Web 3.OH!

Sure, social media are all the buzz.

Though Twitter may wane, and Facebook deface, the notable elements behind social media is this:

• the way we all communicate and engage continues to undergo a monumental shift

• newer consumers continue to become better producers

• groups and individuals now communicate, in concentric circles, at the same time

It's a direct result of information shifting from hyper-centralized to decentralized.

What happened in retail, product, and other traditionally distributed consumer goods is now speeding up how we connect, talk, and transfer info.

One of the main reasons everything was centralized was Economies of Scale, a requirement that crumbles more with each increase in digitization and broadband internet upgrade.

Of course, quality of content and engagement still separates the wheat from the chaff, but since distribution is free, information, and its transfer, is increasingly de-centralized -- bye-bye mainframes, and newspaper...hello hub, and blog.

In a tip of the hat to that free info, we'll share one of our favorite sources info, the TED talks. Clay Shirky here sums up the implications of this communication revolution:

http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

Enjoy. And transfer this info!

ʇdıɹɔs ǝɥʇ dıןɟ

Can't turn your monitor upside down?

We stumbled upon this novelty site and thought we'd share in the spirit of lightening up these darker winter days.

http://flipmytext.com/ and a host of other sites enable one to send messages upside down.

Watch your friends try it on the self righting screens of their smart phones! While these site are mostly just a novelty we can't help but write copy.

ɹǝʇuıʍ uı ɹǝɯɯns ɹǝpun uʍop

Imagine that kind of pitch from Quantas for a 'Down Under Summer in Winter' sale. Or an eblast selling the inversion boot workout. Too obscure? Well, you get the idea.

Just twist your thinking. ˙ʎɹǝʌıןǝp ǝɥʇ dıןɟ puɐ

Since we're in marketing, we're in the markets.

"This is all happening because my father didn't buy me a train set as a kid."

- WARREN BUFFETT, joking about his decision to buy a railroad, the Burlington

Northern Santa Fe Corporation.

NY Times, November 3rd, 2009

Is this a sign the downturn's up?' Should we start studying Buffett's other Rosebud-esque childhood stories? 'Hey, his folks didn't get him a junior insurance agent playset, so that explains GEICO!'

As we all know, the daily Dow, and all those market swings effect virtually every business, especially those involving antacid supplements. And while fixation isn't helpful, paying attention to the trends makes business sense.

Colleagues and friends ask us what we're seeing in our world, given marketing can be an indicator of C-suite outlook.

We're noticing the obvious things:

• turnover at some companies makes getting back in-synch harder

• the struggling companies seem to shift back in an odd reliance on old ways vs fresh starts

• risk-aversion still rules at companies with slow/no-growth (self-fulfilling? most likely)

• well-run companies are acting smarter about how they're spending -- more thoughtful in decisions, yet moving like an opportunist

• smart companies are questioning value -- not overall cost, but cost against the service

All told, these trends have actually led to more business for our business.

Why is that? And what are the lessons we've learned about what's worked? Getting back to the basics of entrepreneurial structures, that start any business big or small, including:

• minimized overhead that can deliver optimal value AND a truly neutral structure and solution set

• efficient processes born of that minimized structure vs legacy systems

• personnel hiring that bring only those who are flexible and think like an entrepreneur given constant change in the marketplace

None of the above is news. really. But it's amazing how the rapid growth era can take all but the smartest from going off track...Mr. Buffett.

Baby-boomers still booming it.

Once a generation started to retire, conventional wisdom said they'd start acting like retirees. Cutting spending, locked into old ways -- the implication was therefore that they weren't worth the marketing effort.

But not baby boomers, baby. They're not accepting a declining income as readily as previous generations. And in mass alone, they're still big:

• Households age 50+ account for nearly half consumer income & spending

• Boomer delayed every life stage transition & will delay retiement

• Most boomers are empty nesters, who often subsidize their adult kids

So, while the youth marketing rule is to aspire up (think 2-4 years older when marketing to 'kids'), you can do the opposite in terms of marketing to the Boomer set -- just think younger by a decade or 2.

Less AARP. More PAAR-TY!

Source: www.census.gov

iPhone App Rapp

What do you get when musicians, technicians, and comedians get together?  "I am T-Pain", of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITT6bYYGVfM

All this creative technological prowess has produced something totally useless but severely entertaining.

The iPhone app, brought to us by T-Pain himself, allows users to karaoke over T-pain's songs in his trademark, auto-tune style -- then share the 'vocal stylings' online or via email.

And not only does T-Pain promote himself, but he's also leveraged his guest appearance in an SNL sketch for extra cash.   

For $0.99 more, you can buy the instrumental version of the hit SNL sketch "I am on a boat"   complete with Karaoke style lyrics.  

But wait there's more!

Other's lyrics need not limit you. There are instrumental songs a'plenty which allow you to "free style" your own poetry in emotion.  So watch out for Happy B-day, Mom, with an auto-tuned twist.

Appreciation of Hip-hop, SNL, or even the iPhone aside, one has to concede this is an entertaining interactive experience that promotes purely, while it pads the creators pockets a bit.

Could your own iPhone app music video be far behind?  Bring it, MileyBrittneyJonasWilco.  Wait, who's Wilco?

-BWM

Saturn Cars: When Big Tries A Little

We've seen it before:  Plank Road Brewing from Miller.  Ted from United.  Saturn from GM.

Occasionally, the 'intrapreneurial' spirit works.

Saturn was the small car company feel and action from within the belly of the GM behemoth.

But it died.  Even a sale to the smart, savvy car-man turned conglomerate Roger Penske couldn't happen 11th hour.

http://adage.com/article?article_id=139370

Why did Saturn fail in the first place?

• little has a hard time getting resourced OR left alone to thrive

• little is held to same standards as big in P&L, reporting -- and expected to fit the big system in distribution, timelines, velocity or other biz metrics

• little is sometimes staffed the same as big -- or with big minded people who don't fit

Sadly, this wasn't Saturn's fault.  

And we would think there's still some positive brand residue there.  But it's only worth a little -- until in message and in mode, someone makes a big shift forward with it again.

Twitter? Or Twit?

Many people write off Twitter as useless, superfluous and just plain ridiculous. 

We agree in 2 cases:

• if you don't need to share with friends and the wider world your 'status'

• if you, your friends and or your industry aren't on it

But while many use Twitter as a psuedo-public diary of their lives, it can be used to great effect for non-social purposes.   Twitter can:

• give users an easy way to monitor 'Twitter-hip' companies, industries and industry leaders

• enable real time, quick-news postings about how to best use products, even what regulatory issues a given industry or company is facing

As a result, following just a handful of industry leaders will yield insights and great competitive information.

So, how do we at Bandwidth Twitter?  We follow the high tech industry with one account, the Design world with another, and the Marketing world with a third. 

We also choose to follow keywords of interest, and pay close attention to industry leaders and innovative companies, what they're saying, who they're following. 

Seesmic and Tweet Deck provide free software which allows a Twitter user to follow multiple accounts and subjects at once with minimal clutter.

Like most things, you get out what you put into the system.  And as always online, its caveat emptor, or Twitter-read beware:  if you blindly trust what jabbermouth26 says, you might get burnt.