Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Libraries Should Vaynerchuk-It

About 2 weeks ago, I was introduced to the world of Gary Vaynerchuk, "Social Media Sommelier," via Trendwatch. I've been very impressed with his ability to reach the hearts and minds of people who could have cared less about wine, and he's transformed his family business from a $4.5M/Yr. company into a $60M/Yr. enterprise mostly by using ingenuity, passion, and Web 2.0 technologies.

Recently, Vaynerchuk went into a Borders while attending a tech conference. He found his just published book on the shelf and inscribed a secret password that, if e-mailed back to him, would garner the e-mailer a prize. The act brings together personalization, humanity, and accessibility to a product who's brand is all about those three things.

Libraries have for too long carried the banner of austere authority, inhumanity, and poor accessibility (think most OPACs, go here for Next-Gen OPACs). We need to reach not just library users but all internet users in meaningfully branded ways. We need to demonstrate our passion not as zealots but as information enablers. We need to Vaynerchuk-It.



The Gary Vaynerchuk WLTV Gift Pack #2 Tasting - Episode #147

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