Considering the whole reason I watch the Superbowl is for the commercials, when I heard about the Mullen/Radian6 BrandBowl (hashtag #brandbowl on Twitter) I was pretty excited. Finally, something for us AdHeads to participate in. Other than yelling at party guests who carelessly mill around right in front of the TV, or stumble past it on their way to the ice chest. During epic moments in advertising history.

Yes, for those of us who up until shortly after 6:00 p.m. had no real clue which teams were playing, we would have our own game inside the game.

A reason to get excited other than those little party wieners or our game “squares” that used to be the only motivation to plant ourselves on a couch for five hours on a perfectly good Sunday.

So despite the fact that I was looking forward to the BrandBowl, I found myself invited to a Superbowl party where basically no one was paying attention to the commercials (heresy!) other than some quiet guy hiding in a corner behind a Macbook Pro… until he quickly dashed from the party around half-time mumbling something about having to go to work to deal with calls and comments related to two Superbowl spots his company produced. Or something. Whaaaa?? Unfortunately I didn’t get to have any geekversation with him because he left so quick. Geez, for all I know he was BrandBowling that whole time.

Well, that’s what I was doing. My iPhone was fully charged and running pretty much the whole game. And let me tell you, I never had so much fun during a Superbowl.

But here’s the deal. It’s hard to see all the commercials when you’re BrandBowling! The network needs to come up with some scheduling plan next year that alternates great spots with lame spots. Because by nature, BrandBowling only allows you to watch every other commercial.

Watch commercial: 30 seconds.
Tweet about the commercial: 30 seconds.
Watch commercial: 30 seconds.
Tweet about commercial: 30 seconds.

And this doesn’t include commenting to other BrandBowlers or responding to followers. Which can really eat up precious viewing time. And don’t get me started on how racing to tweet seriously limits the depth of your analysis. Those “in-the-moment” tweets aren’t quite as astute as what you might say when you watch the spots in a quiet room by yourself. I actually cringed at a couple of my tweets given a few seconds to reflect after the fact. But regardless, BrandBowl was awesome and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Needless to say, I barely saw the football game.

So given all of the impediments to unfettered participation (including my party host TURNING THE VOLUME DOWN DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS!!) I’m already coming up with ways to improve my BrandBowl performance next year. Probably starting with some finger push-ups, typing classes, mission control computer set-up, and staying home from any Superbowl party so I can take full advantage of the DVR. And VOLUME CONTROL.

Or maybe I’ll watch the commercials in advance. Of course that would eliminate the fun and adrenaline of seeing spots for the first time as they roll across the TV screen. There’s just something magical about that. Not sure I want to give that up. It really added a greater level of excitement to the event.

I think that’s one of the reasons BrandBowl was so wildly popular. In the moment, you feel like the REAL game is the Brandbowl. And the Superbowl is just bathroom break filler until the next commercial rolls.

And then we’re back in the game!

BrandBowling is my new favorite contact sport. (Pun not intended). Thanks, Mullen and Radian6, Superbowls will never be the same.

Read the BrandForward reviews of the Superbowl spots!

Touchdown or Smackdown: Best & Worst Ads of Superbowl 2010

The best advertising creates a connection between the brand and the consumer, like a neural pathway that opens communication. The best advertising leverages the soul of the brand and doesn’t abandon it for a temporary attention spike.

Which advertisers had the touchdowns? Which ones earned a smackdown? Here’s the BrandForward list of Superbowl 2010’s best and worst ads.

Touchdown! Best Ads of Superbowl 2010

#1: Google: Parisian Love

In-house

I have to admit when I saw this spot during the game I was not impressed. Despite the occasional ribbing I give the company, I’m a fan of Google and was hoping it would school Yahoo! and Bing in what it means to be a search engine.

So you can imagine my dismay when I looked up from my Superbowl beer to see search terms and nondescript music. Yawwwwwn. Okay so I was at a Superbowl party. Not exactly the most ideal place for concentrating on ads. I didn’t even see the first two or three seconds of the ad, and by then they’d lost me. It didn’t help that the room got loud and people started heading to the snacks and beer (and walking in front of the TV) whenever subtle spots like Google came on. Of course the room got still and quiet and everyone was at full attention whenever spots from GoDaddy or Doritos were rolling.

