A Protest

Tom Wayne, owner of Prospero’s Books in Kansas City, Missouri, loves books. Recently looking to reduce his used book inventory, he found he couldn’t even give them away. So he got a permit and burned them in protest (see the Yahoo article).

Read a Book? LOL!!!

Apparently the 18-34, web 2.0, GenMe, millennials just don’t read books much anymore.

According to a recently released study on The Arts and Civic Engagement by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), 18-34-year-olds have the lowest literary reading rate among all adults at 45.2%. In 1982, the rate for the same age group was 61.1%, the highest among all adults at the time.

Burning Issues

The Internet is one likely cause in this behavioral swing. With the web’s seemingly infinite supply of information and the finite number of hours in a day, books are becoming arcane, expensive, and volumetric. Committing to more than a 2-minute video, a podcast sound bite, or a short blog entry is increasingly impractical if GenMe individuals hope to keep up.

Relevancy, Transparency and Brevity

Trying to reach GenMe and other market segments flooding into online social environments is a long-term, long tail play. Consider words like transparency and participation over terms like selling—and above all, keep it brief.

In fact, if you’re still reading this, you may be over 35.

*Download the complete NEA report here:
Civic Engagement pdf | 136 kb

Image source: n8ive

The Purchase

In a bid to enter the world of social networking, CBS announced today that it paid $280 million for the social network music service Last.fm.

In recent articles Scrobble Anyone? and Online Radio: Pandora’s Box? we addressed the emergence and appeal of socially networked music sites like Pandora and Last.fm—as well as some concerns.

The Baggage

One primary concern, the ongoing copyright issues leveled at online radio sites by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In fact, Pandora prominently displays a message on their site that begins, “Don’t let the RIAA kill Pandora and Internet radio. Ask Your Senators…”

Of course RIAA-perpetuated legal concerns didn’t deter CBS from entering the Internet Radio market space. Perhaps CBS is counting on their own considerable clout and media presence—as well as that of a few big friends—to see them through that aspect of the business plan. From MediaPost:

CBS’s acquisition comes at a time of increased activity surrounding digital music. Consider, Amazon recently said it was going to start selling music downloads, while Apple today began offering tracks from EMI without digital rights management restrictions. Additionally, late last year Pandora agreed to power MSN’s online radio service.

The Drama

Online radio sites like Last.fm, Pandora, BlogMusik and RadioBlogClub function as natural gateways for online music merchants. With EMI, MSN, Apple, CBS and Amazon posturing for a piece of the download music market—and the RIAA looking on as arbiter—this should prove interesting.

The Goods

With CBS at the helm, Last.fm will likely begin to move from lead generator to direct sales. CBS itself may benefit from a whole new market to offer its advertisers—a nice hedge against television advertising revenue. And brand marketers should benefit from CBS offering an online alternative to the traditional CBS offline advertising fare. All in all not bad—potentially.

Image source: the.woelfchen

Caroline at Window No. 1
Snedens Landing, New York

The often whimsical images of Rodney Smith’s Surreal collection, from the John Cleary Gallery, offer ethereal René Magritte-like insights—natural emanating light, impeccably framed and eerily imbued. Always worth a revisit—enjoy.

Minding the Crowd

The backbone of any social network is participation, and comments and conversations are the vertebrae. But efficiently tracking the data trails of ever-shifting collective opinion has been an elusive exercise.

coComment.com now provides a single resource for accessing and tracking all the latest online conversations–yours as well as others you’re following. You can track top commenters, articles and posts as well as who’s commenting on the same conversations you are–coComment subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

Anticipating Critical Mass

Imagine a repository of social media conversations reflecting current collective attitudes and views, accessed by topic. On-demand data parsed to reflect the pulse of socially networked opinion is invaluable market intelligence for any business looking to establish, advance or protect their brand.

According to coComment.com CEO Matt Colebourne in an interview with MediaPost’s Behavioral Insider:

“If I am Coke and I want to know I am being talked about, that is an easy measure in a database. But how do I find out if I am being talked about positively? That is exactly where we can offer something that at the moment we don’t believe anyone else can. You need to have all of those stored conversations.”

Beware the Backlash

Social networks are leery of being measured, tracked or marketed to. Their sting can be swift, severe and unexpected, their lauding and accolades, equally surprising. The behavioral analysis and insight provided by coComment.com can help businesses anticipate shifts in market preferences, buying habits, trends and public opinion, thus mitigating the downsides and maximizing the upsides of fickle-willed social media realms.

The Future is Now

Few brand marketers are taking the time to thoroughly understand the Web 2.0 nuances of Social Media Marketing (SMM). Any institution could benefit from the type of information coComment.com purports to offer.

That is if “You” and “GenMe” allow it.

Resources for the Future

In the midst of today’s mass consumerism, whether you’re a die-hard tree hugger or someone who just gives a passing nod to environmental responsibility, it’s time to start thinking about sustainability—the ability to meet current demand for our natural resources without compromising the needs of future generations.

A Sustainable Specification

As you strive to identify products and materials that are more efficient and less wasteful, take a look at Kiri, a high-grade, high-performance timber from the Paulownia tree, cultivated in China and Eastern Asia. Extremely fast-growing and highly sustainable, some species can be harvested in as little as five years. The trees can then be replanted or will regenerate from their existing deep root system. This root system also allows the trees to penetrate compacted or contaminated soils to reclaim ecologically stressed land.

Trees generate oxygen through photosynthesis and help maintain the amount of water in the soil and air, reducing the risk of erosion and landslides. Sustainable timber means the forest maintains its ecological function with respect to biodiversity and climate, and brings economic benefit to local populations.

A Sensible Design

Kiri is a popular choice among wood craftsmen and furniture designers such as Sasha LaCroix, who says, “Kiri wood is praised not only for its good looks (it features a striking natural grain), but also for being lightweight, strong and durable. Kiri also magically avoids the warping that affects most woods.”

On your next design project that involves wood, consider specifying Kiri for building materials, furniture, flooring, or even the soundboard of a musical instrument. The earth will thank you.

Image Source: VivaTerra