{"id":9792,"date":"2025-01-16T22:25:26","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T06:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/?p=9792"},"modified":"2025-01-16T22:35:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T06:35:42","slug":"the-digital-watercooler-is-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/the-digital-watercooler-is-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"The Digital Watercooler is Gone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I used to log onto Twitter in the mornings and see people talking about a major brand\u2019s latest ad campaign, skim through the latest viral marketing thread, and DM my friends for the tea of the main character of the day. I\u2019d go onto LinkedIn and see some connections who have gotten new jobs, those who have just gotten laid off, and a viral marketing thread from two weeks prior. (IYKYK. And if you don\u2019t know \u201cIYKYK\u201d then no, you definitely don\u2019t know.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now when I log onto Twitter, I see a couple of product announcements and shitcoin ads. On LinkedIn, it\u2019s blog post links and podcast teasers. On Threads, it\u2019s a post that says \u201cOhmygod, I asked my seatmate on this flight if they wanted to switch seats and they said no and I said ok, and now I need public validation for an extremely normal interaction,\u201d and there are 1,200 comments, one-third of which call the original poster a privileged human-sized piece of walking garbage. On Bluesky, it\u2019s the 12th straight week of your online acquaintances saying, \u201cHello? Is anyone here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s probably a long-winded way of saying it feels like the marketing watercooler is gone, and I don\u2019t know where to go. I don\u2019t know what to react to. And I don\u2019t\u2026 I don\u2019t really know what to blog about next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It used to be that marketers would pile onto a hot take and I\u2019d figure out my own angle, offering personalized guidance on things like how to structure your organization<\/a>, my updated content marketing strategy<\/a>, and crafting pitches<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now\u2026 where is everyone? Yeah, yeah, I know that we marketers are hanging out on Instagram and LinkedIn, but you\u2019re probably looking at headline writing ideas while I\u2019m refreshing my Explore tab to see the latest on the Blake Lively\/Justin Baldoni news. You\u2019re probably thinking about how to create high-impact campaigns and leveraging AI in your content, but I\u2019m not sure I have anything new to add here beyond what I\u2019ve already said<\/a>. This isn\u2019t a \u201cWhere is my audience?\u201d problem. Rather, it\u2019s more of the existential concern, \u201cIt feels like our community is now scattered across four different social networks while we all keep trying to find the billionaire we hate least so that we can use their social platform instead, meanwhile instead of being productive at work, we can\u2019t stop watching in horror our friends downloading Chinese social apps on their phones simply out of spite for our own government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oops\u2026 maybe I\u2019m projecting. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, the watercooler. The marketing monoculture and real-time discussion. I can\u2019t find it. I look at my various social feeds and lists, but the conversation is more disjointed than ever. Some people are starting to embrace AI, others are a year ahead and over it. Some just discovered how to write a viral tweet, others see right through it. It\u2019s hard to figure out what to comment on when it looks as though there are fewer and fewer “big” discussions, and instead, a bunch of tinier discussions about whether it’s gross or really<\/em> gross to cut your nails in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m trying to figure out where I go from here. It might just be that I need to go back to basics and create the 101 marketing content that I want to see in the world. Maybe you\u2019ll find me on Threads, rage-baiting you<\/a>. Or maybe you\u2019ll find me on a few places, trying the same thing<\/a> again<\/a> and again<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See you out there (I hope).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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