Dmitry Davidov is an internet marketer and adsense guru (although he probably doesn’t agree with that label) that has achieved the dream of self-sufficiency by making money on the internet. In this interview I ask him about the means by which he has achieved his success and the kind of lifestyle this affords him. We also explore in depth some of the philosophic and ethical issues that concern the science of marketing. This is a must read for anyone looking to earn a living on the internet. As anyone who reads this blog might know, I don’t see eye to eye with Dmitry on many things (which makes for a great interview), but his answers are thoughtful, well considered, and insightful. My thanks to Dmitry for the time taken to give me this interview.
In the first part of this article, I argued there was a explanatory gap in our understanding of the effectiveness of marketing in determining consumer behaviour. While it’s widely accepted that the technical mainstay of modern advertising - the association made between products and symbolic imagery - is extremely effective, no one seems able to explain the cognitive dissonance created in consumers. On the one hand they reject any suggestion that the advertisement has produced any effect on them, yet the billions of dollars spent on marketing every year attest to the exact opposite. I concluded by suggesting that the gap in the explanation was ‘us’ - that the symbolic associations are reinforced as a result of various ingrained social dynamics that commonly exist within social groups. In this part of the article I would like to demonstrate how this can be possible. The task is to give an account of some of the social dynamics that might play a role in this process. I will argue that one of the most significant arises out of agressive and competitive instincts that exist within social groups. While in most contexts these behaviours would be considered relatively harmless, nevertheless they do much to reinforce the advertising message. The picture we get then, is one in which we ultimately deliver ourselves over to the corporations, irrespective of the degree to which we originally felt aloof from their designs.
I’ve long been fascinated by the means by which the marketers so effectively manage to determine our choices in the marketplace. This effectiveness has long been appreciated by the corporations who spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year in marketing their services and products. While information about how these techniques work, and the reasons for their success, are starting to filter down to ordinary people (empowering their choices and to some degree liberating them from the malaise) - still many are unaware of their implicit involvement in marketing processes. We are helping the marketers and we don’t even know it. What I’ll attempt to demonstrate is the degree to which classic marketing techniques rely on the competitive and combative elements of human nature to re-inforce the individual marketing message. Once it is seen just how involved we all are, the insidious nature of corporate marketing becomes stark. We begin to realise just how much we help the marketers to do what they do.
I’ve chosen this title deliberately - with a sense of great irony. Perhaps you’ve been lured here in the hope of finding tips to help you in your quest to become an A-list blogger. You saw the title and couldn’t resist. You want the tips and tricks that will send the masses to your blog. Well - don’t worry. I really will give you the secret to writing fantastic copy, but perhaps not in a way you expect. If I’m successful, you’ll know as much as anyone needs to know about writing good copy - but you’ll not want to use it. The essence of the secret itself will make you want to throw it away - and hopefully make you yearn for something deeper, something more profound.
For a bit of fun I decided to try out the new Lord of the Rings Online game yesterday - since they were giving away beta licenses for free.? It’s one of those massive multiplayer games in the vein of World of Warcraft - I wanted to see what it’s all about.? What […]