That argument makes Douglas Rushkoff nervous. Marketing's powers of persuasion compel him to view the new economy not in terms of consumer democracy but in terms of institutional conspiracy. "We are under constant scrutiny and constant assault by a professional class of hidden persuaders," he writes in "Coercion: Why We Listen to What 'They' Say" (Riverhead Books, 1999, $24.95). "In most cases, if the coercion works according to plan, we don't even realize it has been used."

In a fascinatingly detailed documentary of Net culture, Rushkoff takes on the dark side of the new economy. In his account, the future of marketing seems less like a paradise of collaboration between customer and company, and more like a battle in which "our attempts to stay one step ahead of coercers merely [provoke] them to develop even more advanced, less visible, and, arguably, more pernicious methods of persuasion."

Rushkoff's purpose is not to demonize the marketing profession but to alert consumers to the way they collude in their own coercion. Resistance is not futile, he argues. Every consumer has a responsibility to fight back -- or risk being hit with a colossal case of buyer's remorse. "Our new religion is to become more plugged-in, in whatever way possible, to the way the world works. The purpose of life is to buy and sell things, or even ideas. But like any compulsive behavior, our buying and selling merely spurs the need to buy and sell more."

"Syrup" -- Maxx Barry's very spicy, slightly repugnant, yet strangely compelling satire of marketing as a vast, invisible conspiracy (Viking, 1999, $22.95) -- is a great companion volume to Coercion. This knowing parable lets loose a cast of hip marketing talents to play corporate politics. For Barry's characters, marketing is at the heart of all success in our celebrity-obsessed world. The next best thing to making it as a movie star is making it as a marketer -- especially as a marketer who understands that the most important brand that he or she will ever develop is the Brand Called Me. That's why Barry's hero changes his name from Michael to Scat. And that's why Scat's staccato pitch for the next big thing -- "New cola product. Black can. Called Fukk" -- so impresses the twentysomething manager of new-product marketing at a fictionalized Coca-Cola Co. that she steals it. (Her own brand starts with her unusual and intensely ridiculous name: "6.")

This spectacle of gen-Xers at play in the boardroom betrays a certain ignorance of how global organizations compete, how big companies work, and how major decisions get made. But Barry has a handle on a more powerful truth. His character 6 says it best: "It's a democratic society. . . . Your opinion of what's quality is no more valid than mine. Popularity is quality. And so marketers are today's real artists."

Sidebar: Permission to Read?

In "Permission Marketing" (Simon & Schuster, 1999, $24), Seth Godin offers a brand of marketing that's designed expressly for the networked world. He founded Yoyodyne Entertainment (a pioneer of Web marketing), then sold it to Yahoo!, and now works as Yahoo!'s vice president of direct marketing. You may have read his interview in Fast Company ("Permission Marketing," April:May 1998). Now read his book.

Godin's argument is simple and bold: Traditional advertising doesn't work as well as it used to -- in part because there's so much of it, in part because we've all gotten so good at ignoring it. In a world with hundreds of TV channels and nearly 2 million commercial Web sites, just shouting louder than your rival doesn't work the way it once did.

Godin can't clear away the clutter, but he does propose a way of turning clutter into an asset. His model, called "Permission Marketing," is based on convincing people to volunteer their attention -- to agree to learn more about a company's products in return for tangible benefits. The point is to transform potential consumers into willing participants in the marketing equation. The Web is a marketer's greatest ally in this process, though not in the way that it's generally been used. The Net is not TV, Godin argues. Too many Web marketers perpetuate the "interruption marketing" of old. The Net's real killer app is email -- because it offers "frequency for free." Frequency of contact leads to more permission and, ultimately, to the key ingredient in any robust, long-term customer relationship: trust.

Sidebar: Cheat Sheet

Marketing is . . . "the planet's largest religion, but the billions who worship it don't know it" (Barry).

Marketing is not . . . "about creating an image. Having an image just means that I know who you are, but it doesn't motivate me to do anything. Marketing is not about creating award-winning commercials either. . . . For fast-food restaurants, it's about bites and slurps. For the airlines, it's about butts in seats" (Zyman).