www.spiritmag.com/features/article/last_tech/

Then, I came across a post about AT&T’s 1993 ad campaign “You Will” and their predictions for how new technology would impact our everyday lives.

Makes me wonder, what technology will we experience in the next 16 years?

My boyfriend was the kind of kid who would take a part things just to see how they worked. I never understood those people… until it came time for me to understand the Internet. It started when I was about 12. I had this really cool graphics software on my computer and there was a way to design web sites on it. So I made a web site and posted it online just to figure out how it worked.

So when everyone started talking about the “blogosphere” I just didn’t get it. Why post things in chronological order? Why would people turn to everyday individuals to hear what they say when they could turn to “credible” published sources? I thought blogs were little Internet diaries where dumb people posted their innermost thoughts for the world to see… and the proceeded to piss off all their friends and families when they saw what they posted online.

I started off just reading blogs, you know, just to see what good would come from it (check out my LINKS page for some of the blogs I frequent). Then I realized that I too had a unique perspective and experiences worth sharing. Not going to go in to details about my personal life or try to piss people off, but I could definitely share things from my school, work and networking experiences.

My subject matter has expanded and changed over the last 12 months If you check out post #1, you can see why I started Resume Rehab and focused this site a little more on marketing, networking and the web.

Then, like any good addiction, I got hooked. And I started writing on multiple blogs. I made new friends through the blogging world. Learned the joys of WordPress and SEO, keyword searches and organic linking. Not only has it been a fun year, I’ve also expanded my professional skills and can help colleagues, clients and friends with navigating the confusing world that is blogging.

I’ve been dabbling in Twitter now too, and let me tell you, I’ve opened a whole new can of worms.

Thanks for stopping by and reading what I have to say. Thanks for year number one and here’s hoping for an even more wild and fun year number two!

I spent the holiday weekend at a friend’s lake house. One day while we sat on the dock, his father asked me if I’d rather go without the Internet or my cell phone? To me, this made no sense – considering I can access the Internet from my phone AND make calls online. Add that to the fact that I own a laptop and have a wireless air card for Internet access…I realized that I am fortunate to have so many ways to communicate that I do not have to chose between technologies!

The Beneath the Brand blog recently posted an OTX survey of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17, asking them which scenario they would prefer. The findings indicate that today’s adolescents have a completely different perspective on communication, social relationships and technology.

So here’s my humble opinion on the matter:

Have a lot of real friends (91%) or have a lot of online friends (9%)?
I’d rather have “real” friends. But of course all the people I talk to online are people I consider real friends, anyways.

Date someone you know from school (87%) or someone you met online (13%)?
I haven’t dated someone I know from school since I was, oh, 16? Even though Internet personals provide a level of pre-screening that I wish real dating had, I think I’d prefer meeting people in person.

Shop in a store (82%) or shop online (18%)?
If I could guarantee that everything I bought online fit correctly and was good quality, I’m pretty sure I’d buy everything online. Given that I have about a 90% failure rate in store dressing rooms – some things just need to be purchased at the store.

Watch a full-length program on TV (81%)  or online (19%)?
Before the writer’s strike, I loved that NBC let you watch shows online. First they didn’t have commercials. That was the best!

Watch no TV for a (74%) have no Internet for a week (26%)?
I could deal with the no TV thing, no problem. And even though I’m an Internet addict, I think I could survive a week without it.

Get information from the Internet (71%) or get information from traditional media like TV, magazines or newspapers (29%)?
Silly people. Don’t they know you can watch TV and read magazines and newspapers online now?

Get your locker vandalized (71%) or get your personal home page vandalized (29%)?
Not a big fan of vandalization. I guess it would depend what happened before I could determine which I’d “prefer.”

Be limited to antenna-TV (63%) or dial-up Internet (37%)?
At my parent’s house… there is both antenna TV AND dial-up Internet. How quaint. Got to love living in a heavily wooded, hilly area.

Instant message your friend (54%) or call your friend (46%)?
No contest. Total motormouth.

The gap extends beyond the conference room and into everyday casual conversation. This year, we’ve been experiencing devastating floods here in St. Louis. My coworkers talk about their memories of the last flood. When they turn to hear my anecdotes, all I can offer is that my mom took a picture of me sandbagging in Valley Park when I was in the second grade. Yes, I was in the second grade in 1993.

To help relieve the shock when dealing with youngsters, Beloit College in Wisconsin publishes the Mindset List each year to help college professors understand the perspective of incoming college freshmen.

Here are a few of the most striking things on my Mindset List, for those born in 1985:

• Iraq has always been a problem.
• “Ctrl + Alt + Del” is as basic as “ABC.”
• Paul Newman has always made salad dressing and Pete Rose has always been a gambler.
• Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their parents.
• There has always been a screening test for AIDS.
• Gas has always been unleaded.
• Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
• They have never gotten excited over a telegram, a long distance call, or a fax.
• Three-point shots from “downtown” have always been a part of basketball.
• Stores have always had scanners at the checkout.
• They have always had a PIN number.
• Yuppies are almost as old as hippies.
• Peeps are not a candy, they are your friends.

And here’s a selection from this year’s college freshmen list:

• What Berlin wall?
• They have grown up with bottled water.
• General Motors has always been working on an electric car.
• “Off the hook” has never had anything to do with a telephone.
• Al Gore has always been running for president or thinking about it.
• Being a latchkey kid has never been a big deal.
• High definition television has always been available.
• MTV has never featured music videos; Jerry Springer has always been lowering the level of discourse on TV; and they never saw Johnny Carson live on television.
• The World Wide Web has been an online tool since they were born.
• Food packaging has always included nutritional labeling.

So to end this post, I’d like to leave you with a quote from one of my favorite movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, released in June 1986, when I was 8 months old.

“Life goes by pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” -Ferris Bueller