In this April 4th 2008 article in Mediapost there is an interesting passage that appears to be a quoted opinion of an unknown source from Gartner.

Dealing with "uncomprehending senior managers," digital executives "have a duty to convince them not to be distracted by penny-pinching measures in the face of short-term market conditions, but to embrace the digital future."

Gartner doesn’t explain, however, how it knows the downturn will only be short-term.

Bottom line is "uncomprehending senior managers" are not stupid.  They know if they can spend a $1 and generate $3 that they will keep those programs running.  I think that there will be a lot less hiring employees and a lot more hiring of contractors and ASP’s, there is a lot more flexibility for the businesses if they do this.

Monetizing social media will be the focus of the rest of 2008.