Mixed Audiences into today's Social Business World

Today, I was chatting with a client who proclaimed that he wished everyone was using social!  The world would be so simple!

Yes, it would but we don't live in that world --- and won't for a few years.

Today, I see us having 3 types of people.

  1. Digital Natives.  These are people who grew up online and in social networks.   They work in a collaborative fashion -- they grew up this way.   They do not do email or even answer phones.   (Note:  The post-millennial "digital native" was a term coined by U.S. author Marc Prensky. 
  2. Digital Immigrants.   These are people who have not grown up digitally but have taken to the new social world and use the tools like a native.   They have a foot in each world... being able to leverage email, and traditional forms of collaboration, with the new world. 
  3. Non Digitals or affectionately called The Analogs.  Yes we all know they and they are in very significant places of influence today.  They email, they dictate, and they don't use Facebook.   These are some of your best clients, so you cannot leave them behind. 

Yes, and today there are digital outcasts.   These are folks who would grow up digitally but globally have not been blessed with the resources to do so.  Many companies are working on these issues which I believe must be fixed before we do see people across the globe plugged into the "AORTA,"  which is Always On RealTime Access, a term coined by Mark Anderson, the chief of the Strategic News Service.

What do you see?  How long before the Natives overtake enough influential positions?


The Ava Awards!!! Social Media Videos from IBM SOA Win!

The Ava Awards have just been posted on their Web site!!
Two of our IBM Social Media entries received awards!!!!

Platinum Award
-- World Tour "Get Smart" Videos --
http://www.youtube.com/smartsoa

Gold Award
-- Innov8 Trailer --
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/solutions/soa/innov8.html

The international Ava Awards recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, direction, shooting, and editing of audio-visual materials and programs. Entries include film, analog and digital productions viewed in a wide variety of mediums- from movie screens to televisions to computers. Entrants include video and film production companies, web developers, advertising agencies, PR firms, corporate and government communication departments, producers, directors, editors, and shooters.

Ava Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). The international organization consists of several thousand production, marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, and free-lance professionals. The Association administers recognition programs; provides judges and rewards outstanding achievement and service to the profession.