Inflation Hits WOMM/Social Media Marketing

It was in August 2011 when WOMM reviews could be bought for a dollar a star:

5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5
In tens of millions of reviews on Web sites like Amazon.com, Citysearch, TripAdvisor and Yelp, new books are better than Tolstoy, restaurants are undiscovered gems and hotels surpass the Ritz.

Since then, due to demand, the price has doubled:

For $2 a Star, an Online Retailer Gets
5-Star Product Reviews
The merchant, which seems to have no Web site and uses a mailbox drop in suburban Los Angeles … had received 4,945 reviews on Amazon for a nearly perfect 4.9 rating out of five.

It’s time for Social Media Marketing Departments and Agencies to take action by locking in their Brand Ambassador and Citizen Marketer rates.  If not, the cost for phony reviews will spiral out of control. 

Collusion in the Social Media industry is the only answer – or soon Brand Ambassadors/Citizen Marketers will feel free to make even more outrageous demands.  Some predict that it won’t be long before they’ll be forming their own Unions. 

The Federal Trade Commission is already sticking their stinking noses in all this:

Under F.T.C. rules, when there is a connection between a merchant and someone promoting its product that affects the endorsement’s credibility, it must be fully disclosed.

That would sort of defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?

These are likewise freedom of speech and censorship issues.  All Citizen Marketers should be allowed to write/say whatever they want when reviewing a product/service without evil government intervention (and, more importantly, as long as they are properly compensated – but no gouging, please).

I don’t know why we can’t all live and work together in a peaceful, deceitful world.
____

More reading:

The Social Media - WOMM - Web Advertising Posts

Web Log

This I knew:

A blog (a portmanteau of the term web log) is a personal journal published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first.

This I knew:

The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger…

This I didn’t know:

The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999 … Shortly thereafter, Evan Williams at Pyra Labs used "blog" as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog") and devised the term "blogger"…

Why am I writing about all this arcane stuff?  Because I have nothing else to write about.  So I guess I’ll blog:

Along with some client work, just finished up a huge project (too huge) for Henry Stewart Talks.

My blog has a QR Code!  Found it while fiddling around with the Google Blogger settings.  If you wave your smartphone QR Code reader over it, you’ll be reading ….. this. 

Topics I write/talk about all the time, the ones that fill so many folks with unbounded love for me, are advertising on the web, word-of-mouth marketing, and using social media for advertising/marketing.  So they’ll love me even more, I’ve tossed up links to most of my posts on these subjects.  If you’re a proponent of social media and all that wonderful stuff, and you feel like worshipping someone new, consider Yours Truly as an object of your affections:

The Social Media - WOMM – Web Advertising Posts

One I forgot to add to the list:

“Hello, slippers!”

NostraChuckus Predicts The Future Redux

Famed Soothsayer and advertising gadfly NostraChuckus has been startling the world for years with his mundane prognostications.

In 2006, he omened the re-branding of Retirement Living TV (or at least strongly suggested it):

Tailoring media to an older crowd
I won't comment on the shows because I haven't seen them (although this doesn't stop some media experts and pundits). I will say that I admire Mr. Erickson and his team simply because they're doing it.

However, the word 'retirement' might scare off Baby Boomers. It smacks of 'old' and 'irrelevant.'

Six years later, NostraChuckus’ predictions are again coming true (click the graphic):

The re-branding has begun.  Imagine how far ahead in the game they would be if the powers-that-be had heeded the advice of The Crystal Ball of Common Sense those many years ago!

Back to NostraChuckus’ predictions in 2006:

I hope Mr. Erickson finds some good sounding boards—along with an eclectic mix of vibrant, creative Baby Boomers to produce, write, direct, and edit his network's offerings.

Hmmm.  The Crystal Ball is still a bit hazy on that one.