Well, I’m glad I took the time to go through the spots again. Because the Google ad was incredible. Simple, honest, unpretentious. Brand-building at its best.

#2: Chrysler: Dodge Charger (Man’s Last Stand)

Wieden & Kennedy – Portland, OR

This spot connects so deeply with its target consumer. Not only is it saying “Yeah, we feel your pain,” but it’s also subtly telling men that they better have a mean-looking muscle car or the world will think they’re completely whipped, probably doing a lot more than just carrying lip balm. We’re talking buying tampons. I love the subversive urgency this spot creates. I bet there were a lot of men waking up the next morning not so happy to be driving that minivan to work.

#3: Hyundai: Paint

Innocean Worldwide Americas – Irvine, CA

Wow. Works of art are meant to last. The message is clear. I understand who Hyundai is and what the brand embodies. And cool, it has a soul. By now, the company’s 10-year warranty is pretty much common knowledge, and this gorgeous spot evolves that practical message into something more powerful and meaningful. Hyundai tells us it values its vehicles, takes pride in its craftsmanship, and does not build throwaway junk.

#4: Snickers: You’re Not You When You’re Hungry

BBDO – New York

In some circles, this spot isn’t getting much love. But it felt right to me. Granted, I haven’t seen another Snickers spot in quite awhile so maybe this is a departure from whatever else it is they’re doing. Well, I think this is what they should be doing. Maybe it’s because I’m not me when I’m hungry, or maybe it’s that I actually enjoy Betty White (Anyone see her in Lake Placid?). But I think this was a spot that capitalized on pretty much the only honestly good reason to grab a Snickers: When you’re hungry, you’re not yourself.

This spot connected the brand to human truth, found a way to make us laugh about it, and presented Snickers as a solution to a universal problem. You better believe the next time I get hungry and cranky I’m going to hear Betty White in my ear telling me to grab a Snickers.

#5: Homeaway: Hotel Hell Vacation

Publicis in the West – Seattle

I’m a big fan of the Vacation movies. What can I say? I was a child of the 80s. I saw Vacation no fewer than 5 or 10 times. Christmas Vacation at least double that. So when I saw an aged Clark Griswold pop up on the screen, I knew exactly what they were selling: A vacation where everything doesn’t go wrong. What better way to demonstrate the perils of ill-prepared vacations than with the most iconic vacationer known to man? If the short version didn’t sell you, there’s a 13-minute mini-movie, aptly titled: “Hotel Hell Vacation.” Truckster on.

#6: Denny’s: Chicken Warning

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – San Francisco

While Carmax went dramatically wrong with animal gags, Denny’s screaming chickens stole the show as they braced for Denny’s Free GrandSlam promotion. As the announcer says, “Great day to be an American. Bad day to be a chicken.”

#7: Cars.com

DDB – Chicago

Maybe it’s just that I’m a Wes Anderson fan and the “Timothy Richman” spot made me think of Rushmore, but I like the concept of connecting a story of confidence to the brand, and the clever backstory of Timothy, even though it did have a disappointing pay-off. All said and done, this is a concept that stays true to the brand’s core value. And has legs. Lots of them. Pretty close to brilliant. Just wish it had spent more time in the oven.

#8: Teleflora: Talking Flowers/Mr. Warmth

In-house

Someone will probably hit me for this, but I actually liked the Teleflora spot where it was assumed that getting cheap, boxed flowers means you’re probably dating a guy serving time in prison. I don’t honestly know how effective TV advertising is for the floral industry. Do guys buy flowers anymore? Do guys watch commercials about flower delivery services? Or maybe women order their own flowers and have them sent to the office? Regardless, it’s clear if you’re going to get someone flowers you better not buy on the cheap.

#9: Flo.tv: Moments

Magner Sanborn – Spokane, WA & Agency 3.0 – Los Angeles

Can’t say I’m a big fan of the “montage-as-ad,” but this one works. It takes us down memory lane and reminds us that TV allows us to experience great moments in history. And that we should keep watching because there will be more. And we should have a TV wherever we go so we don’t miss anything. Pretty effective.

