Generation Nerd

I love my iPod. It’s incredible…I hope that’s enough of a plug for them to send me cash or a check…

Confused? I was too until I read this article by BrandWeek. It says, “More brands will compensate bloggers and social media users in an attempt to generate chatter about their products, a new study found. 

PQ Media said such “sponsored conversations” — which compensate social media users for discussing brands’ products — grew to $46 million in 2009, a 14 percent increase from a year earlier.”

Trust is the biggest problem with Internet advertising. I work hard to bring quality content to my readers and this advanced form of bribery is devaluing the trust that I try to build. In the long run, I hope that those who post true insight without financial backing will be rewarded with the trust of their readers. By the way, I haven’t received a dime from any company so far. Have you?

What do you think?

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For those of you who thought Foursquare was annoying (including myself), you may want to hide for the next decade or so. The social media giant, Facebook (more than 400 million users strong), is launching a new application that will combine status updates with physical locations. The large nation of Facebook users will ultimately take geotagging to the next level.

Location updates have been an increasing trend among social media. Foursquare is everywhere and seems to be growing at a steady rate. Gowalla, Brightkite and Loopt are also jumping in on the success of location based messaging. Even Twitter has an option for sharing locations through tweets. So, what’s pushing this application? Is it the users or marketing?
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I love this entry for two reasons.

1. I get to feature George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) as the poster child for awkward teens.
2. I get to show that the so called “experts” in social media got it wrong when they thought Twitter would take off with the teen market.

To this point, maybe we don’t know the elusive teens as well as we think. Our understanding is surprisingly limited, and our predictions of their behavior are proving to be inaccurate.

Although Generation Y is tech savvy, they don’t embrace all the technology that we imagine them to. Just because new technology is available doesn’t mean they will use it. For instance, Twitter is becoming increasingly popular with older generations, but teens are resisting the urge to micro-blog.

Given the practices of this age group, I can’t help thinking Twitter will go the way of the 8-track and laser discs.

Why don’t kids use Twitter?

Hit us back at…

Post on our Facebook wall at Welt Branding
Tweet us at WeltBrand
Or join our LinkedIn group at Welt Branding: Challenge Everything

I was once a “closet nerd.” Now I proudly spend most nights in my computer chair like I was at the helm of the USS Enterprise. Many of you will get this reference, because apparently, I’m not alone.

According to the US Census Bureau, Americans will spend an average of five months of the next year watching television, surfing the web, reading daily newspapers, and listening to personal music devices. Most of these activities include a keyboard and social media.
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