Everyone must advertise or die,"  David Ogilvy, Ogilvy and Mather.

"Everyone must have a website or die,"  Kam Wai Yu, Persona

"Everyone should have a blog or die," Derek Armstrong (me) Blogertize seminar 2006

"Everone MUST have a blog for die." Derek Armstrong (me) Blogertize seminar 2007

"All solopreneurs should podcast,” Michael Pollack

The progression of online marketing "rules" reads like Moore's Law.

Brain Soup — Moore's Law 

"The number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling approximately every two years."

Marketers like myself borrow unrelated laws to express nebulous concepts as "rules" so I'll just rewrite Moore:

"The number of musts in online markets doubles every two years."

Advertising is no longer a necessity. It tends to be an expensive vanity for most companies today. Websites are no longer mandatory either; they are optional today. Blogs aren't. Podcasts are, but for how long? To get ahead of this moving target of online marketing, it's better to lead the trends than to follow. So — Podcast or perish. Next year, be prepared to vidcast. Then... well, we'll see what the next big must is.

Image: courtesy Wikimedia Commons 

Brain Brunch — Just Do It, the Podcasting Mantra

People are on the move. Audio books are popular with commuters and on Ipods. Sales and business courses are a must as MP3s. And bloggers can no longer feel comfortable their message will reach their audiences, because their audiences are on the move. Wireless devices may deliver blogs to handhelds, but most content should also make a move to audio and podcasts to take advantage of the fastest growing area of free content delivery. The Podcast.

Podcasting is free. Free software and services are widely available. Podcasting is no longer "early adopter" phase. Podcasting is almost certainly the blog of the future as people lead more and more mobile lives.

Food for Thought — The advantages of Podcasting

• Podcasts build relationships. People hear voices. It's personal, credible, interesting.
• Podcasts are mobile. Audiences can take you with them.
• Podcasts are everywhere. A computer and internet is all that is required.