Marketing is a young discipline in the scheme of things, and hardly a science. We think we know some fundamental laws but trouble is, this is the age of connectivity and the rules are changing. The information power-shift is well documented so we know our customers are likely to be well informed, well sold on word-of-mouth for the truth, and operating with well developed spinometers for filtering corporate messages. As Ross Mayfield points out, the real challenge is how to justify marketing budget and time allocation to fund a social networking strategy? Legal and PR-police hurdles, aside, it was hard enough thinking outside the TV box, even after consumers had left; just imagine how long it will take for the collective corporate mindset to get its head around sharing transparency and market participation for mutual trust?