I definitely have a waning attention span.  I microwave things I shouldn't even be eating.   Flight delays make my skin crawl.  If I don't get an email thank you from people I interview I wonder what happened.  My PC takes too long to boot.  If my iPhone doesn't sync instantly with my desktop I think something went wrong.  Traffic lights have gotten longer (haven't they?).  I've learned a new language too because I'm SOTMG.

Seems like I'm not the only one either.

Wall Street wants more results faster.  I'm sorry, but I think "these times" we're in that are creating a so-called wakeup call about what matters most will wear off quickly, just like our mass patriotism seemed to do a couple years after 9-11.

Marketers want more results faster too.  We look at yesterday's sales every day.  We see the social web spreading the word about our brand as quickly as we can update our FB status.  We optimize our online advertising in real time.  Our consumers broadcast their hopes, loves and fears 140 characters at a time.

This instantaneousness is killing me and I know it will wreak the same havoc on brands if we're not paying attention (Google gives me 31,900 options for instantaneousness in 0.25 seconds).

 As technology and marketing continue to collide the pressure to do more and measure more will only increase.  The availability of data has already outgrown our ability to do anything about it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting all of these new tools are hurting marketing - I actually believe they only increase our ability to have relevant conversations, real-time...just like they are supposed to be.

But what I am suggesting is that we are approaching a crossroads and marketers must realize they cannot just choose the path of today, without thinking about where they want their brand to be tomorrow.  Marketers and agencies must do both, and I'd suggest both sides must move toward one another - agencies have to catch up to the immediacy with which decisions are being made in business today and marketers must defend the long-term health of their brand with passion and vigor.

I'm thrilled to turn up the flame under the skillet for promotions - they should be about immediacy.  But let's not burn the brand at the same time.  Some things still are better after a slow deliberate simmer.