Sales Pitches and Technology:
Breakthroughs Become Billboards
How new platforms lose their magic when marketers move in,
and how to build genuine communication that cuts through the digital noise.
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Sales Pitches and Technology: Why Every Breakthrough Turns into a Billboard
Email once felt personal and efficient. It was a great way to get in touch and stay in touch.
Today, it greets me each morning with a flood of sales pitches: “I’m moving this to the top of your inbox,” or “We’re impressed by your site and believe we can help you grow your readership.”
Text messaging, once reserved for friends and family, now delivers fundraising requests from politicians and charities. Some I support, others I cannot stand, and none I wish to fund through random texts.
Facebook once offered a quick way to check on friends’ lives. Now, the algorithm fills my feed with promotions for guitar lessons, get-rich programs, and custom-fitted shirts.
Instagram began as a cultural gallery of photography, music, and creativity. Now it overflows with influencers, bloggers, podcasters, and thought leaders promoting their latest offers.
Every innovation in communication begins as a genuine connection tool. Over time, it turns into another marketplace. Newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet all began with the promise of shared information and community. Each eventually evolved into another vehicle for sales.
Ogden Nash saw this pattern as early as 1932 when he wrote:
“I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall,
I’ll never see a tree at all.”
His words ring truer than ever today.
The Cycle of Communication in Sales Pitches and Technology
Each new medium follows a familiar path:
- Excitement: A new platform emerges, thrilling users with fresh possibilities for connection.
- Monetization: Businesses take over, eager to turn attention into sales.
- Pushback: Audiences grow tired of the noise, sparking innovations that restore authenticity (the fourth step).
A Century of Commercialization
Radio began as public programming. Before long, jingles filled the air, and sponsors attached their names to every on-air drama.
Television followed, weaving commercials into prime time and shaping culture while fueling concerns about consumerism.
Next, the Internet ushered in banner ads, email marketing, and pop-ups, followed by algorithms that delivered ads based on every click and keystroke. As the digital world filled with personalized ads, privacy concerns grew. The first ad-blocking tools appeared as a form of protest.
Today, social media platforms such as Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube blend advertising into every scroll. Influencer campaigns, native ads, and branded content now feel inseparable from personal posts. This constant exposure can lead to viewer fatigue, particularly among younger users who prefer less commercial, ad-free spaces or subscription-based platforms.
The Human Constant Throughout Sales Pitches and Technology
Each generation has witnessed this same transformation of technology to sales pitches. And while the tools might change, the cycle repeats itself over and over. What remains constant, from cave paintings to AI-generated content, is the human desire to connect, to share stories, and to build meaning together.
And so, the question has never been “What’s next?” but “What will we create next?”
Perhaps progress depends less on finding the next technology platform and more on rediscovering what made communication so powerful in the first place. Because, regardless of the media employed, connection happens when messages resonate deeply and serve real people.
That is what I help audiences achieve. Whether they build brands, grow businesses, or guide their own organizations, the goal remains the same: to communicate with purpose, clarity, and empathy.
Technology continues to evolve. Yet the art of communication will always belong to those who speak from the heart, listen with intent, and connect through genuine understanding.
Why?
Because communication has never been about technology. It has always been about people.
You can learn more at www.bruceturkel.com