I speak with marketers everyday who intuitively think that administration is a major part of their job. Filling in PO numbers, asking management for campaign financing, reporting, briefing requests to agencies, creative reviews and copying figures into and between spreadsheets.

Compared to a decade ago, some would argue that the marketers of today have it easy.  There’s a technology solution for pretty much everything from web analytics to ad serving.  But it’s not as straightforward as you might think.
 

How often do we describe things as easy?  Let’s meet at my office in New York – it’s really easy to get to.  Let’s grab a sandwich for lunch – it’s quick and easy.  Let’s save that on the Wiki – it’s so easy to navigate.

That’s right, as a marketer you are no longer dependent on the annual capital spending plan to expand your digital technology capabilities or the 18-month queue of IT projects. Today your strategies and tactics can be automated and enabled by selecting the right platform and tools in the Cloud. There is a SaaS tool for every critical function that you might need to increase revenue, build customer loyalty, improve conversion rates and test or personalize everything.

The pace of change in the Internet over the past 10 years has been stunning. Who could have foreseen the massive uptake of search, social networking and e-commerce, which have truly transformed the way we conduct our business and personal lives?

What is even more striking is that this pace of change is not slowing down. Who knows what we'll see over the next decade. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say we'll see even more personalized and targeted use of the Internet in our business and private lives.

Fear is a powerful force. Fear of the unknown, the new and change are pervasive, especially when Google's in the room. FOG (Fear of Google) seems to be gaining momentum, but how is it that one of the fastest growing brands in the world, seemingly much loved and out to do no evil is starting to elicit such a gut response?