We know social computing has thrown a monkey wrench in the world of traditional advertising. How deep and disruptive it’s going to be, we haven’t fully estimated that. Social Ad will have big cultural impact. It will be creepy as well (if privacy concerns or lack of lack of concerns are not properly understood - Josh Koppelman has interesting experience to share on the Social Ad design flaw).

Esther Dyson has a wonderful op-ed piece on WSJ. If you live in tech business you better read that article. Economic power structure inherent in online business is changing. Big implications for marketing strategy.

The current online-advertising model will become less effective, even as it gets increasingly sophisticated. New players are emerging to devalue the spaces that the ad giants are currently fighting over. Companies you’ve never heard of called NebuAd, Project Rialto, Phorm, Frontporch and Adzilla are pitching tools to Internet service providers that will enable them to track users and show them relevant ads. This approach (called behavioral targeting and already in service by ad networks that track users through so-called tracking cookies) undercuts traditional online publishers, who employ content to lure users and to sell adjacent ads. Now, the ISPs can sell advertisers direct access to the same users

It’s all about building trusted relationship channel with your power users

The new model creates a more trusted environment for reaching high-value, frequent purchasers, whether of airline tickets, electronics, clothes or other items. Where does that leave the less-frequent purchasers? Probably looking to their friends rather than to advertising for advice. I’m an expert on travel; my friends may look to me for hotel choices. When I’m in the mood to buy a book or a new computer, I’ll check out what my friends on Facebook are doing

Great take-away from this op-ed piece is this: “Value is being created in users’ own walled gardens”. Walled gardens are NOT going away, users are now creating them and will only allow trusted conversations.

Challenge for marketers is to build links to these new user created walled gardens.