Saw the new George Clooney movie “Up in the Air.” He represents an outplacement company and his specialty is traveling around the country firing employees on behalf or their clients.

There are two observations – both obvious, both related – that marketers should take note of:

1) If not done with care, communications technology can place additional barriers between you and your customers rather than allow for additional connections.

2) Being around people is not the same as connecting with people

2010 will surely bring further inroads in social media, tele/video conferencing, and other proxies for face-to-face interaction.

Just as in the Great Depression, people will remain scarred to one degree or another from this ongoing recession.

There will likely be trust issues. And there is no substitute for building trust than to be there, in person, or with a consistent brand experience.