I knew this would happen.

I knew that I was living far from the social media wilderness, far from civilization, getting cashed up, living off the fat of the land, working with bands on myspace, doing online things like websites and SEO and digital management etc. that no band could seriously afford otherwise.

Like a creature of the jungle, instinctively I knew there would be continuing opportunities to create web 2.0 services that would create value for bands.

At first I was protective. I didn’t want anyone to find out I was spamming the rubber duckies out of myspace, amongst other things. Before msplinks, all the backlinks were valid and I just dominated google NZ for about 6 months.

And . . . nobody really did find out. Not even as I watched the early adopters leaving in droves last year, the late adopters were still creeping, creeping, the joining the sleepless armies of social media.

Not even I understood it when I was paid to do so, I knew music wasn;t the most profitable niche, but it was all I knew other than that social media was a waiting game. Waiting for New Zealand society to realise what someone like me could offer them.

But then in 2008, even after I raised my prices across the board, things started to get silly. Not only was I getting crazy ideas about what was possible, but I was being approached different clients, different from bands I was swamped with, who required all manner of digital assistance. I realised I could focus only on the most profitable activities, and I began to realise how profoundly digital technology was actually causing a massive revolution in communication, transport and labour and I was at the sharp head of a new age of young professionals who simply have swapped their boss for a blog.

And I was no longer worried. I would rise with a tide in the market so great that inevitably hundreds of New Zealanders would start to work as I do, doing the work I do in different capacities, and they would all need individual marketing services too.

It wasn’t my fault there was no money in the music industry! But I felt bad knowing I was doing a lot better than my clients were, and I get probably deal with happier clients connecting with high value products and services.

So I started trying to get out there. I was looking around www.thebigidea.co.nz, posted some stuff, but they were all broke arty types and the site really wasn’t that engaging.

You got to rememeber I thought I was alone.

In the end I decided to stick with music, I knew I could make more money in small business - I mean I started this blog, didn’t I? But with music promo I had my pitch down and started developing a systematic approach through my membership site new music marketing to leverage easier income.

But I still determined to find Social Media in NZ! I was catching up checking out Ms. behaviour who’s a legendary NZ geekette and actually part of the first label to ever release one of my Drum and Bass tunes, when she put me on to Simon Young and his outfit ijump and they he was full on into the “conversation” and he was hooked up with all sorts of local cats who were obviously on the social media buzz, on twitter and going hard.

I kinda did have an “oh.” moment and felt silly that I actually thought there weren’t other guys doing social media in NZ.

So I was checking him out and was kinda like, well he’s like me, he does different stuff online. And gets paid for it.

Well I mean I hope! Haha.

That’s what this piece is about. Because now I got a fair few guys around the world who’s tweets I follow who are basically young guys getting into Social Media Marketing start ups and going hard.

So basically I’m thinking about the Social Media Marketing professional of now.  Those pushing the line of the goody 2.0 shoes bloggers out to the corporate world.

I follow them on Twitter, they follow me. I see their sites and what they’re trying to do.

Because when I see myself in this role, I see myself working alongside small business entrepreneurs with products and services to build short term revenue, long term revenue, and alternative online revenue. I want to work with guys who have businesses like mine. Small, dynamic and profitable. I don’t see myself sitting down with the big corporation.

Or punting on the amount of online start up guys I get approached by. (yeah you’ll be killing it in 2012, bro, unfortunately I want to upgrade my beamer THIS xmas :p)

Did I ever tell you about Raffles Design School? Not a good end there. Melbourne University also! I got the jitters. I said

Nah Uh.

I don’t want some Marketing Manager in a flap because execution wasn’t flawless in such a cutting edge medium where for me, in 2007, I was basically making up my own rules.

First rule I discovered with Raffles is that an international brand is not the same as some young band trying to get more friends on Myspace!

Do I want to have to explain to the Marketing Manager that what they’re paying for is the detail required to execute a social media marketing campaign flawlessly? And having to explain that detail?

Actually doing the SEO stuff recently is training me a bit more on how to create a sense of accountability for corporate types. Y’know, little reporty things with figures and what not, metrics.

Do I want to be the one to be sitting there gauging the level of presentation these people expect and exactly just how much I can gouge the corporate teet for it?

Because as the axe comes down in this post, there comes a time when the corporates and the marketing guys who do what they’ve always done will want to stare squarely in the eye of the ROI and I don’t want to be the one sitting there going well . . . we got some nice comments on the blog!

We got 787 views on youtube?

In a month?

We’ve made you a page on facebook. Look!

No sir. I could see a cold wind blowing through. I hope I’m wrong, and I know inevitably I will be, but right now, and in 2009, are corporations going to clasp Social Media to their bosom and praise it to the high heavens if it doesn’t stimulate sales or translate to something of measurable significance when by it’s very nature it’s something that has to be conducted diligently yet subtly?

Will early corporate adopters throw the baby out?

Surely I’m not suggesting social media campaigns that are executed well don’t work???

No, just . . . how much Cat Food can the branded Cat Food facebook app sell?

Who’s going to be a regular in the branded Cat Food forum?

I dunno, that won’t be my question to answer, and good on ya if you get 5 figure a month contracts to do so.

I wish all the young social media marketers luck. I do.

But as far as I’m concerned I’ll be using social media to build revenue for my businesses, for musicians businesses, and for small businesses who simply want to use online technology to get the most value for their marketing dollar.

PS if you are a gardener or a cleaner and need marketing services I would love to work something out for my place here in Grey Lynn. Oh, and we really need to have our fence rebuilt.

Also shouts to my man Xurizaemon at Giant Robot for supporting me online over the early years!