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers VI: Turkey

It’s 2012.  Last year we had “The Arab Spring” – which continued into summer, autumn, now winter – and probably for many seasons and years to come. 
That’s the end of my predictions on that subject.  I’m no political expert – just guessing. 
And, of course, writing about international advertising and marketing doesn’t make me an expert on world politics.  Whatever I’m about to say, I shall recuse myself from political positioning. 
I’ve done this before with a few other posts about Turkey:

Turkey: A Bright Star In The Region (2010)
There are 15 million people living in Istanbul – and I think I saw all of them. And I met about two dozen of the brightest … 
Turkey is a vibrant, economic powerhouse – especially  the financial sector.  There will be no stopping them (not that you’d want to).

Turkey: Tiptoeing Across The Bosphorus (2011)
I do my best to keep this blog apolitical and focused on international advertising and marketing to Baby Boomers. A warning: I’ll be tiptoeing across The Bosphorus with this one.

Turkish Democracy: A Model For Other Countries?

What does all this have to do with Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers?
With a thriving economy and ties to Arab and European countries, it just might be a place for adventurous Boomer entrepreneurs.  Apparently (again, I’m no expert), Turkey welcomes new businesses.  Even if your business is based in your own country, you might think about the possibilities of taking advantage of the Turkish economy and its connections around the world:

In Turkey, Western Companies Find Stability and Growth
By Mark Scott“The economic backdrop in Turkey is better than in other European economies and has been rebounding faster,” Emre Yildirim, an executive director at JPMorgan Chase who focuses on Turkish mergers and acquisitions. “It’s a large country that’s growing quickly, so it makes strategic sense for companies to take a look.”
It also has a growing middle class, an attractive characteristic to Western consumer product companies.

Ikea

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers I

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers II
Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers III

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers IV
Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers V

Microsoft: 2012

This’ll be a long one – the last of the year.  Let’s get all the disclaimers, caveats, and transparencies out of the way:

• Back in the Middle-Ages (around 1998) I did a bit of freelance copywriting/consulting for Microsoft.  It had something to do with this, and whatever I did has vanished into the ethereal unity.
• I’ve applauded and bashed Microsoft in various posts over the last five years. Here’s one.  Here’s another one.  There are more.
• An “in-law” relative works for Microsoft.
• I never received my shiny, new, free laptop.
• I recently installed Windows 7 on my desktop and like it.
• I recently purchased a Windows 7 Phone and like it.

From CNET:

Microsoft: Five things to look for in 2012
by Jay Greene
… Microsoft is prepping the big kahuna of its product arsenal, Windows 8. The company hasn't set a date, though most analysts expect the flagship operating system to debut before the end of the year, and perhaps in time for back-to-school shopping. From that product, much else from Redmond flows.

I’ve had a lot (probably too much) to say about smartphones & tablets & Baby Boomers.  Some of the too much:

The Slippery Finger Dance

The Obligatory iPad Post

The Obligatory Follow-Up iPad (and Smartphone and QR Codes) Post

Baby Boomers & Smartphones
The real issue: Marketers assuming that if you're over fifty you're automatically a member of one and only one age demographic - all with the same needs and wants.

So for now, forget about online advertising and marketing and let’s talk about selling smartphones and tablets.

Most Boomers in business have been using Microsoft products for twenty-five years.  Some stuck with Apple, especially in the advertising/media biz because Macs were better at all the graphic stuff – or was for years. 

But in offices around the world?  Windows and Office rules. 

Baby Boomers want to keep on working.  They also want to have fun.  Repeating for the umpteenth time:

The computer/internet ethos for most Baby Boomers is that they pick and choose what technology they want to use, buy, or install. Some are all over Skype, video and music uploading and downloading, research, education, travel planning, shopping—while eschewing blogging, communities, and web page design. Or it’s the other way around. Or variations thereof. When it comes to new technology, most Baby Boomers learn only about what interests them, what they believe will be useful. They don’t feel the need to know everything there is to know about technology, computers, and the web.

