In case you haven’t noticed, it’ been a little quiet around here. Yes, I’ve been pretty busy, but that had never stopped me before.

I think somewhere in the last few months blogging has become “something I really should do” as opposed to “something I really want to do” and that’s a problem. When I started this blog 3 years (!!!) ago, the social media blogging scene was really taking off. It was an exciting time to get into the field because it felt like we were continually breaking new ground and building on the foundation of the ideas that hold up “social media” as a business element.

For those of you that printed out your first weblog posts on dot-matrix printers, that might seem like bright-eyed idealism or rosy retrospection, but it’s honestly how it felt to me. I’m sure the echo chamber was going back then, but, at least to me, it seems like it’s become much worse. So often it feels like the same content and ideas are being rehashed, linked and retweeted so much, that it’s hard to find anything new.

To me, this is where we’re missing the point. The beauty/power of social media lies in what it means and what it does, not what it is. There are much broader issues than how to get a million twitter followers and the right stuff to put on your facebook fan page. Those things are important insofar as they are tactics that support a strategy, but still, they don’t really push my thinking like they used to. Lucky for you there are many, many bloggers out there who do that type of thing better than I ever did.

Which brings us to the point (finally). If you’re skipping down, you can start reading here.

Essentially, A New Marketing as it has existed these past 3 years will no longer be. Don’t be alarmed though, this doesn’t mean I’ll stop writing. In fact, I’ll probably be doing it more.

MattJMcD.com will now become my true home on the web. A new site will go up (relatively) shortly where I’ll be able to explore more of my interests in depth, which definitely still include marketing, tech, etc. but also pop culture, gaming, sports, and anything else that gets me jazzed up. I like to think of it as a more well-rounded MattJMcD experience. (ha!)

However, I do realize that some of you may only be interested in the marketing end of things, so don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s easy to separate that content out.

Either way, I’m excited for this transition and am looking forward to the new opportunities and challenges that come with launching a new blog. Stay tuned and be on the lookout for MattJMcD via The Internet via MattJMcD.

As always, thanks for reading.

But that’s just me. How do you feel about this stuff? What’s your take on the shifting focus of a blog? How have you grown changed as an author or a reader?

Fire away.

It’s easy to get all sentimental. But it’s way more fun to rock!

-What Community Looks Like – 2/11/09
-Too Many Chiefs… – 1/22/09
-A Brand Purpose Model – 1/12/09
-Simple Social Media Truths – 12/18/08
-Common Mistakes In Starting A Blog – 11/24/08
-Your Brands Checklist For Twitter -10/6/2008
-If You Say “Leverage” You Might Get Punched In The Face – 8/20/08
-A Definitive Explanation of Social Media – 8/3/08
-The New Marketing Chaos Theory – 12/4/07
-Believe in Halo 3 Marketing – 9/29/07
-One Line Marketing Wisdom – 7/25/07
-What They Don’t Know, Won’t Brand You – 7/17/07
-The 4 C’s – The New Marketing Mix – 5/15/07

Here’s to the future…

Social Media on Alltop!

I’m really excited about this. Late last week I was chosen by the good people over at Alltop to be a part of their Social Media section. I’m pretty honored to be in such esteemed company. They’re the big guns, people.

Age of Conversation 2!

So pumped for the new AOC! Hopefully you’ll all rush like wild-people to pick up a copy when it comes out. And then immediately hit up my chapter entitled “i>I”. Check out the new cover by David Armano. Head here for the details.

Some posts to blow your mind.
Some of the best from this past week

-Help Us, Help You – Marketing In Traffic by Brian Branca
-Stuff that i learned on tour: workplace culture. – Darryl Ohrt at Brand Flakes For Breakfast
-Hate to tell you, but Web 1.0 was social too. – by “The Verdino”
-If You Can’t Beat Them, Be Them? – by David Armano
-Introducing The Conversation Prism – by Brian Solis
-Kids Still Love TV. (Ice cream too) – by Alan Wolk at The Toad School