Before the holiday, the WSJ published a piece entitled "The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World." Written by a cadre of very astute academics in technology and marketing, this is a great high-level summary of many of the things we've been preaching here at FM for some time now - definitely worth a read. Below is a summary of the the "secrets" revealed. For more on conversational marketing, see The FM Guide to Conversational Marketing (pdf).

1. Don't just talk at consumers -- work with them throughout the marketing process.
2. Give consumers a reason to participate.
3. Listen to -- and join -- the conversation outside your site.
4. Resist the temptation to sell, sell, sell.
5. Don't control, let it go.
6. Find a 'marketing technopologist.'
7. Embrace experimentation.