#10: NFL: Best Fans on the Planet

Grey – New York

Another montage ad. But the slow-mos, along with the emotive “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire, put you into the moment and almost make you forget the NFL is an evil empire. And has a lot of fans that don’t seem to mind.

Smackdown! Worst Ads of Superbowl 2010

#1: Boost Mobile: Shuffle

180 – Los Angeles

New lows in advertising. And it’s not even GoDaddy. I swear the talk in the creative lounge had to be “Okay, so we don’t have a decent concept yet and the client wants a presentation, like yesterday. So hurry, let’s just pick the one that makes the least sense and has as little to do with the product as possible.” Or maybe they just drew from a hat. I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what’s wrong. This spot.

#2: Carmax: Dramatically Smart

Boone Oakley – Charlotte, NC

There were a handful of these spots but I’m going to group them all together. If you saw one ad you saw them all. And you’ll probably wish you hadn’t. An animal sees a Carmax commercial and responds with a look of amazement. At first, I was confused and thought I’d missed something. Apparently not, because I watched the rest of the campaign. And they’re all the same gag. No pun intended.

#3: Bud Light

Cannonball – St. Louis

Here’s another brandbackward campaign. What is Anheuser-Busch trying to communicate about Bud Light? The whole thing was a real train wreck. What does “Here We Go” mean? And why does “Drinkability” matter? And where did “Sure Sign of a Good Time” come from? It felt like there were three different creative teams working from three different continents with three different taglines suffering from three different mental disorders. It was like a creative free-for-all with no brand manager to keep everything on-message and on-brand.

Buckets of wacky, man-esque humor, including voice boxes, a house made of beer cans, and witty send-ups to Lost couldn’t save Bud Light from a lack of cohesiveness and no clear sense of brand. Focus, people, FOCUS.

#4: GoDaddy

In-house

This is what happens when 15 year-old boys are taught Final Cut Pro. And given a few million dollars.

#5: Budweiser

DDB – Chicago

Not impressed with this year’s showing for Budweiser. The “Clydesdale/Fence” spot had an extremely weak pay-off, and after a lengthy build-up I was expecting genius. Denied. I did have some respect for “Bridge” but only because I personally recognize the human tragedy that would befall a town deprived of its daily beer shipment. I hope they’re starting today coming up with concepts for the next Superbowl. Because this year was pretty much a fumble whale.

#6: Emerald Nuts and Pop Secret: Awesomer

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – San Francisco

This 2-for-1 spot featured a Seaworld-style setting with an annoying show announcer training humans to act like Dolphins. To catch snacks. Yeah, I’d leave this one off the reel. But that tagline: Awesome + Awesome = Awesomer was pretty clever, and an effective way to combine two products in one ad. This is one of those ads that could have been “awesomer” if it just had an awesome concept to add to the awesome tagline.

#7: Doritos (campaign)

Crowdsourced

The Doritos “Crash the Superbowl” contest resulted in a handful of spots that did pretty much nothing for Doritos from a branding standpoint, but propelled the world forward in connecting consumers to their favorite brands. Which despite the questionable ads, is a good thing. If more companies encouraged customers to take these kind of creative liberties and get more involved, we could see some really interesting developments.

On the other hand, I’d be cautious about letting the crowd hold the reigns of the brand. After watching the Doritos spots it’s clear that the creative that comes out of crowdsourcing can be a lot less sophisticated and strategic than what a brand steward would probably want to see on national television or another venue that gives consumers the impression that the brand is speaking in first person. Yes, the consumer owns the brand. And America is also a free country. But frankly, I don’t want to see my neighbors driving 150 mph down I-84. And I don’t necessarily want to see someone eating Doritos in a coffin.

#8:Taco Bell: It Rocks

DraftFCB – Irvine, CA

Um, no it doesn’t.

#9: Dockers: Men Without Pants

DraftFCB – San Francisco

A bunch of men in tighty whities. A spot rife with manulite and crotch shots. My eyes are still hurting. And to add insult to injury, the network saw fit to run two ads with partially unclothed men next to each other. I still can’t remember what the other spot was for. (Oh yeah. Careerbuilder.com, a spot I actually kind of liked.)

