As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we’re running a discussion forum to follow-up on topics from our e-book “How to Market in ICT Today”. The current question being discussed:
“Will face-to-face meetings still be necessary or do you think that with the rise of digital video conference systems, webinars, online communities etc. this will come to an end? How much are you doing now already if any?”

We’ll pass on the results of the discussion to you once the discussion concludes, so be sure to drop by the blog from time to time. In the mean time, we’re very much interested in your opinion. Please feel free to either drop me a note by email or to visit our Facebook group.

As our English editor, I thought I’d write a few words about the challenge of editing the “How To Market in ICT”  e-book, which has been an interesting, and unusual experience. It would be easy to do something like our normal content, polishing it to make the message neat and compelling. But in this case it would have been a mistake. These are not interviews with a marketing or PR department, but with the individual in charge of it, someone with an individual voice rather than the embodiment of a marketing message. That’s why each person’s name and bio heads each interview.

It’s particularly important to preserve this individuality because one theme we ask about is online marketing. That normally means interactivity, for which personality and authenticity are not just valued, but essential. Prose that could come off the companies’ own websites would give the impression that all the answers had been vetted by the PR department rather than given to add value to a conversation.

Of course, we have to make allowances for it being in print, so have trimmed and tidied here and there, but we hope to preserve as exactly as we can how our interviewees see the world and think about the issues they face as marketers. We hope that our readers will find their stories far more interesting and vital as a result.