Survey reveals how teenagers are communicating…

I find it quite disturbing that the further away you move from your teenage years, the more you become like your parents, even though you were always adamant you’d remain hip and cool when you got older….

Anyway, enough of my personal struggles, on to more interesting, though related, matters…

Habbo, the virtual world for teenagers, has released a global study on the communications preferences for 11-18 year olds.

They surveyed over 58,000 teenagers around the world and the findings are very interesting…

  • 76% use instant messaging (#1) to stay in touch with friends online.
  • 72% hold e-mail accounts, though it’s used for more formal communication with parents and employers (or old farts like you and me).
  • 40% do not view social networks as an important part of their communications mix.

The major growth area since the last survey two years ago is mobile.

  • 71% listen to music on their mobile phone (up from 38%)
  • 70% use their phones to take photos and video (up from 11%)
  • 64% play games on their mobile (up from 14%)
  • 25% use their mobiles for web access, e-mail and instant messaging
  • Nokia is the number one mobile brand – but Sony Ericsson and Samsung are catching up.

It seems to me – and maybe I’m wrong – but there’s a lot of blog post inches dedicated to the brave new world of Web 2.0, but very little discussion on how the growth in more powerful mobile devices will impact how people of all ages find and share information. It’s a big area and a big part of the changes we’re seeing.

It probably deserves more respect – and look on the bright side there’s loads of opportunity for blog hype….

 

More:

Why Gen Y Feels Overwhelmed – Business Week [via Amanda Mooney on Twitter]

Habbo’s second Global Youth Survey reveals the digital profiles of teens online – Press Release

Habbo’s Second Global Youth Survey reveals shake up in teens’ favourite mobile brands – Emmi Kuusikko, Director, User and Market Insight

Are you a Moofer? – Murphy’s Law

My idea of hell…

Forget the safety issues – of which there are many – is there any worse idea than the idea of allowing mobile phone calls on planes?

I can think of nothing worse than sitting for 1, 6 or 9 hours listening to people barking into their mobiles, hearing text messages arriving and worse.

Can you imagine the first couple of years after this “technology” is introduced?

One hundred calls on every single flight for three years which go as follows:

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me?”

“You’ll never guess where I’m calling from…”

“… the plane!”

“No I am, seriously…”

 

Ladies and gentlemen, the future sanity of mankind is at risk

And you thought managing press lists was complex…

Brian Solis writes about the impact of  “Web 2.0” on Public Relations.

While I sometimes think that Brian is in danger of veering into the world of the bubble, his writing is always interesting, thought provoking and worth a read.

His latest post talks about how content and conversations move to where people see value and as a result we can expect social media to continue to fragment.

A potential nightmare scenario for the poor overworked PR professional.

Brian has also mapped his social network:

I have to go and lie down, I think my eyes are bleeding…

Don’t get me wrong, this inter-relationship of outlets, media, channels, tools and sites is very interesting.

We should all be tuned into to this discussion.

We are seeing some very interesting examples of how social media is helping businesses, groups and individuals.

But I’m still struggling to see how “normal” people will have the time and interest to maintain 30+ online channels, in addition to having a life and doing 5-10 minutes work during the day.

I think we have some way to go. I hope it’ll become a little easier. I know it’ll have to become a lot clearer.

 

Traditional media is dead, no it isn't, yes it is…. etc.

You’ve probably already seen the data released by the Newspaper Association of America which shows that total print advertising in the US declined 9.4% to $42 Billion, the largest decline since records began in 1950.

Total advertising revenue in 2007, which includes online revenue, decreased 7.9% to $45.3 billion.

Not stellar results, but not the end of the world either.  I believe we’re seeing a re-balancing of media consumption and the dollars are following the audience.  The challenge for the publishers is to compete in the new areas where it makes sense.

One thing you can be sure of is that there’s a lot more changes to come but don’t sign the death warrant for traditional media just yet. Newprint will be with us after I’ve shuttled off this mortal coil…

Frank Shaw concurs and has an interesting quote from Chris Anderson:

The truth is that the newspaper business is still a huge industry and will be around in one form or another for the rest of my life. That is not to dismiss the declines, but only to note that there’s still a lot of money there and what is required is strategic change, not giving up the ghost.

Anderson’s post is worth reading for some balance.

Traditional media is dead, no it isn't, yes it is…. etc.

You’ve probably already seen the data released by the Newspaper Association of America which shows that total print advertising in the US declined 9.4% to $42 Billion, the largest decline since records began in 1950.

Total advertising revenue in 2007, which includes online revenue, decreased 7.9% to $45.3 billion.

Not stellar results, but not the end of the world either.  I believe we’re seeing a re-balancing of media consumption and the dollars are following the audience.  The challenge for the publishers is to compete in the new areas where it makes sense.

One thing you can be sure of is that there’s a lot more changes to come but don’t sign the death warrant for traditional media just yet. Newprint will be with us after I’ve shuttled off this mortal coil…

Frank Shaw concurs and has an interesting quote from Chris Anderson:

The truth is that the newspaper business is still a huge industry and will be around in one form or another for the rest of my life. That is not to dismiss the declines, but only to note that there’s still a lot of money there and what is required is strategic change, not giving up the ghost.

Anderson’s post is worth reading for some balance.