1 Going digital ­ the evolution of marketing 01 " " " We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future. MARshAll MClUhAn The press, the machine, the railway, the telegraph are premises whose thousand-year conclusion no one has yet dared to draw. fRieDRiCh nietzsChe Whoever, or whatever, wins the battle for people's minds will rule, because mighty, rigid apparatuses will not be a match, in any reasonable timespan, for the minds mobilized around the power of flexible, alternative networks. MAnUel CAstells, AUthoR of The NeTwork SocieTy O u r C h a p T E r p l E D g E TO yO u When you reach the end of this chapter you'll have answers to the following questions: How did we reach the dawn of a digital age in marketing? What are the similarities between the internet and historical global communications revolutions? How many people are on the internet and how quickly is it growing? How is digital technology influencing consumer behaviour?