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Baby Boomers are looking to kill TV subscriptions. Now this is big news. Granted it’s only a survey but to see people (Baby Boomers at that) start to shift their viewing habits away from TV and to computers should give advertisers a pause when it comes to the high rates of TV advertising.
“Among traditional TV viewers, an astonishing one-in-five (20%) say they’re likely to downgrade or cancel their current TV service package in the next 6 months. The likelihood of canceling is highest among Cable (22%) and Satellite subscribers (22%), and lowest among fiber-optic TV subscribers (7%).” – ChangeWave
The anonymous Twitter account @amandachapel takes great joy in critiquing social media luminaries and serving as a contrarian voice in the echo chamber of social media. While this person can be caustic and take personal shots at people, I find the industry commentary and most of her questions to be of value.
Just this morning she posed four questions on Twitter that I think are worth exploring in greater detail. Since @amandachapel doesn’t maintain an active blog, I’ll take the initiative to host the discussion here. I just ask that everyone maintains a civil discourse here. If you violate that tenet, I’ll remove your comments.
Here goes:
QUESTION: 1. What is the basis of the belief that indiscriminate empowerment is a good thing?
QUESTION: 2. What is the basis of the belief that indiscriminate communications is a good thing?
QUESTION: 3. What’s the basis for the belief that the unleashed unfettered unencumbered social groupings that form online are a good thing?
QUESTION: 4. What are the economic consequences of a society devoid of the ability to produce scale?
#1 You Need to Learn from This Post:
Like many human gatherings, Twitter has moved past the novelty stage and into a new, uncertain period.
A More Detailed Exploration:
Twitter has changed dramatically in the past six months. Not only has the number of registered users skyrocketed, but the nature of interactions have changed, too. I’ve been around Twitter for a year now (it’s my paper anniversary, so please send paper my way – preferably something from the US Treasury) and have had a few conversations with others of similar, if not longer, tenures.
The unanimous consensus is that Twitter is a different creature now. In the “early days” of Twitter, it felt like we had all just arrived for the start of a great party or conference. We were eager to find out as much as we could about each other, freely sharing, and eager for new connections. Now, we’ve found our circles of people we like hanging out with and eagerly seek them out from the crowd.
To me, Twitter has become like the party or conference that’s gone on too long. The excitement of meeting new people has given way to a growing weariness of seeing the same bunch of people everywhere. The panels and speakers are beginning to say pretty much the same thing as the previous ones. I’m getting tired of my hotel room, going out on the town, and eating out at restaurants all the time.
Yes, I’m aware it’s mostly my perception, but I know I’m not alone. This doesn’t mean I’m leaving Twitter. It means my frequency of using Twitter will go down and I’ll maintain the relationships with those I find to have enduring value to me.
What do you think? Has Twitter become like the party or conference that’s lost its novelty? How will this impact Twitter? Will Twitter become as irrelevant as the telegraph? Or as critical as the telephone?
Find me on Twitter (just less often):
@scottyhendo
I don’t want to be negative about this. I’m trying to change my ways when it comes to posting negative comments and blogs. It’s not that I’m going to take away “FAIL” but I’m going to try and offer constructive criticism and maybe an idea or two on how they can change.
So the beef today is with DIRECTV and Sprint. I’ve been a customer of both for a long time. DIRECTV for the past five years and Sprint since I’ve had a cell phone (back in 1999). That’s a long time, right?
I’ve defended both to naysayers and I’ve also pushed a lot of customers their way but I’m done. I have to be and let me tell you why.
Earlier this week, I was in Dallas, Texas, for the delivery of the fourth Tyson Truck for www.pledgetoendhunger.com. I was glad that my friend, George Dearing, joined me for the delivery to represent his company, Telligent.
Telligent was one of the campaign’s Corporate Champions and played an important role in making sure Texas was one of the top three states in terms of number of people signing the Pledge. As active bloggers and Twitter users, George and Lawrence Liu brought great energy and enthusiasm to the team
While George and I were together, George broke out his Kodak video camera and shot this interview of me. It’s probably the most detailed back story to date of how everything came together. Hope you enjoy it and learn something useful from it.
