A colleague of mine, Jeff Stein, has coined a new term, “now media”. The web is often referred to as new media and I guess it’s new compared to how long print and broadcast have been in use, but it’s over ten years old and it ain’t that new anymore.

As with any new medium, adoption and use change rapidly in the early stages of its lifespan and the web has certainly been true to that premise. Practices that were effective five years ago are no longer viable. Presentation of information has changed drastically. Capability has grown tenfold. The most incredible fact is, how rapidly the web has been incorporated into everyday life, much faster than radio or television ever was.

The web is truly now media:

• Wireless broadband – there is even technology to turn your car into a moving hotspot
• Telephone technology is infused with web technology - Blackberry
• Print and TV graphics have been tremendously impacted
• Billions of dollars for other media budgets have been ported to the web
• Billions of dollars of commerce transact on the web
• Information is shared far more rapidly than ever before - virality
• The world has become a smaller place
• Kids are online before they can read
• Businesses use the web as their primary point of customer contact
• Enterprise application development is moving rapidly to a web-based infrastructure

Society’s use of the web changes monthly. Advertising and marketing agencies are slow to keep up and often find themselves fighting trends, not embracing and contributing to them.

Being a web professional requires “an ear to the ground.” We need to know what’s going on, what’s working and what’s not. This is why smaller, agile shops can react and reposition their practices to stay current and offer the best solutions to their clients. It’s too easy to be insulated from the “front lines” in a large agency or in a corporate environment.

“Now” IS now. It’s not Web 2.0. It’s not tried and true. No one person or company is leading the way – at least not for long. It’s not the same today as it will be tomorrow. There is little equity in past performance. Those that are looking to the past for answers will soon be lost. There is little reward without risk. Everyday is a new challenge.