#10: Bridgestone: Whale of a Tale

Richards Group – Dallas

Brand-building spots these are not. If they would just replace the tires with beer, they’d be in business.

So where is that witty Audi “Green Police” spot, the Kia Sorrento ad with the partying stuffed animals, and the Volkswagen PunchDub spot? These were highly creative spots that either failed at building their brand or compromised the brand in some way. Or grasped defeat from the hands of victory. They weren’t the best or the worst (although I loved the “Green Police” spot), but deserve some special mention. Look for the recap on these ads and more in my upcoming post: “Superbowl Brandfail.”

If you’d like to tweet this post, here’s a trimmed link you can copy and paste: http://tr.im/touchdown

Because I will have an iPad.

And it will be getting a pillow.

So how can we be so sure that the iPad is really worth getting hot and bothered about? How can we get excited, get our debit cards ready and holstered, when pretty much everything we’ve heard in the last 48 hours is that the iPad is nothing more than a glorified iPhone?

And with less functionality?

Oh, Apple. Can we really have faith in your “magical and revolutionary” new device that apparently lacks all the features we’ve come to know and love?

(Such as:)

If you’re inclined to believe the interwebs, the iPad:

“is missing a lot”

“sucks and you shouldn’t buy one”

“is a giant iPhone”

“has some absolutely backbreaking failures”

and

“sounds like a F—ING tampon.”

Heck, some are even saying a netbook (gasp!) is a better choice than the iPad.

So with the realization that the iPad is covered in frosting but not fully baked, can we (and our debit cards) overlook what appears to be such glaring and fatal flaws and allow the liberation of $499+ from our checking accounts?

Yes. And I’ll tell you why.

Because it’s an Apple.

And if there’s one (or two) things history tells us about Apple, it’s that there will be a lot of critics.

And there will be a revolution.

The key reason the iPad is worth owning, despite its shortcomings, is because no matter what it lacks today, no matter which functional “oversights” the critics say will make it a lame duck or an irrelevant yet shiny toy… no matter… as the iPad evolves it’s pretty much guaranteed to exceed expectations. And most likely spark a user revolution that turns the iPad into a ubiquitous, can’t-live-without product that flies off shelves.

How do we know this?

The iPhone. Look back to when it was unveiled in 2007. Remember what it was lacking and what the critics were saying? It didn’t have GPS. It didn’t have MMS or 3G or downloadable apps. It didn’t have push notification or cut-and-paste or video recording. And we were walking to school uphill in the snow.

And lest we overlook the most heinous offense, it didn’t have Verizon.

But three years later, 75 million iPhones and iPod Touches have been sold, there have been more than 12 billion iPhone app downloads, and let us not forget the more than 125 million Apple borgs using the iTunes store.

Not bad for an irrelevant, shiny toy.

Sure, the first-generation iPad lacks some compelling features. Some essential features. But just like any long-term relationship, you have to accept some flaws in the beginning… overlook the mouth breathing… the outdated hair… questionable fashion choices. (And if you’re in New Jersey, the spray-on tan.) And have some faith in what could develop.

After 34 years and countless revolutionary ideas that have changed the way we connect with the world, Apple has earned at least that.

And certainly a little space on the pillow.

If you’d like to tweet this post, here’s a trimmed link you can copy and paste: http://tr.im/buyipad

(Statistics via Steve Jobs during Apple keynote on January 27, 2010. Story image from photo sharing site, imgur.com).

Oh and there’s a roiling pit of hell directly underneath Melinda’s charming suburban antique shop.

Of course, all of these situations culminate in Melinda cheerfully solving a ghostly problem and helping a lost soul cross over into the light. In case it’s not obvious, Melinda has a special gift. She’s usually the only one who can actually see these ghosts and communicate with them. Without her clairvoyance, they’re destined to roam the Earth. Serving as imaginary friends and subject material for episodes of Ghost Hunters.

