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Every other month there’s a new technology trend that marketers are supposed to jump on, corrupt and make dirty. That’s not how marketers talk about it, but that’s what happens. Marketers have a long history of soiling new technologies. Mail service has its junk mail. The telephone has its telemarketers. TV has commercials and (shiver) product placement…

But the web has made it easier for everyone with an idea to try to make some money (check out Commission Junction and Constant Contact). So everybody’s a marketer. I read this marketing trade magazine called B-to-B. And there is a predictable series of articles about any new tech fad.

Check it out. This new thing exists.

The smart people are doing this. Are you?

Everyone should be doing this.

Why isn’t everyone doing this?

Slow down, Bessie. It’s not all about technology, remember the marketing part.

That last one is usually written in a condescending tone by some young marketing professional who “gets it” that this Blogging-thing is actually not the best thing since duct tape.

Podcasting is cool and new. I have a few friends who created their own. And now people are asking if Podcasting is the next great medium for advertising. And the extension of Podcasting, Video Podcasts like Ask A Ninja and Rocketboom are a lot of fun. But they are little tiny TV shows. In fact, RocketBoom was available for your iPod Video before The Daily Show. Keep in mind Jon Stewart’s audience is way bigger than Amanda Congdon’s, but holy cow is it smaller than Brian Williams’. But who is going to watch all of those Podcasts? I’m reminded of the 500 cable channels I was expecting, which are now consolidating into nine because of lack of an audience. (But here’s a thought, are Video Podcasts the bush league for Network TV and Cable).

I’m thrilled people can find a way to support themselves by making these great little clips. But once you put the plastic Coke glass in front of you and start talking about how great those Reebok shoes feel, the luster will come off. There are only going to be a few people making money, and most of those are the people already making money in other mediums.

Most new technologies are shinier versions of stuff we’ve been working in for a hundred years. Yeah, there are variations: the web is the perfect micromarketing tool, mass-customization, viral marketing and such. But after the first two weeks of marketing’s invasion, none of these technologies are any different in that decades-old marketing principles should take hold. Look at some of the best web advertisements. They look startlingly like the best magazine advertisements. Look at the web-only commercials that take the world by storm. First of all, they reach no where near the audience of even the crappiest commercials shown on network television. But secondly, of the most memorable ones, people don’t remember what product the commercial was for. That’s crappy marketing.

Yes, technology is cool and fun and all that. You can get creative and get exposure for little money, but just remember that little sock puppet from Pets.com. I saw him doing a commercial for a cut-rate car loan place on early morning Comedy Central yesterday. So, everyone calm down. Technology is fun. Play with it. Pet it. Love it. But control it. And make sure you’re paying attention to how it affects and complements your brand and your other marketing efforts.

NOTE: Yes, I do realize that as a marketer, I am at this very moment participating in the sullying of a perfectly good technology tool: blogging. Hello, everyone. My name is Jeff, and I’m a recovering hypocrite.