At MediaSauce, we have a fine tradition of celebrating quality cheese. It all started with a random “get-to-know-you” meeting of a few new Saucers. The question “What is your favorite cheese?” was posed to each person.
While the typical answer was cheddar or Velveeta, we found a couple connoisseurs in our midst. Scotty Hendo couldn’t pick a single cheese and gave us the description of what his board would include. We later found out that Époisses truly is INTENSE! In my wife’s family gatherings, we had started a tradition of bringing random cheeses to meals. During this same MediaSauce meeting, I mentioned that my favorite was a French Morbier.
Noticing the shared passion, Scotty Hendo and I took it upon ourselves to create a club where we might share great cheese with our co-workers and learn a little in the process. It has been an ever-growing group of fromaggiers.
Editor’s Note: While the MediaSauce Cheese Club is a proud customer of Whole Foods Market, we receive no compensation or preferential treatment for the recognition of that fact. It’s not out of ethical reasons. Rather, it’s because they haven’t offered any yet.
Listen, these technologies are just tools. Just like your fax machine (if you still have one of those) or your email.
It’s a tool for communication with other people. When email came out (does anyone remember life without email?), some people embraced it. But others, you know, struggled, they fought it, but then they finally had to give in. And, of course, there were those that got confused and accidentally spammed the entire company. That still happens. But it doesn’t happen so much anymore. And what companies do actual training on how to use email? It’s just a part of life in the office environment and you should know how to use email.
Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter can all be the same thing – even if it isn’t called by these specific brand names in a few years. Think companies won’t have an internal Facebook for communicating. Think a Linkedin type tool won’t hold all your business and personal information. What we are seeing is just the first shots at these tools. Email has come a long way in a short time. Don’t think that these tools won’t evolve as well. more
The #1 Thing You Need to Learn from this Post:
Focus on running your own race and you’ll win it every time.
A More Deeper Exploration:
Regardless of your passion for horse racing, the Sport of Kings provided an inspiring lesson from this weekend’s running of the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
Never mind that Mine that Bird was a 50:1 horse. Never mind that he was trained by a cowboy living in New Mexico and didn’t have a jockey until just before race week. Never mind that he got bumped coming out of the gates and pushed to last place. Never mind that he was so far back halfway in the race that you might have mistaken him for a horse warming up for the next race.
All that matters is that Mine that Bird won the 2009 Kentucky Derby by one of the largest margins in its history. He did it because he ran his own race and played to his strengths throughout.
If you haven’t seen the race, take two-and-a-half minutes to watch. Notice the horse in the way, way back (1:10). Notice him turn on the afterburners during the final turn (1:35). And see him thread the needle on the rail (1:52) before crossing the finish line far ahead of the crowd.
One Thing You Need to Know about This Post:
Celebrities and mainstream media have ruined social networks in the past.
A More Detailed Exploration:
Oprah Winfrey has started using Twitter. Ashton Kucher became the first person to attract one million people to follow his tweets. Man, this reminds of two other great social media platforms ruined by celebrities and main stream media:
1861: Victorian Internet
For thirty years, Victorian geeks enjoyed their own social network trading weather reports, local gossip, and regional sports scores via the telegraph. Then, Abraham Lincoln comes along with his challenge to Jefferson Davis to see who could generate the most amount of ticker tape in one month. Of course, that led to the unfortunate telegram inadvertently sent to the South Carolina artillery commander outside Fort Sumter. Thus began the War Between the States/American Civil War.
1976: Citizens’ Band Radio
Undisturbed for decades, Citizens’ Band radio enthusiasts had created a language and culture of their own. With a national 55 MPH speed limit, citizens banded together to avoid speeding tickets. Then, C. W. McCall ruins Citizens’ Band (CB) with his mainstream media hit, Convoy. From then on, many purists never felt the urge “to put their ears on” again.
Remember Your History, People!
The next time someone complains how Twitter isn’t what it used to be, please remind them that this isn’t the first time. C’mon people. Let’s not forget our history.
Have I missed any other historical evidence where celebrities and mainstream media ruined a social network?
Find me on Twitter:
@scottyhendo
Find me on Citizens’ Band Radio:
Greasy Spoon – usually on I-80 between mile markers Nebraska 0-120
Find me on the Victorian Internet:
Chicago Northern R.R. Station #34
