Forrester Research finds itself in a bit of a firestorm these days over it's recent decision to require all of its analysts to blog on "research related topics" only through the Forrester blog site. So far, much of the debate over the policy has centered on the issue of balancing the benefits of "personal brands" with the need for "content based" companies to charge for corporate branded content. Forrester makes an ironic case for the policy, by drawing analogies to the New York Times and CBS of all things. Isn't the main stream media a case study in how NOT to charge for access to content?

Forrester Research faces a deeper problem than blog policy here. It's a problem that makes me think back to days when I first met my wife. At the time she was very active in helping to organize the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. They faced a challenge. How could an institution so well renowned and seemingly enlightened as Harvard possibly need a union? They came up with a brilliant campaign slogan: "we can't eat prestige." The message was clear; we're not in awe of the brand because we work here, we live with the results of what you do every day.

That was all back in 1994. Now the information economy has become the full blown conversation economy, giving all of us unlimited access to information and people. Each of us can now validate claims, read reviews, and "live the actual results every day." Through social media "we all work there" now. Any industry based on analysis, prestige, and expert advice needs to re-examine their value, using new media as a guide. Expertise has been replaced by access to raw details, ability to navigate the volume of information, aggregate it and make it all relevant, and then connect consumers with their peers.

Today, when my wife and I want advice on whether our twin 9-year-olds can watch a movie, we no longer look up whether some "expert" move critic thinks it was "good family" fare. I can now look up the exact facts about the language, violence and other aspects so I can decide for myself. In finance, I can connect directly with "like minded fools." When buying a car, I can see what the enthusiasts have to say. Above all, I can find all the data I could possibly want at my fingertips.

The transition from charging for "expert opinion" to hard facts is not easy. It's a particularly hard lesson for those who have put as much time into their "prestige" brand as Forrester. On the other hand, there's only so many times you can ask customers to order up a plate of prestige before they realize they're still hungry.