Open hands marketing?

At the end of 2009 I suggested terror, technology, celebrity and debt as a 4 word summary of the preceding decade.

What's the word for 2010? Strong candidates would be disclosure or openness.

The Wikileaks cables are one example of the power of technology to change how information works - and crucially to give us all access to more of it.

Another is the ongoing evolution of social media. I've been to a couple of gigs recently (trying, in vain, to regain my youth), and been amused by quite how many people are taking photos - many of which are promptly uploaded to Facebook or Flickr. Go online and it is very easy to find popular reviews and feedback from events that took place just hours ago, as well as stuff in anticipation of events that are coming up. Event promoters - like politicians - are no longer in control of the flow of information.

This kind of disclosure isn't going to go away. If the US government cannot shut down whistleblowers, then brands certainly can't. Courageous brands are already adopting openness as a virtue. I think the next couple of years will enforce it on us all. (And, in the end, good thing too.)