What's interesting about the whole Jack Trout hornets' nest rattling article about WOM deal isn't so much that some of us prefer the traditional "command & control" marketing model over more authentic open source marketing models, but that a good deal of folks out there think that WOMM (Word-of-mouth marketing) is patently manipulative and slimy. (See some of the comments that yesterday's article generated.)

Hmmm... It looks like WOMMA has its work cut out.

Also read Johnnie Moore's comments on Trout's controversial article here. Mary Schmidt has a few good things to say about ithere as well. (And Francois Gossieaux does too. Read his comments here.)

While you're at it, check out this iMediaConnection.com article about open-source marketing and the always insightful Steve Rubel. It also offers these terrific bits of insight from The ClueTrain Manifesto:

"- Markets are conversations. - Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors. - Conversations among human beings sound human.

- Smart markets will find suppliers who speak their language (and the internet is enabling this)."

Also read what Mike Swenson, Paul Holmes, George Silverman, Beyond Madison Avenue's Mack Collier had to say about it. It's interesting to look at the same issue from many different angles as everyone has something slightly different to add to the discussion.

To sum it all up:

"Well here’s a newsflash, Jack… you have to give up control and let consumers take over your campaign. They’ve been doing it for ever, anyway. Your brand is not what you say about your products; it’s what everyone else says about your products, based on your advertising, and your PR, and your promotions, but based much more on their experience with the product, in the dealership, in the store, on the Internet, and conversations with their friends."

- Paul Holmes

For a completely different take on this, take a few seconds to see how marketing warfare is waged in the world of "Maneuver Marketing" - a military-inspired marketing consultancy with a penchant for cool words like "armory", "attack", "dislodge", and "Rules of Engagement."

Can't we all just get along?

But you know what? Some people just don't like change, and that's okay. The pond is definitely big enough for everyone to swim in. As long as we're all focused on results, ethics and providing the highest level of service for both our clients and our customers, it's all good in my book.

Switching gears: Our very own Shel Holtz was interviewed on CNBC Wednesday morning in regards to Wal-Mart's little blogging mishap of late. Read all about it (and Shel's live interview) here. Since the underlying topic of this week's chatter is ethics, it definitely relates to the ongoing discussion of where blogs, open-source marketing and new media fit in corporate marketing strategy & PR campaigns.

Tomorrow, we'll try to give Jack Trout a break so we can get back to all of the other topics of the week. Thanks for reading, and thanks for posting.

Have a great Thursday.