Word Marketing Blog

It's a community, not a commune

More and more people over the age of 30 are discovering Social Media. Just last week a bunch of my high school friends all flocked to a post started by someone on their Facebook page about how they missed high school and all the things that went with it. Almost 50 of my old buddies posted memories, comments and jabs about the school, teachers and times. All of these people are over 40.

If you are over 40 and you mention "online community", be careful not to let your mind think of "communes" as they were in the 60's and 70's. Communes of these decades were typically counter-culture and hippie oriented.

An online community is a bunch of people interacting together. They interact via communication media such as newsletters, e-mail, IM and Social Media. Even though some of my friends had not seen me and maybe not even each other in over a decade or more, through our previous association, we were magically brought back together as an online community through the technology of Social Media.

Your Facebook friend roster is an online community, and if you are a user, you are part of all of their online communities. As Mr. Spock says, "Fascinating".

In online communities, some people stay low, preferring to be an observer, some are just beginning to engage and others are constantly adding value, while others are just adding while working out frustration of not being able to share before, they share too much, I guess we could call this ITMI (internet too much info).

Some people leave. Can you believe it? Some people will actually stop following you on Twitter or de-friend you on Facebook? Yes, they will. They are either annoyed or just disinterested. Hey, some people's interests change.Maybe the new wore off or they just don't want to make time for you anymore. They don't see the same value or participation in the community as you do.

As I told a client a while back, this is the way the world is going, will you go with it?

Communities are about connection.

A conversation leads to a connection and that connection is community.

Media Moldings

The 20th Century changed the worldview of humans on this planet forever.

The 20th Century brought an explosion of new inventive ways to communicate on a massive scale. The ability to broadcast signals of audio and video ushered in a major cultural shift.

The fact is, our culture today worldwide is one of media.

In the last 20 years, the delivery systems in which we not only transit media, but also recieve it, have evolved to a point where anyone with a cell phone with a camera embedded into to it can broadcast anything they want to a worldwide audience.

And....it influences people.

Recently, in our report, The Real Estate Edge, we asked people what influenced their view of the economy.

68% said the media.

We live in a media-driven culture. Researchers tell us we are bombarded with some 3,000 messages per day in all sorts of forms.

Today, the world has changed.

Yesterday a few would be broadcasting to the world and having the world listen.

Now, the entire world is broadcasting to itself. The most important question to ponder is:

What do we say?

New Economy Means More Free

I've had to shift my thinking, as have most who want to navigate the world of this New Economy.

Companies like Google have fundamentally changed commerce, in that they help folks organize content, a lot of which is free. When there are more dollars, there is still competition for those dollars, but it's not as intense because of the abundance of them. Most consumers are holding tight to their dollars in this New Economy which make the competition for the available ones pretty fierce.

Media is trying to cope. What content is the most valuable? What can we limit access to? What can we charge for?

Media consumption has morphed into something different.

Many media heads have announced they will start charging for content online or the online model will be moving from free to paid. However, most research indicates consumers are moving more from a paid to free mindset concerning online content.

The cycle has been seen before. AM to FM, FM to Satellite, Satellite to Digital. It's a matter of coping then understanding. A moving to what was to what is.

But, coping is painful.

Memorial Day Driving Defensively

The holiday weekend is here and despite the rising costs of fuel, there will still be lots of people on the highways. Traveling to see family, going camping or just out for a drive to enjoy the weather.

When I was growing up, there used to be a famous public service campaign that stated "Drive defensively, watch out for the other guy". There's also a running joke in my house from a caring albeit comical comment I made to Ann Marie as she was leaving the house once. I said "drive carefully", to which she responded "why do you always tell me to be careful?" to which I responded "it's not you I worry about, it's the other idiots out there".

My caring comment turned her toward a frown and a stare. Yes, I'm a communicator. Sheesh.

Driving is getting more dangerous. Why? Because of something called the cell phone. I have maintained for several years now that it is the thief of in-car radio listening. But let me also say this, it is what it is. Am I against cell phones? No. I love em and I play with mine more than I should. Cell phones also enable you to text. Texting has been the rage for a couple years now.  Texting is the father of Twitter. Short message bursts which are too short for a whole conversation but simply status updates to your life or business.