… It will be the Baby Boomers who will be the first to pick and choose, to ignore or be seduced by leading-edge technology marketing. There’s a simple reason for this. We have the money to buy this stuff. Experts say we’ll continue to have the money for at least the next twenty years. Write us off at your own peril.

We’re not Luddites.

In 2012, Microsoft wants to make more than a dent in the symbiotic smartphone, tablet, and computer markets.  It can be done.  Their smartphone OS (Mango at the moment) is top notch, and a compatible tablet is coming (Windows 8). 

And we won’t be retiring.  We’ll be working, millions starting our own businesses. 

This is perfect positioning for the new Microsoft offerings: Fun and productive technology for Baby Boomers.

Unfortunately, NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense is a bit hazy, not projecting any clear images depicting the marketing department at Microsoft having or not having a clue about any of this. 

And even if they did, would they know what to do about it?  How to do it?

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers V

I keep getting interrupted.  This staggered series of posts about entrepreneurs was supposed to be maybe three or four entries – but interesting things are always popping up.

The 60-Something Entrepreneur: Can a Start-Up Pay for Retirement?
Americans ages 55 to 64 started some 10,000 businesses a month in 2007-08, more than any other age group…

Not sure about the silly picture (that’s a pretty big board and recording studio for a ‘home business’ – which is what the piece is mostly about) but the points in the article are pretty good ones.

The case for old entrepreneurs
In 2008, I led a research team in exploring the backgrounds of 652 U.S.-born chief executive officers and heads of product development in 502 successful engineering and technology companies established from 1995 to 2005. These were companies with real revenue -- not just the start-ups founded by the college dropouts that some venture capitalists like to fund. We learned that the average and median age of successful founders was 39. Twice as many founders were older than 50 as were younger than 25. And there were twice as many over 60 as under 20.

Not a big surprise for me.  I wrote a book in 2005 that was partially for entrepreneurial Baby Boomers.  NostraChuckus knew they were coming – even before the financial meltdown.

Baby boomers will be assets, not liabilities
By Chris Farrell
The economy will eventually gain traction and the unemployment rate will come down. Many older workers will decide to go into business for themselves. For instance, 55- to 64-year-olds had the highest rate of entrepreneurship of any age group from 1996 and 2010, according to the Kaufmann Foundation … The bottom line: It's time to change the conversation about aging boomers from the decline and fall of the economy to a focus on boomer productivity and creativity…

I can’t even link to all the excerpts from my book – along  with blog posts over the years about this.  Just one:

The Creative Art Of Growing Old
When does creativity peak? The second-act aces make a case for middle to late age. Take a look at some of the people who have not simply performed well but done their best work in their later years.

Last but not least …

Wish I had been there:

The Rise of the Grey Market
The theme contemplated in this session is the enormous opportunity and challenge created by the aging demographics of the United States and Europe. What are the trends that define this opportunity? What industries are affected by it? Who stands to win, and who stands to lose? Who is at the forefront of creating solutions to address this market, and who is investing in them?

---

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers I

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers II

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers III

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers IV

Holiday Ornaments

Just a few baubles to hang on your tree:

Baby boomers seek green gifts
Written by Theresa Keegan For The Poughkeepsie Journal
“The majority of our customers are the boomer age and are more aware of things like green gifts and fair trade,” said Norbert Lazar, co-owner of the Phantom Gardener.

Two posts from February:

Green GrandBoomers in Toyland
"I think that the success of our company, shows that there is clearly a wide segment of the population that will pay a little more for environmentally friendly toys," said von Goeben, whose toys cost roughly a third more than comparable playthings made from conventional materials.

Green Boomers Redux
Baby Boomers have been influencing society since the 1960s when they planted the seeds of the modern day green movement when as idealistic youths, gathered to celebrate the first Earth Day, in 1970…

Huffington Post Senior Writer Ann Brenoff cracked me up with some of her non-ideas for presents this year:

Holiday Gifts Post50s Don't Want
This is the time of year when we scratch our heads and try to figure out what to give our friends and loved ones for the holidays. I thought I would make it easy and tell you precisely what not to get the boomers on your list -- especially if I'm one of them.