The whole reason I even bring up Ghost Whisperer is because of an impromptu conversation I had with a wise and intuitive family member while I was in Houston a few months ago. “Dee” was interested in hearing about my latest projects and clients, and the discussion evolved into my marketing philosophies and the branding process they eventually dovetailed into (with a huge thanks to @meredithroach a friend and former colleague who had formerly worked on the Southwest Airlines account at GSD&M, and gave me vital guidance and clarity at just the right time!).

Well thanks to my afternoon with Dee, my eyes were opened to a really interesting concept relating to the part of my work I’m most passionate about, brand positioning, and why I’ve always been drawn to “counseling” companies with unresolved issues.

I know, I know. Brand Positioning. It sounds so traditional, so corporate. But I don’t see it that way.

When approached in the right spirit (no pun, seriously!) brand positioning provides an opportunity to discern the soul and the essence of a brand or a company. It allows the facilitator to absorb a lot of information. To experience the company as an energy, as opposed to an inanimate construct. To really get down to the core, to “feel” who the company is, why it exists, and what’s truly driving its existence. Going through a brand positioning workshop is a little like Melinda listening to the concerns of the ghost, understanding the issues of the living friend or relative, and coming up with the reason the ghost hasn’t crossed over, and what they’ll have to do to reconcile and reach the pearly gates.

Dee wanted to call it “spiritual business.” And I kind of liked that. It had a nice ring.

But I watch a lot of Ghost Whisperer.

So one day while Melinda was rescuing a repenting politician and releasing his angry attachment, it came to me:

“Every company and every brand needs a Brand Whisperer!”

So many companies have issues that plague them. I’ve worked with clients with painful personnel problems, clients with conflicting management views and opposing goals, still others bound by politics that were strangling the life out of the organization. Looking back, I’m starting to have some empathy for Melinda when she was bombarded with entities!

As the Brand Whisperer you have to absorb all of the facts and energies, you have to see things from all angles. You have to breathe in and let the company speak to you. You have to be a conduit. You have to move beyond the questionnaires and the checklists and the assumptions to reach the core truth… the foundation of what the brand or company embodies.

And determine the actions it needs to take in order to move forward into renewed purpose, increased growth, and internal harmony.

Every organization and every brand has the answers deep within. The ones that aren’t at their optimal growth and energy have just lost their way, lost touch with the original vision and passion that inspired the organization’s birth to begin with. Or sometimes they opened a new company, started providing a service, and never defined their true offering… and then couldn’t understand why sales became flat or new customers weren’t knocking down the door.

To get on track, it’s just a matter of rediscovering the core, getting the entire company in alignment, and developing an action plan for growth that’s consistent with the company’s soul.

This sort of “spiritual branding” is a deeply moving experience for everyone involved. I always tell clients before beginning a session to bring the Kleenex and be prepared for catharsis. Owning or managing a company that’s having problems with stability, profitability, internal issues, or brand identity can be draining. Many times that’s the reason a client agrees to go through the process. They want to grow, they want to resolve their operational problems, they want to maximize the impact of a tight marketing budget, they want to know why things are happening and how the company can move beyond current obstacles.

They want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Discovering a company’s core value unlocks a Rosetta Stone that can be leveraged across the company to heal, define, and inspire. When everyone in the company finally understands what they’re working toward and why they wake up every morning, it’s a powerful motivator and one of the most holistic, organic ways to grow a business from the inside out. While also increasing everyone’s level of cooperation and personal satisfaction.

Yes, let’s not get distracted here. Everyone certainly does wake up and go to work primarily for company revenue and personal financial gain. But without the spiritual component, taking into account that staff and employees need a sense of deep value in their work and that consumers need to feel good about who they do business with, there’s going to be a lack of positive feelings to propel the company forward.

Never forget that a company consists of the combined energy of the people working in it and the customers who interact with it. Without positive vibrations from within the company and from the hearts of consumers, the magic of energetic momentum will not exist. If you’re wondering if that’s esoteric chatter or a real concept, talk to the masters of brand energy, Apple and Southwest Airlines. They haven’t done too shabby with it.