What does this have to do with driving? I'm also a consultant that markets and sells research. Vlingo has just released a new study on texting while driving.

Here are some results to their survey:

Despite an increasing number of state bans on driving while texting (DWT) and numerous reports of texting-related accidents, more than one-fourth (26%) of US mobile-phone users send and/or receive text messages while behind the wheel, finds a study from Vlingo.

Vlingo’s second annual Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report reveals that drivers in Tennessee are the worst offenders, with 42% of respondents from that state admitting to DWT. Arizona has the lowest percentage (18.8%), the study found.

As of May 2009, seven states and the District of Columbia have laws completely prohibiting any person from sending text messages while operating a vehicle. However, the research found no correlation between regulation and DWT activity:

• Two of the top five worst offender states (Tenn., N.J. Idaho, Okla., Alaska) have some form of DWT/mobile phone ban in place or pending (one of which is focused solely on young drivers).
• Of the five states with the best records (Ariz., Vt., R.I, Ohio, Mich.), only R.I. has a ban on DWT and it only applies to those under the age of 18.

Not surprisingly, the propensity for DWT varies by age. Almost 60% of the US’s youngest drivers (ages 16 – 19) admit to DWT as do 49% of those ages 20-29, Vlingo said.  The percentages get lower for older respondents (as do the percentages for texting in general), but 13% of people in their 50s still admit to DWT.

Among survey respondents there is general consensus that DWT should be legally banned. Just more than 83% of respondents think DWT should be illegal, while only 7% think DWT should be legal, and 10% are undecided. However, 40% favor making DWT legal with more safety precautions, such as voice-recognition technology that enables hands-free texting.

Texting on the Rise

The study also revealed that text messaging in general is on the rise across all age groups, with nearly 60% of mobile phone users now reporting they send or receive text messages. This compares with 54% in 2008. Again, percentages are highest among the youngest mobile users, though a significant portion of those in their 40s and 50s report texting as well:

• In 2008, 85% of teens and 20-somethings used texting.
• In 2009, 94% of teens and 87% of 20-somethings used texting.
• Among those in their 40s, usage jumped from 56% to 64.
• For those in their 50s use of texting jumped from 38% to 46%.

Texting is also gaining on sending/receiving calls as the primary use of mobile phones, with 35% of all respondents using their phones for texting more than for phone calls, the survey found. Almost half of respondents do both in equal numbers.

The volume of text messages has gone up as well across all age groups, although the 13-19-year-old age group remains the most active, sending an average of more than 500 texts per month.

High Costs, Tiny Keypads Barriers to Texting

Despite the popularity of mobile data services, 41% of survey respondents say they do not text, while 70% do not browse the web, and 73% do not use email on their mobile phones. The survey found that cost is one of the main reasons for non-adoption:

• 44% cite cost as a barrier to adopting text messaging
• 59% cite cost as a barrier to web browsing
• 53% cite cost as a reason for not adopting mobile email

Among those who do not text message, 27% cite the difficulty of typing on a tiny keyboard as a barrier, while 37% say it takes too much time to type. However, usability enhancements such as voice enablement would increase usage : 74% report that they would use voice enablement as a way to make text messaging easier.

About the research: The Vlingo Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report was fielded by independent panel research firm Toluna and responses were generated from a survey among 4,816 online opinion panel members (ages 13+) living in the continental US. The sample was matched to US Census proportions on gender, age and ethnicity and included approximately 100 respondents from each of the 48 contiguous US states. Respondents were also screened for mobile phone ownership and usage.

 

The Future of Books

So...what is the future of printed books?

Seth Godin mentioned a week or so ago that most cities will be without a newspaper in the next five years. What is the future of books? The iPod has started the elimination of CDs on a shelf...DVRs have cut down on the amount of movies on a shelf...Amazon has the Kindle.

Saturday was such a beautiful day, I spent most of the afternoon on the porch in my camping chair with a nice big glass of water and my stack of books.

Books are big, they are bulky and they are old media.

What's your prediction? How long before a hard drive replaces my wonderfully bound information?

Women More Picky In Shopping

There's no doubt I always harp about how you have to know your customer's current mindset. It's critical, because as culture and economies change, so do consumer attitudes.