A copy of "Internet for Dummies."

No kidding.  From my book ©2005:



Anything cruise-related.

Again, from my book:

 

The Wall Street Journal was smart kind enough to pick up my blog posting about a great gift for Marketing and Advertising Folk.

Congrats to Gill Walker and Evergreen Advertising & Marketing in Australia for two International Generations Awards! Gill also contributed a rollicking tale in the book profiled above.  

More parents helping kids buy homes
One in five baby boomer couples have already given at least one of their children the means to purchase a home -- either buying it outright, furnishing the down payment or co-signing the loan, according to a survey from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.

And everyone is picking the top 10, top 100 books of the year.  Here’s one I’ve yet to read, but it gets my nod for funniest title of 2011:

Beverly Mahone is a veteran journalist and baby boomer who has spent more than 30 years in radio and television broadcasting.  She says her book was written to help fellow boomers who are transitioning from corporate America into their own businesses or entrepreneurship.

David B. Wolfe ( - 2011)

Please follow this link:

In Memoriam: David B. Wolfe, author, thought leader and a friend for the ages 
by Brent Green

---

I met Mr. Wolfe in 2004.  We corresponded sporadically. I linked to his blog, he to mine. 

Below is an excerpt from Advertising to Baby Boomers (©2005, 2007):

 

 

ADWEEK: Magazines Pull Back on Tablet Bells and Whistles

NostraChuckus is in a meandering mood today. Not really headed anywhere, he has no idea where he’ll end up, isn’t even sure of what mundane prognostication he might proclaim.

Our humdrum Soothsayer saw this a few days ago:

Will Baby Boomers kill the daily newspaper?
By Paul Briand
At one time, the thought was that the daily printed daily newspaper would be around as long as Baby Boomers are around.

But industry experts say the tablet reader -- theApple  iPad and its ilk -- may indeed attract enough Baby Boomer readers as to help render the printed paper to dinosaur status at some point…

That’ll probably happen eventually. It’s not exactly new news – not even new in 2006:

Baby Boomers Burst Online
Three of five adults 55 years and older, known to be the heaviest consumers of offline media such as newspapers and TV network news, say they use the Internet more today than they did a year ago. This data is supported by Com Score Media Metrix research, which finds the number of online adults aged 55 and older grew by 20 percent to reach over 27 million in 2005.

OK, but there’s this:

Magazines Pull Back on Tablet Bells and Whistles
By Lucia Moses
Publishers say their research shows having a tricked-out app isn’t the highest priority. “The number one benefit is to have a great reading experience reading the tablet,” says Steve Sachs, executive vice president of consumer marketing and sales at Time Inc.

Hmmm.  Sounds familiar.  I think NostraChuckus divined something like this a year and a half ago…

Foretellings (May 2010)
… The more people use smartphones (and tablets), the less they’ll tolerate silly graphical doodads mucking up their small  screens.

That silly retronym “traditional advertising” will remain the premiere force for introducing people to a product or service, along with sustaining its shelf life. Television, print, radio, and billboard ads will continue to have the visceral power they’ve always had – if only for their sheer size, simplicity, and cutting-edge audio/visual qualities.  Advertising on smartphones will be considered an annoyance, invasive, and rather dinky – while marketing (coupons on steroids, and more) will flourish and dominate.

More “sounds familiar” – Tablets, magazines, television, radio as a passive experience:

Positioning Magazines for Baby Boomers (April 2007)
There are active and passive parts of our day. Without getting into too much psychobabble, as you get older the passive side needs more nourishment. It’s not really passive. It’s focused absorption. At some point you have to climb out of your frenetic digital nest and concentrate on one thing. It might be reading a book, watching a TV show or movie, listening to music, looking out the window.

Or immersing yourself in a magazine.

This isn’t ‘down time’ (that would be sleeping), but nourishing your psyche by absorbing and not actively being involved in what you’re doing.

