This article in the Washington Post is required reading, especially if you’re involved in marketing to kids online.

The upshot: The MySpace crowd is moving to Facebook. This will probably speed up the exodus.

And guess what: As soon as you gear up that six-figure initiative to develop a partnership with Facebook? Those kids will have moved elsewhere.

Takeaway for marketers: The online audience is like a school of fish. They dart this way and that en masse, and dropping your bait into their midst is often the surest way to drive them away. Cast your net with care.

The other day, WOMMA (the Word of Mouth Marketing Association) released the “WOMMA Ethics Assessment Tool, which helps marketers identify and eliminate unethical word of mouth marketing tactics before they are implemented.” Read the press release here and the 20 assessment questions here.

The 20 questions are good, but I particularly like this “extra measure of assurance” that states, “Is there anything about this campaign that we would be embarrassed to discuss publicly?”

That’s a great litmus test. It speaks not only to ethical issues, but also to issues of transparency. Because in this hyper-networked world in which we live, the notion of trying to keep two sets of informational books — one that the public gets to see and one that only the company insiders see — is a practical impossibility.

Takeaway for marketers: Ethics matter, probably more to your customers than to your company. Which is why they should matter more to your company.

Spam is defined by ethical marketers as unsolicited commercial email. Unless you’ve opted in to receive it, it’s spam.

Which is why I find it interesting that so many marketers participating in ad:tech New York also participate in spamming.

“I understand that you will be attending ad:tech and would love to schedule a meeting with executives from Accipiter.”

“I noticed you’ll be at the upcoming ad:tech New York show, November 6-8 and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to have you speak with the president and CMO of MIVA.”

“I’m writing to follow up and see if you’d be interested in scheduling a time to meet with Allan Levy, CEO of SilverCarrot.”

“Are you still planning to attend the ad:tech NYC show? If so, I thought you may be interested in speaking with the folks from Think Partnership.”

And on and on and on. I have 521 unread items in my Inbox that I need to address. I have to think that many ad:tech attendees are similarly swamped. There are nearly 300 exhibitors at ad:tech, and it seems like all of them are targeting my Inbox … without my having said, “fine, contact me before the show.”

The ones who don’t are the ones for whom I’ll feel a little more affinity when I hit the exhibitor floor.

Takeaway for marketers: Spamming is spamming, whether it’s spamming customers, potential customers, or potential business associates. The rules in the B-to-B world should be the same as in the B-to-C world.

OCTOBER 31 UPDATE: Stop calling me, too!

Recent Comcast and Volkswagen ads, and probably others, are using the "holy s – – -" technique pioneered by radio morning shows. Don’t say the S-word, just say it without saying it by cutting off the obvious phrase at the legally appropriate point.

Of course, it’s not like advertising has ever staked out any moral high ground that makes this a stunning development. From Paris Hilton’s burger ad to Clairol’s Herbal Essence shampoo orgasm ad to countless ads in between (let’s not even talk about the negative midterm election ads airing this week in Tennessee and New York!), advertising has long used rude, crude and attitude to sell.

It’s not about being offended, as David Kiley suggests in this piece about the VW ads. It’s about the continuing coarsening of the culture and the ongoing erosion of good taste.

It feels like yet one more line has been crossed.

“Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.”
—Mary Tyler Moore