There's also no doubt today's shopper is more cautious with spending. As has also been suspected for some time, and proven in many surveys, the primary shopper and home finance decision maker is female. Here's some new shopping data from a survey recently conducted by Miller/Zell.

Perhaps not surprisingly, increases in pre-store purchase planning and Internet research before shopping indicates shoppers are coming to the retail store more armed with knowledge of pricing, product capabilities and competitor products:

• 60% of respondents are doing more pre-planning before shopping trips than they were a year ago.
• 44% say they are doing more online research than they were a year ago (42% of men and 45% of women).

The Internet is the researcher's dream weapon. Everyone who uses the Internet is doing some form of research.

At least two out of five respondents are spending less on most categories tested except grocery, where 46% are spending the same as before, and 16% are spending more, the survey found.

Miller Zell noted that this could be a result of higher prices and/or more decisions to eat at home. In terms of other categories with large decreases in spending, 61% of respondents are spending less in electronics and 64% are spending less in apparel.

In terms of dining out and entertainment, 68% of survey respondents say they are doing more “insourcing” of out-of-home dining and half have brought special occasions or family nights into the home that they previously enjoyed out:

• Special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries are the most likely to be brought into the home, followed by family night.

• Guys’ and girls’ nights out are the two events least likely to be brought into the home.

When profiling downgraders, Miller Zell found,  age and income have very little variance from the overall sample, while women have a higher likelihood be downgraders,  specifically in eating at home, downgrading grocery and department stores, and going from specialty retailers to value mass merchants.

Despite behaviors that indicate they are buckling down now, respondents in all gender, age and wage categories indicate greater optimism (as represented by increased expected future spend) six months from now than currently, the survey found.

If you are female and reading this now either on our blog, web site or my Facebook page, I'm interested in your comments and thoughts. Agree or disagree?

 

It's not your Dad's internet

I'm very fascinated by America's generational cycles.

Strauss and Howe said "the story of civilization seldom moves in a straight line, but is rich with curves, oscillations, and mood shifts". Generation X, also called the 13th Generation or the "baby busters" is typically defined as those being born between 1961 and 1981. Generation Y is typically defined as those being born from 1978 to 1995. The Baby Boomers are typically referred to as those people who were born prior to 1964, starting right after World War Two in 1945 and are a huge generation by sheer numbers, also called the "pig in the python". In fact, some even attribute the economic slowdown currently in play as the result of the huge numbers of Baby Boomers in the workforce retiring between the years of 2007 and 2009. The Silent Generation are folks who are born between the years of 1925 to 1945 and the G.I. Generation are typically referred to as born between 1901 and 1924.

New research has just emerged reflecting the habits and usage of these various generations online.

According to Pew Internet & American Life Project, Americans who are part of Generation X are most likely to bank, shop and look for health information online, Baby Boomers are as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online, and members of the Silent Generation are proficient with email and are gaining ground online.

Though 74% of all US adults are online, younger users ages 12-28 have embraced online applications that enable communicative, creative, and social uses, older users are more likely to engage in online activities that require some capital, such as travel reservations and online banking.

It also finds that though more than half of America’s online population is between ages 18-44,  larger percentages of older Americans are going online and doing more things there than they have in the past. The biggest increase in internet use since 2005 is in the 70-75 year-old age group. While just over one-fourth (26%) of 70-75 year olds were online in 2005, 45% of that age group is currently online.

What would you think the most popular online activity would be?

You guessed it! Email.

Three quarters (74%) of internet users ages 64+ send and receive email, making email the most popular online activity for this age group.

But, email has lost some ground among teens. Some 89% of teens said they used email in 2004, but only 73% say they do now.

What has replaced email?

Social networking, blogging and instant messaging have all gained significant ground.

 

Mobile News Reception

More and more people are using their mobile phones to access news information.

I confess, the iPhone causes me to check weather, news and stocks more than I ever have! After all, if I am just sitting in the car on a trip, in a airplane or on a tarmac, it's cool to flip open the holster and get the 411.

