SFB asks: The concept of the "Cyber-Hipster" is one you repeatedly mention on your blog — two prominent examples you note are Jeff Jarvis and Robert Scoble. What should (and more importantly shouldn't) readers learn from these figures?

Mendelson: They lie. That’s the thing people should learn. Cyber-Hipsters revise history to fit their agenda, they act like bullies, and when you hear them talk about “everyone”, you should know they’re mostly just referring to well off white males who live in a large city like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. If you see someone talking about the Internet and what it can do for you, you should run in the other direction.

SFB asks: One intriguing thing that you've said in the past is that the marketing concepts being used in the era of social media date back to the 1930s. Any context or examples you can offer?

Mendelson: Here’s the challenge I give everyone: Pick up a copy of the original “How To Win Friends And Influence People” (before they added the Internet bullshit) and then pick up a copy of ANY marketing book that came out this year. I promise you that almost everything found in the marketing book is a ripoff of “How To Win Friends And Influence People”. Ditto with anything written by Edward L. Bernays and any book on PR.