If I had a nickel for every time a client told me “I don’t want to do marketing on Twitter, because Twitter is stupid!” Point received – not everybody needs to be in love with Twitter, and that’s ok. However, one cannot deny what a presence social media platforms have on marketing once you look at the numbers. (I’ve professed the numbers many times on this blog… feel free to flip back to find them). Once upon a time, Twitter and Facebook were new ‘fad’ things that didn’t get much attention… until they proved themselves over time and became a dominating force in our online culture. So what’s next for new services and technology?

Remember when the Moto Razr was the hottest phone available? Boy was that thing a piece of junk! The minute a speck of dust got in the screen, the whole thing would shut down. And I know this, because I was one of the suckers who bought one. Now, in the age of the iPhone (yes, I’m an Apple geek), we don’t have to deal with that nonsense anymore. Standards have become higher, and technology keeps pushing through new barriers.

New technology and web services come out every day. My mind boggles just thinking about the hundreds of social media sites that were born and died before anyone ever heard their name. Some of them just flop before they have a chance, and some of them grow to become a generation-defining force. So how do you know what will become of a new technology, and whether or not your should invest time in it?

Yesterday I was watching the Google presentation announcing the launch of such tools like Google Image Search, Instant Pages, and browser-ready Voice Search (I’m going to laugh in 5 years when I read back on this and wonder how I got along without these things!) While I was watching, all I was thinking about was what this means to my business, my clients, and how I could present these new technologies in a proposal to help better my service offerings. Staying competitive was my primary concern.

The same goes when I heard of Klout – which is a service that measures one’s social media ‘influence’ by assigning a number and a short description of what that person does on their social media sites. As a social media marketing consultant, I’m wondering what this will mean for my business and for my clients. Will this grow to be a big driving force (and if so, I have to get on this bandwagon!), or is it going to flop like countless other social media services have?

When technology is on the move and everything is digital based, it’s so important to stay flexible. If you wait until you hear about a technology by word of mouth, you’re already behind the pack – it’s depressing to think about, but it’s true. Thus proves the importance of staying on top of technology (I hope you’re a fast runner).

My best advice: seek out technology and media blogs that seem to be relevant, fast with information, and an authority in their realm. Get an RSS reader and subscribe to all of these blogs. Dedicate an hour each day to reading blogs that might make sense for your industry, and don’t judge the information! Just because you might think something is stupid, doesn’t mean it’s not good for your business.

(I’ll let you in on a little secret… personally, I think Twitter is pretty stupid. But I’m on it because I know it’s good for marketing!)

And most importantly, just because a technology is new, doesn’t mean it’s going to take off. Demonstrate good Digital Market Acumen and figure out if something is worth your time investment.