I want to continue to discuss what I raised in my last post regarding my Age of Conversation article regarding how many of us in interactive marketing are so way ahead of the curve that we fail to see that the vast majority of people - you know, everyone else - can’t really relate to what we’re envisioning and talking about.  The topic is important to me.

But Christopher Simpson of Ad Nauseam followed up that last post with one of his own.  In “Nodding Heads”, he points out the disconnect between the enthusiastic thought leaders in new media/social media and those whom said leaders are trying to convince to bring capital to a new enterprise.  I’ll add a bit and include those whom said leaders may be trying to bring on board to their fledgling company because of their specific expertise in an area that the enthusiasts lack.

The disconnect is unnecessary, harmful and all too common.  But it’s not just the entrepreneurs and sales reps that forget that they are way ahead of the curve, it’s also analysts, strategists, and fellow bloggers.

I could give myself a smack in the head for not bookmarking an article in Delicious, but it  had to do with a a Forrester study in which the author, in talking about the usage of something in social media (I can’t remember what the hell it was so I hope it doesn’t kill my point) mentioned that “older people do” something or other, and then went onto say “even older people” and, while I can’t remember the exact age range the “even older” people were, I do remember that I was in it.

Now think about it.  Let’s say your a sales rep for Forrester.  You bring to a sales presentation a study show that surprise, surprise, people that are “even older” are now finally trying out the new cool thing.  But what you now realize is that the person you’re trying to convince to invest in Forrester’s services is smack dab in the “even older” range.  But you can’t do anything about it because that’s what the latest study says.  And it was written by a 28-year old who considers anyone over 40 to be “old”.

The point here is not about the dilemma a sales reps may find themselves in.  It has to do with the people writing the reports.  Sometimes many enthusiasts - be they entrepreneurs or analysts - forget that not only has the world not caught up with them yet, but that they may be actually too far ahead, and can’t see the reality that is now behind them.  So my advice to those who don’t quite get that their enthusiasm does not equate with being on top of things.

Know your audience - Telling someone that even people his age are starting to “get it” is not a good way to start a conversation.  I lost respect for Forrester, and not just because I was mildly insulted. (That type of insult can go in the opposite direction.  I once heard that an analyst from another company derided Twitter because it was “just for kids”.)

Know your customers - in a similar vein, research the people you are trying to convince of doing something, be it fund your company or buy your reports.  They may not be as out of it as you think.  Or they may be on par with reality and it may be YOU who’s a bit adrift in over-hyped bunk.

Change the mindset that tells you that you are at the forefront of a revolution.  It’s an evolution.  It always is.  It may be a quick evolution, but it’s an evolution.  You may even be at the forefront there.  But an evolution takes time to MATURE.

Don’t mistake your vision of the future as how the present should be RIGHT NOW.  Envision the future as being, well, the future.

Because if you don’t do the above, you will have lost your bearings.

Now I didn’t touch on too much what Christopher was talking about.  But I wanted to write that for a few weeks now and Christoper reminded me of it.