New Media Must Be Personal, While Old Media is Dying - Click here http://bit.ly/gb3MEO for full article

Old media used to be the small-business owner's best friend. It ran ads for his business and wrote articles about how great he was. He didn't mind that his kids got the comics page before he did, as long as his ad was right and prominently placed. The business owner prospered because all his clients received the newspaper. Today, small- to medium-sized business owners are being stampeded along a path of new technology via new media. It's a digital world, as opposed to analog, and business must change with it.

Many newspapers and other print media are trending toward the digital domain. Old media still exists, although since 2005 over 160 newspapers have closed their doors. But, old media puts its digital focus first, with print coming in second. The New York Times and Washington Post have news sites online as do most magazines.Indeed, even bookstores are selling their wares to be read in new media.

People using iPhones and iPads can access Amazon and Barnes and Noble to read a book while waiting for their doctor or the train. Once, people strode to work with newspapers under their arms; today, people stride everywhere with their faces locked onto their 4G phones and Kindles.

What this means for the small- to medium-sized business owner is that she needs to be online. It is no understatement to say there are more phones in circulation than newspapers. With online ads reaching so many more people, it's no wonder that print media can't keep up. Google AdWords and SEO content blows them away. There are blog posts and forums for every product and service, so there is no shortage of information to keep a consumer from knowing what to buy. For the small-business owner to tap into all that: priceless.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, with their "Share" this and "Like" that, are more youth-oriented. If the small-business owner has a service or product the young would appreciate, then having a page on social networking sites will alert them to the fact you have something they need. In addition to this boon is the fact that kids talk and pass stuff around. They'll show all their friends the small-business owner's ad and keywords will fly through the air, making sales happen.

Old media might be dying but new media rocks.