BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change at TCBMag.com

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

When Groupon first burst on the scene, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement of what appeared to be the iTunes of couponing, the Facebook of discount seekers, and the Google of where to get a good deal. As copycat technologies started popping up, Groupon gained even more steam as the dominant icon in its field.

Aside from losing ground recently among investment banks and retailers, Groupon really was and is nothing new to the great retail universe. Consumers have been clipping coupons and rifling through the Sunday newspaper circulars for 100 years or more. Groupon offered an alternative platform that was no different from the myriad of coupon platforms that have existed for decades, i.e., direct mail, in-store, and newspapers. A recent lunch with the publisher of a daily newspaper indicated that the daily’s circular business has been their single strongest revenue source in spite of Groupon’s presence, but then, it always has been.

Ever since Steve Wozniak typed a few words on a keyboard in 1975, you could say a rosary on the number of beads the digital space has birthed and/or aborted. Hard disks, PCs, Macintoshes, e-mail, operating systems, e-newsletters, browsers, networks, software, hardware, iPods, Googles, Bings, iTunes, Zunes, Netpads, tablets, iPads, Nooks, Kindles, iPhones, Apple TV, NetFlix, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, Fumblr, and Bumblr—the list is a mile long with more to come. But certainly nothing has turned CMOs from savvy marketers to frenetic Mexican jumping beans like social media.

Social media is engaging the world in a way we haven’t seen since, well, the 16th century. The Economist ran a story in its holiday issue, which everyone, including digital elitists, should read. The story recounted how a catholic priest named Martin Luther used a viral, guerilla strategy that literally shook the greatest religion in the world to its very foundation. Luther literally kindled a religious movement in 1520 that today accounts for 40 percent of Christians (non-Catholics) worldwide. How? Social media, of course. Without the benefit of computers, networks, or even electricity, Luther’s social media “strategy” comprised posting notices on doors of buildings, minstrels wandering the countryside singing customized verses to popular songs, and pamphlets being distributed by like-minded “friends” and “followers.” It was interactivity at its essence.

Digital provided us with a shiny, new information distribution and message enhancement medium that likely would have accelerated Luther’s movement. However, words that resonate remain at the heart and soul of our life experiences, and people’s affinity to what is being said is what moves mountains. It’s been true since before Gutenberg and will be true after the digital revolution has come and gone.

Just ask King David.

Editor’s Note: Gary Johnson is President of MSP Communications in Minneapolis, MN and authors the blog Loose Change.