To think of it in Ghost Whisperer terms: To achieve healthy and holistic growth, companies need to make sure they’re on the right “spiritual” path, connected with their core “energy,” and in touch with their “divine” purpose.

Any more spiritual puns or references I missed? ;)

I have to thank Dee for giving me a gift that day while sitting on her couch: she helped me see that brand positioning isn’t some technical, robotic process that can be methodically performed. Someone can’t just assemble checklists and questionnaires and duplicate the experience. Just because someone knows what a core value is doesn’t mean they’ll uncover the right one. It’s a spiritual process, an enlightenment, that combines both business and spiritual aptitudes. A subtle communication between the Whisperer and the brand that leads to a deep understanding. And it can also be leveraged on an individual level by helping people find the core value of their own personal brands!

For companies, this understanding is the foundation for a marketing program that weaves the core value into every aspect of the operation. It answers questions, helps guide management into making values-based decisions, and serves as a guiding light for the entire organization. Releasing old ghosts and breathing new life.

Why does cores values branding or “spiritual branding” even matter?

Because consumers today are more educated, more savvy, have access to more options, AND THEY HAVE HIGHER EXPECTATIONS.

If a company isn’t consistent, honest, connective, and emotionally relevant to the consumer, they’ll move on to do business with another company. Consumers are drawn to what’s real and genuine. If a company isn’t living its core value, if it doesn’t offer an experience that “feels right,” consumers smell a fraud or don’t make a connection. They may not detect the reason on a tangible level, but their subtle discomfort causes them to look for other options. That’s why uncovering a company’s core value and leveraging and living it consistently will draw consumers into the brand community. They subconsciously crave being a part of experiences (and brands) that are aligned, balanced, and represent something higher.

And most importantly, when you begin to subtly and consistently integrate the core value into your marketing and operations, the energy of the company begins to shine. Your customers have a renewed sense of why they do business with you, and new customers feel an energetic pull toward you.

Customers are always drawn into the light.

Can you tell when a company has had the benefit of a Brand Whisperer? Some of the greatest brands have evidence of a Brand Whisperer at work. Beyond Apple and Southwest, think about Nissan’s “Shift.” Or Nike’s Just “Do” It. How about when you’re at Target you can Expect “More.” And what about Visa’s “Go” or HP’s “Invent.” Each of these companies discovered who they are at the core, why they exist, what value they provide beyond the tangible. And they’re leveraging that truth to build powerful brands.

Can you see the work of a Brand Whisperer in your favorite brands? Which companies have an undefinable positive energy? Which ones speak to you?

And is your company ready for its own Brand Whisperer?

If you’d like to tweet this post, here’s a trimmed link you can copy and paste: http://tr.im/whisperer

That fantasy lasted a whole three minutes.

While visions of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song angel may have briefly danced in my head (yes, I also thought I was a rebel) there was this little voice of reason that chose at that moment to scream rather loudly “DON’T DO ITTTTT!”

Yeah, I wasn’t much of a rebel after all. My wonder years consisted of a series of close attachments to more audacious friends who I could live through vicariously. Heck, I wasn’t even cool enough to let my senior prom date wear a Zeppelin T-shirt under his jacket for fear we’d get thrown out. I even made him change. Some rebel I was.

I don’t know if Shannon ever got that tattoo. At least during high school she didn’t have the requisite courage in the face of needles, didn’t have the $300, and had a lack of vehicle freedom that all conspired to stop her. Regardless, it was pretty fortunate. My father would’ve never allowed me within 100 miles of her for the rest of my natural life.

Fast forward “a few years.” (Aren’t euphemisms awesome?)

While getting a tattoo takes planning, a stuffed piggy bank, and the keys to an unguarded vehicle, social media carries some of the same qualities of a tattoo with none of the barriers to entry.

Let’s compare:

Tattoo:
Permanent, mostly irreversible, possibly a job killer. Captured evidence of questionable judgment at some point in the past. Even if it’s just a whimsical remnant of an indiscriminate youth, its current presence and visibility makes a statement that can’t be easily erased or ignored.

Social Media:
Permanent, mostly irreversible, possibly a job killer. Captured evidence of questionable judgment at some point in the past. Even if it’s just a whimsical remnant of an indiscriminate youth, its current presence and visibility makes a statement that can’t be easily erased or ignored.

