Seriously, I am asking. I am not sure that I am sold one way or another. As social media begins to grow-up and enter kindergarten if you will, it has redefined how businesses think about marketing, communication with customers and employees, and brand portability.

So where do websites fit it? I think it is a justified question that will spark many different opinions.

Gone are the days where what the company says goes. For some it was replaced with customers speaking their mind—both good and bad, while for others it was replaced with people reading or watching but not participating. Perhaps there is no reason for them to participate or perhaps the audience that is drawn in isn’t the talkative type.

As social media matures, and more businesses are relying on it for different reasons more people are keeping their opinions to their self. Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are implementing functionality to accommodate this. You can now ‘like’ comments or retweet posts so you don’t have to express your own opinions, just agree with others or be free to share another’s opinion with your audience.

So again I ask you, do you really need a website?

I don’t think there can be a clear cut yes or no answer until ‘website’ is defined. Just because you have a domain name, hosting, images, and content does not mean you have a space worthy of being called a website. Also, how do blogs fit into this? Blogs have become more predominate than websites and are preferred by viewers. Is a blog a website, or is it a part of your website, or is it a part of your social media efforts?

See there is no clear cut answer to this question. The more you try to answer it, the more questions that arise.

I suspect if done right, one could get away without a website. What is right? I don’t know, but I would love to see some attempts! And if you have the right PR team I'm sure you would get press coverage.

I was doing some running around yesterday and was driving behind a truck marked with the company’s information. Predominately displayed were the company’s logo, name, contact information, and a few promotional comments. Sounds normal and appropriate, right?

Well after noticing the imaging on the truck, a disposable coffee cup and lid came flying out of the driver-side window. While there are many issues with this scenario, the biggest one is that this is a company that promotes itself as ‘green.’

This is a prime example of marketing and brand imagery simply being words and images on paper or in this case, a truck. A company is responsible for the message, perception, and images that it projects. While the market has the freedom to interpret these based on what message is communicated and how.

Now after seeing this, do you really think that I believe this company is ‘green?’ Promoting the green label may provide you an increase of leads, but actions like this one are going to cause the market to question your ability to be honest.