I just returned to Orlando yesterday evening from the SMX conference in Nyc.  All in all it was a great trip.  The conference went very well and a lot of people expressed interest in what we are doing and were eager to learn more about how Social Media can grow their business.  On Monday night  Ted, Ashley, Randy and I met up with Brett from Mashable and had some awesome dinner at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant. After that we  went to the tweet-up (twitter party) at the Angels & kings club.

On Tuesday night Ashley and I had dinner with Chrissie Brodagan, VP of Plum TV,  then went to Time Square.  Now I’ve been to Time Square several times and I’ve enjoyed it, however I always said that  being there was a bit of a sensory overload.  Chrissie said it best: “Being in Time Square is like Your Being Raped by Marketing Messages”.

If Social Media as a whole was to compare itself to Time Square they would be at complete opposite sides of the spectrum.

There’s a “Pop-up Ad” equivalent on every corner in Time Square (most likely multiple ones on each block).  Hey take this flyer? Purses here $10…Hey want your picture taken? There’s also traditional forms of advertising as far as you can see…Digital billboards on sky scrapers, Posters  on store windows, display ads on cabs, and people flaunting their favorite name brand gear, in essence becoming walking advertisements.  Ads are everywhere, people are shouting, every corner has a vendor with food that tempts you as you pass by…it’s a complete sensory overload!

No real engagement, just loud marketing messages being shouted at you from all angles. I think all the hype & marketing messages every where is a major part of what makes Time Square so special and I think most people would agree.  But I wonder how Time Square will change over the next 10 years…Will Time Square 2.0 be any different…if so how?

If you have any thoughts on this issue please share them

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