NostraChuckus has some new mundane predictions.  His Crystal Ball of Common Sense tells him that the business world is too hung up on the operating systems and branding of smartphones and tablets, that within the next five years there will be all sorts of smartphones and tablets in all shapes and sizes, all with different functions and capabilities. 

At first, folks carried around their iPads as status symbols.  Now, no one cares – so they’re left at home.  Tablets will become much bigger, lighter, and will be on your coffee table.  You’ll lie on the couch and pick it up, reading your favorite magazines, newspapers, or whatever.  A passive experience.  Simple, straightforward advertising will not be considered invasive. 

You will have the option of using your tablet as an active device – but most people will be ‘active’ on their computers and smartphones.

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers IV

How I began Part I of this series:

All of a sudden every other news article about Baby Boomers is focused on business and entrepreneurs.

That was in September.  Since then, gobs of others have popped up.  Three good ones:

Boomers Look to Create Jobs, Meet Community Needs
Study finds many aspiring ‘encore entrepreneurs’ undeterred by current financial risks
By Michael S. Fischer
A sizable number of American baby boomers are considering starting businesses or nonprofit ventures over the coming decade, according to new research released Tuesday by Civic Ventures, a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose.

But wait … I thought we were selfish thugs. (This written by someone who buys a lot of shoes.)

A post from 2009:

Me vs. We Redux Redux
Today, Baby Boomers are two or three times removed from being a “me” generation. What constitutes self-actualization when you are twenty-five is different than when you are fifty-five. In your twenties a person thinks they are the picture. As you get older, you see yourself more and more as a picture that is part of a bigger picture.

Talk to some folks in their twenties, thirties. They are now in that ‘me’ stage. It’s healthy, smart for them to be so. I was just like them thirty years ago, get a big bang out of them, admire their boundless creativity, energy – and self-obsession. These ‘me generation’ twentysomethings today will become a ‘we generation’ in thirty years.

So The Shoe Girl will grow up eventually (I hope). 

Boomers Lead and Drive the New Wave of Entrepreneurs
By Martin Zwilling
… The Boomer demographic is currently the single largest, mainstream pool of experienced talent in the market today (76 million people strong). They have worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated. Last year about 40% of the total workforce was Boomers.

Most surprisingly, according to a report from the Kauffman Foundation, the highest rate of entrepreneurship in America has already shifted to the 55–64 age group, with people over 55 almost twice as likely to found successful companies than those between 20 and 34.

I’m not surprised – but it’s great to see some numbers.  Way back in 2005 (updated in 2007) I wrote a book with huge sections dedicated to Baby Boomer entrepreneurs:

ADVERTISING TO BABY BOOMERS
Targets Clients and Entrepreneurs
Paramount Market Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.
… Chuck Nyren's egalitarian approach to advertising and the creation of campaigns is all-inclusive. A large section of the book is dedicated to helping Baby Boomer entrepreneurs get their marketing and advertising up and running. The author as well gives advice and guidance to the small businessperson on how to fashion a handmade campaign.

And from The New York Times:

Goodbye, Golden Years
By EDWARD L. GLAESER
Published: November 19, 2011
IT’S counterintuitive, but the forever work life of older Americans may turn out to be a good thing for young workers. The “lump of labor fallacy” envisions an economic order in which there is a fixed amount of work to be done. But we can make more or less, buy more or less, and most important, we can create new lines of enterprise. Over time, growth and innovation can create plentiful new work opportunities. If the economy needed only a lump of labor, the spectacular expansion of America’s female work force would have led to vast male unemployment. But it didn’t. In fact, the number of working women rose by 87 percent in the 25 years between 1975 and 2000, during which time total male employment also increased, by 41 percent…

… America desperately needs more entrepreneurship, and by at least one measure, the elderly are often the most entrepreneurial Americans. Self-employment rises significantly with age.

---

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers I

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers II

Entrepreneurs & Baby Boomers III