Oct 1, 2006 12:00 PM, BY Kathleen M. Joyce

Maybe you chalk it up to some sort of neo-globalism; post-Sept. 11, we understand that it's a small world, after all, in ways Mr. Disney never anticipated. Or attribute it to the opposite mindset, and argue that Americans are responding to all that hostility emanating from abroad. Maybe it's the booze. We uncovered an awful lot of very smart marketing this month for beer and liquor brands, and that surely must help grease the social skids. Whatever the reason, there's a new urgency among people to connect. The latest parlance, as you know (or will know once you've read this month's cover story by Betsy Spethmann), is “social networking,” and it's changing both the real and virtual world. ▪ Forget the “cocooning” of the early ‘90s, when teens and adults retreated to their televisions; forget even the “friends like me” period of early online chat rooms, narrowly defined for the like-minded. Nowadays, online social sites like MySpace and Friendster are like virtual Times Squares or Ginza Districts — you can meet anyone, anytime, and most likely will. Their breath-taking scale (millions of new signons each month) reinforces the similarity to the world's crossroads, and make these venues irresistible for brands. And it's not just the quantity of members, but the spontaneous, enthused quality of their interactions — online, via texting, and migrating out into the real world — that's got marketers jazzed. ▪ After all, whether it's following a rum swizzle at a Halloween party (compliments of Captain Morgan, per the story on page 6) or sharing video downloads with several hundred virtual friends, people tend to be more open in social settings. Open to new people and, perhaps, new products. In her two-part series, which starts on page 26 and will continue in our November issue, Spethmann looks at the benefits, responsibilities and risks for brands that opt into this brave new Space. ▪ While Friendster and its online ilk remind us that “it's who you know” in the online world, for me they can't replace face-to-face networking. That's why I hope you'll be joining us later this month at PROMO's annual conference in Chicago. “PROMO Live” will be the place to challenge the way you've been thinking, creating and executing your marketing; for more on the next-generation programs on offer, visit thepromoevent.com. And while the sessions and halls are great for swapping business cards, don't forget the great restaurants and saloons around the Navy Pier. Rum swizzles, anyone?

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