Welcome to 2012. A year in which the confusion and uncertainty of 2011 will continue to make strategic and marketing planning difficult. And to add to your woes, here\u2019s a thought for those who think they\u2019ll throw a stack of money at social media advertising this year in order to ride out the turmoil:<\/p>\n

Most commentary on social media ignores an obvious truth\u2014that the value of things is largely determined by their rarity. The more people tweet, the less attention people will pay to any individual tweet. The more people \u201cfriend\u201d even passing acquaintances, the less meaning such connections have. As communication grows ever easier, the important thing is detecting whispers of useful information in a howling hurricane of noise. For speakers, the new world will be expensive. Companies will have to invest in ever more channels to capture the same number of ears. For listeners, it will be baffling. Everyone will need better filters\u2014editors, analysts, middle managers and so on\u2014to help them extract meaning from the blizzard of buzz.<\/p>\n

You can read The Economist article from which this was taken\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And, to make you smile, a great idea and an excellent video. What has a pretty flight attendant, salt flats, paratroopers, sushi, and rock band, Falconer? A great piece of creative!<\/p>\n

Mini USA asked people to enter a\u00a0 contest to describe \u2018the best test drive ever\u2019. Matthew Foster of Portland won and his idea was made into this video. Enjoy!<\/p>\n