What does marketing mean to you?

Did you all look at the results of this poll at Online Marketing Blog?

Readers were asked "What 3 digital marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2009?"

Email marketing is fifth on the list after Blogging, Microblogging (Twitter), Search engine optimization, and Social network participation (Facebook, LinkedIn)! Should I be scared?

If you look at the rankings one way, you might think that marketers are trying to do more with less money. Many of them deal with networks that don't require much investment in money but a certain amount of time.

Let's take some of the theories presented in "Tuned In" (still reading it, so review is forth coming) and evaluate these choices based on whether the marketer is listening to the market or talking at it.

You will see that top five tactics (including email marketing) are about talking. Number six, "Social media monitoring & outreach" is about eliciting feedback.

What does marketing mean to you? Getting the message out about your product or service? Or listening to what people need? Something else entirely?