Seth Godin decrees Steven Stills was wrong
By Sam Chimes
It’s a bold statement to suggest that Steven Stills, ranked #28 in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, was incorrect in his belief that if you can’t be with the one you love, then love the one you’re with. Nevertheless, Seth Godin has applied this to the world of word of mouth, found it not to be the case, and made a point that’s on the money.
Founder of BzzAgent, Dave Balter, created the term ‘scalejacking‘ which is what got Seth thinking (and quoting lyrics). To ‘scalejack’ is, as he explains, the craving for numbers – a “churn and burn mentality” by marketers when it comes to getting the masses on board for their latest bright idea.
“Marketers were raised on the scale of mass – TV, radio, newspapers [...]. The internet turns this upside down. The internet is about who, not how many. The internet lets you take really good care of 100 people instead of harassing 2,000.”
That’s a sentiment we stand by and Seth’s even re-written Stills’ lyrics to better suit the way things should be done – as he admits, his reworking may lack internal pentameter, but it’s true…
