Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever clicked a banner ad in my life. Traditional advertising is dead–we are tired of being bombarded with a bunch of crap.

Sure, Facebook is trying to peak our interests becuase they know so much about us. They try to give us stuff we are interested in, It’s not exactly permission advertising though. What we don’t want to see ads from Wendy’s and Blockbuster in our NewsFeed. It’s a waste of my life.

Permission advertising would be Google adwords–we Google something and it gives us “sponsored links” to what we might really be looking for. They are in textual form, don’t add to the clutter and we just bypass them as a google result that we didn’t feel like clicking.

YELP! also has an excellent model with their reviews. People ask for Italian food in Chicago, they get real candid reviews for stuff they are looking for. If your an Italian restaurant in Chicago you can pay for your reviews to be at the top of the page. You’ve got the option to feature one of your best reviews, but if your food is garbage, the negative reviews are still there. In my opinion Yelp is changing the game–it’s about transparency and trust.

Just like www.Progressive.com “Get the Progressive Direct rate and rates of other top companies.” They tell you how their prices line up with their competition; even if they aren’t the best so what– now you trust Progressive and you’ll think of them in the future. That is trust and transparency right there. No fake marketing fronts, public relations jargon, just the honest truth.

Life is short–do business with the people you trust, who are remarkable enough that YOU want to do business with them–not them pleading for YOUR hard earned money.