Functional Characteristics of the Paradigm Shift in Internet Marketing - Internet Marketing Australia

There is a paradigm shift taking place on the internet and as an internet marketer if you don't stay ahead of the curve, your online business if going to be left in the dust. It is called Web 2.0 and it is changing our world so fast that I am quite sure that I can not give you a good definition of what it is. I know that it is about things like You Tube, social networking, virtual worlds and that it is changing the face of the way that we must market on the internet.

When I first started on the net, all you had to do was put up a website, run a few banner ads and you could build a business. Banner ads have long since past their prime and hardly anyone will click on them today. Pay Per Click (PPC) was great for a while but today, it has also become a white elephant. Not only has it become ineffective, it has become just too darn expensive. For many a new marketer, it has become a one way trip to the poor house.

We have all heard "the money is in the list." While this is still true, the competition to get people to sign up for your list has become incredibly difficult Article marketing, blogging, forum marketing are somewhat effective but to stay competitive, now you must get involved in Web 2.0. Each day I see a new Ebook trying to explain how to use Web 2.0 but at the rate that the internet is changing, even

these Ebooks are outdated on the day of their release.

In order to try to stay competitive, I have created blogs, Lenses, participate in My Space, Facebook, My Lot, numerous others and of course You Tube. There are new social networks sprouting up daily on the net. It is hard to keep up with these changes but, don't think that social networking is a passing phase. We have only just begun to see the tip of the iceberg and I don't intend to go down like the Titantic.

One of the most interesting facets of the paridigm shift is the virtual worlds that are being created on the net. There are many of them but, the most famous is Second Life where you create an avatar (your internet alter ego). You can be anything you want and at the end of March 2008, Second Life had more than 13 million registered users. That is one big marketplace.

The thing about Second Life is that in this virtual world you can buy and sell virtual property and goods and make a real life profit. Not only that but, many of the "Big Box Stores" have a Second Life presence where you can purchase things in the Second Life virtual world and have the goods delivered to your real life doorstep. Dell Computers sells real computers in their Second Life virtual store and there are many others doing the same thing.

At the current time, my avatar is meandering around in Second Life. I am about to start making some marketing moves but, I feel that there are also a lot of landmines to be careful of, so I m currently learning the rules of the road before I make any actual moves. While I am a proponent of marketing in Second Life, I don't want to be stupid enough to make the wrong moves and shoot myself in the foot. Like everything else in internet marketing, the only thing that really counts is your reputation.

Well, I hope that we meet someday in Second Life. I am the incredibly handsome young man in T-shirt and jeans who is more than willing to talk about making a fortune on the internet. If you happen to meet me outside of Second Life, I'm the bald old guy in a 3 piece suit but I'm still happy to tell you about marketing on the net.

Don't get left in the dust. If you are not doing the Web 2.0 thing, then you must start immediately. Last year would have been better but today is not too late.