Stairwellblog

If you read through the great success stories of companies in the last 10-15 years, one thing a lot of them have in common is that they were at the forefront of a new media and new technology. Amazon was one of the first to see the potential of search engine optimization, YouTube saw the huge potential in online video streaming, Apple saw that 24/7 connectivity was on the horizon and got behind the smart phone, and Netflix is gambling that TV and the internet will become the same thing in the next 2 years and it looks like that’s working out nicely for them so far. The question is how can they be so confident in putting millions, and sometimes billions of dollars and years of development behind something that hasn’t blown up yet? Maybe it’s just a gamble but the odds are they were looking at some of the industries and groups that have been a safe bet in predicting new media over the last few decades.

It’s been said among media strategists and ad executives that there are two sure bets when it comes to tracking new technology and upcoming new media trends. The first one is the Pornography industry (I’m talking facts and figures here not well…you know) “Going back to home video they’ve been the canary in the coal mine when it comes to new media,” said Jeff Katz, former Fox Executive and founder of Geek Week Online and American Original Entertainment. They were the first in home video, the first on Pay-Per View, and before Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, they were streaming video online. They were even some of the first to sell their product on Facebook and social networking sites before others saw the value. If you want to know what media trends are on the rise look at what these guys are doing. (Again, just facts and figures here. I’m not encouraging anyone to watch this stuff.)

Another completely unrelated way to see what’s coming next is to look at what kids are doing. The hard part with this, as I’ve said before, is that tracking kids was really difficult when all you had to go on was focus groups and survey calls. In the past surveyors would call a house and ask for the youngest male or female and they would get most of their information that way. I actually did that job for a while. It can be kind of fun but even when you get a kid you only have a small window to ask questions before they lose interest and even then it was hard to get anything beyond “yes, no, first choice, last choice,” out of them. But now that we have Facebook and Twitter to look at we can accurately see what they’re spending their money on and what medium they are doing it in.

Actually social media itself was largely pioneered by kids. Before Facebook there was Friendster and MySpace that was largely supported by the under 18 crowd. Before ITunes that same demo was the first to dive into the online file sharing with sites like Kaza and Napster. The most revolutionary piece of technology this decade, the IPOD, was first advertised to kids, as are the E-Book readers that are just now starting to carry ads.

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook you can see what kids are looking at and in what mediums and then act accordingly. As I’ve said, a company that uses social media wisely follows the feed from a lot of their followers. Ultimately, if you can look at these 2 groups and see what they have on the horizon as far as new media and you have the right product you can invest in it cheaper and have a foothold in their with relative ease. Companies like Hot Topic and Five Guys Burgers were some of the first to use online and viral marketing and it basically made their company what it is today. They went from one store, to a regional cult following, to a national company without having to spend the money on a national ad campaign. They did mainly by being in front of the ball as far as new media and new trends go.

marketwatch.com/story/media-advisory-forresters-consumer-forum-2010-october-28-29-2010-in-chicago-2010-09-07

womenintechnology.co.uk/news/apple-joins-social-networking-market-news-800054490

Last 5 posts by joshuasinason

• Twitter Offering Regional Targeted Ads and Becoming The Place For Social Media Marketing in 2012 - January 20th, 2012
• Social Media Aspects That Failed in 2011 But Could Explode In 2012 - January 3rd, 2012
• The State of Streaming Video in 2012 - December 21st, 2011
• Gearing Social Media To Sports Fans - December 9th, 2011
• Take A Lesson From The Muppets: Kermit The Frog and Social Media - November 22nd, 2011