It’s a good thing social media wasn’t around back when Shannon and I were in high school or college. I perish the thought of what would have probably been questionably inappropriate blog postings following us some 20 or 30 years later. Do I really want the 17 year-old writer in me having any influence on what potential clients or employers are thinking about me today? Or what about the 22 year-old me that got more than a few letters to the editor published? Today, all that would be online. A part of my permanent record.

Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the early end of Gen Y got lucky that social media transparency didn’t come into vogue until just recently. We’ve all (for the most part) had the time to acquire the wisdom and experience that creates at least a little caution.

But what about younger Gen Y and Millenials?

What about parents creating baby Facebook pages and planning childrens’ names around available URLs?

Social media transparency has created a whole phenomenon that hasn’t had time to hit us yet. What happens when an entire generation that was “born online” (or has had an online presence since even middle school or junior high) is ready to be taken seriously?

It’s always been said “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Well what happens when who you know knows everything there is to know?

It’s like you’re writing an ongoing resume. That spans 10, 20, 30+ years. Gone are the days of carefully controlling a potential employer’s perception with two sheets of paper. Your identity is online and the only relevant pieces of information on that two-page resume are the two words at the top: your name.

Consider them googled.

The question now is what have you been adding to your social media tattoo? How many years have you been adding to it? Is it as carefully crafted as a traditional resume? Or is it a hodge podge of kegger photos, misogynist rants, and random tweets that allude to your life as a disgruntled employee?

The most important thing we all have to remember about social media is that our tweets, posts, and comments come without CONTEXT.

Just because you have 2,100 tweets that are perfectly sane doesn’t mean an occasional F-bomb or a workplace rant will be forgiven by the employer who didn’t have the benefit of watching your stream every day for two years. They only get a quick snapshot and make a dozen assumptions about you based on what they find.

And oh yeah. Just because 99.999% of your Facebook photos are rated PG doesn’t mean a friended co-worker you’re competing with for a promotion won’t come across that “one time at band camp.” And anonymously forward it to your boss. An ill-timed reveal of the office pet’s well-concealed snarkiness or behind-the-scenes indiscretion might make an otherwise adoring boss think twice.

Even though your potential clients and employers are human, too… and they should understand that no one is perfect… they can’t help but come to conclusions about you based on the contents of your social media presence. They don’t have the benefit of context and that’s what makes an innocent remark or photo so dangerous.

Yes, transparency and authenticity are essential to a rewarding online experience because those are the qualities that connect us to people and create real relationships. We should all strive to embrace transparency and be our authentic selves online. But there’s a fine line between being who we are and “letting it all hang out.”

It’s called discretion.

And discretion can live peacefully alongside authenticity and transparency. But it’s an art that takes time to master. And in the meantime there will be tweets we’d like to take back, blog posts we wish hadn’t published, and comments we hope aren’t seen out of context.

Just because we didn’t spend a couple of hours getting a tattoo doesn’t mean there’s not permanent, visible evidence that we don’t always make the best long-term decisions.

And in a lot of ways, social media is even more visible and permanent:

The biggest difference in a tattoo and social media is that a tattoo can be placed in hidden locations, reflecting a higher level of personal discretion and judgment, whereas social media by its very nature is public. Even Facebook or MySpace privacy settings can’t stop someone who’s determined.

Social media is the new tattoo. And no amount of opaque make-up or layers of clothing can conceal it.

What are some words of wisdom you’d share with today’s kids who are embarking on social media? Do you think they’d be able to understand why we talk about the importance of discretion? Or would they think we’re hopelessly lame and old school, just trying to keep them from having fun and expressing themselves?

It’ll be interesting to see what these new tattoos eventually look like. And to what lengths users will go to have them removed.

If you’d like to tweet this post, here’s a trimmed link you can copy and paste: http://tr.im/newtattoo

A quick note of thanks to Wayne Kurtzman (@WayneNH) who first picked up on my “social media is the new tattoo” quote earlier this year and wrote a great post about it. If you have some time, take a look at his post on the topic.