I guess I'm not the only one since the number of people using their mobile phone to access online information more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009.

comScore is reporting among the total audience of 63.2 million people who accessed news and information in January 2009, more than a third (35%) did so at least every day!

comScore also reports that the fastest growing activities for mobile web use are accessing news and information, social networking and blogging, stock trading and accessing financial information and seeking movie information. Notably, social networking and blogging are “growing at a torrid pace”.

Much of the growth in news and information usage is driven by the increased popularity of downloaded applications, such as those offered for the iPhone, and by text-based searches, comScore said. While smartphones and high-end feature phones, like the Samsung Instinct and LG Dare comprise the top 10 devices used for news and information access, 70% of those accessing mobile internet content are using feature phones.

Social Media Rankings for January 2009

I studied social media long before I became affiliated and now, yes, I guess...I am officially addicted to it.

A couple of months ago our Marketing Director at Word Marketing told me that we now had a company Facebook page and all the employees would be getting pages also....including me. I'm like "ok...whatever"...I didn't do anything with it for a while...but people started contacting me through my Facebook site. So, now in a few weeks...I'm about to bust over the 100 friend mark. I've downloaded the iPhone Facebook interface application and feel like I need to update my status three times a day.

It's crazy. But.....fun.

So, I thought today I would write about market share among social media.

According to Hitwise...My Space still leads the pack in market share with almost 38% followed by Facebook at almost 21%...You Tube is a distant third.

I've included a chart for you. Don't forget to update your status or poke someone!

Mobile Internet is on the Rise

I went smart phone with Internet access about 18 months ago.

Last Christmas, Ann Marie surprised me (which is tough to do with a present) with an iPhone under the tree. I liked my Samsung Blackjack, but with the iPhone, there's no comparison. I know that all Apple users have a not so secret mission to convert all PC users! The iPhone may be the thing that pushed me over when it's time for a new laptop.

This blog entry is not about Mac vs PC, but the iPhone has solidified my mobile Internet usage. Getting and sending email from both business and personal accounts, checking on stocks, getting weather and surfing the net for whatever info I need makes "Internet on the go" all too valuable.

The Center for Media Research has just released some new information.

MEF recently released its Top Ten 2009 Mobile Entertainment trends including the ‘iPhone effect' and greater pricing transparency for consumers, but predicts that mobile advertising will not "take off." The report notes that, though the $25 billion global mobile entertainment industry has weathered and prospered through hard times as well as good, 2009 will be a year in which almost a decade of investments begin to deliver returns.

MEF has identified what members see as the biggest trends facing the mobile entertainment industry in 2009:

• The ‘iPhone effect' -Mobile applications have emerged as a new content category and the mobile internet will finally come of age
• Greater value and transparency for consumers will help sustain demand in 2009
• Some delay in the proliferation of mobile advertising
• Telcos begin to acts as enablers for the Entertainment industry with services such as billing, authentication and zero tariff data
• The emerging dominance of services that operate at a multi-platform level
• The rise of ring back tones
• Social networking becomes an important driver of mobile entertainment consumption
• 2009 will be the year that mobile video really takes off
• Emerging economies will become an increasingly important driver for mobile entertainment worldwide
• A proliferation of touch screen devices drives discoverability and content usage

More about mobile entertainment, from a Nielsen report summarized by Mediabuyerplanner,  shows that content from NBC and CBS is among the most popular with viewers of mobile video, with many tuning in to watch hour-long dramas, a format that was assumed unpopular with mobile viewers. NBC is drawing the largest audience to mobile, generating 1.8 million mobile video streams. Of those, 1.3 million were for full episodes of shows like Heroes and The Office.

Traditional shows are popular because they're familiar, says the report. Made-for-mobile shows, such as those CBS has had in development, are hard to find because mobile web users are less inclined to search aimlessly. Still, CBS is continuing to produce mobile series, and has scored with short Hollywood news segments.

Steve Andrade, general manager of NBC.com, says that "Long-form is doing better for us than short form and... we're surprised... "

Nielsen estimates that 10.3 million mobile phone subscribers, 5% of the cell phone population, access video via their phone each month. M:Metrics' most recent survey shows that just 7.5 million users watched video in a given month.

"As smart phones continue to drop in price, and new entrants impress consumers," says comScore, "mobile internet penetration and engagement will continue to soar..."