GenXYZ

Video Friday

Here's a good Web 2.0 video recommended by Jeremiah Owyang.  I sometimes wonder if it's possible that the world will change as much in my lifetime as it did over the span of my grandparents' lifetimes.  Maybe it will - it will just be a different kind of change.  One that doesn't happen around me.  Instead, one in which I participate.  Sounds inspiring, huh?

Consumers Officially Complain For Stupid Reasons

As TechDirt points out in it's "makes-no-sense" (ha ha) department, people complain for silly reasons.  Most recently, consumers asked the state of CA to intervene on their behalf against companies that claim to provide genetic mapping services over the internet, think 23andMe.  Apparently, these consumers felt that the test were only questionably accurate, and they were too expensive.  Really?  You didn't know how much it cost before you bought it?

What strikes me about these complaints is that I think you have to be relatively savvy to know about things like 23andMe.  Purchasing genetic testing kits over the internet isn't for everyone.  In fact, maybe that's why the price is a little high -- to keep out the crazies :).  Are these people version 2.0 of the consumers that lead to "don't use your blowdryer in the bathtub" or "your McD's coffee is hot" warning labels?  I think maybe that's the case. 

The Auction Economy

Lots of buzz this week around how some things are meant to be auctioned and some aren't.  eBay has finally realized that people like the "buy it now" feature more than the "wait and see" of their traditional auction model.  In his take on the topic, Mathew sums it up nicely by saying, "eBay was seen as a giant hammer, and everything started looking like a nail."  As I'm sure Priceline discovered some time ago, certain business models work are better for selling things like airline tickets than others.

Why am I thinking about this now?  Because my transient best friend who now lives in Brooklyn has recently discovered that you can make a lot of money selling things on eBay.  Since she moves so much these days, it's great for her.  In fact, it seems to me that when you take a look at the economy we're in, eBay should make an effort to market to people just like her - she's typical GenXYZ, moves a lot and needs to get rid of some nice, hardly used "stuff."  They should try to make the opportunity a little more appealing instead of hiking fees and discouraging her from selling everything in site.  She's also great WOM for eBay, I keep walking around my apartment looking for things to sell.

What else does this make me think about?  I once had an hour long discussion with another (less transient) friend about what other products lend themselves to the Netflix model.  We couldn't think of anything that wasn't already taken... luckily our friends at Bag Borrow or Steal did.  Now that they're featured in Sex and the City (an awesome movie), I wonder how much traffic will spike.  All it takes is the right model and the right products... hmm.  I'm sure I'll think of something.

Will you be my friend? Yes or No.

When I was a kid, it was that easy.  Will you be my friend, yes or no?  In fact, it was easier than that.  We lived in a town where I had 20 classmates.  We were friends by default.  There was no internet, no cell phones, no texting or emailing your friends.  If you wanted to hang out with someone, you picked up the phone, dialed their 4-digit phone number and asked them to meet you somewhere.  (No, I'm not that old, it was Nebraska.  We were a little behind the times with the whole 10-digit thing.)

It's much more complicated now.   Something I've been thinking about for awhile was the topic of Steven Levy's column today.  Are your friends online your friends outside the virtual world, too?  Personally, I use Facebook and other social networks to connect with people that I know offline, but maybe don't see as much as I'd like.  I'll admit that I've been suckered into friending people that I don't know, but in general, you need to meet me in person before I'll be your online friend. 

Is it a generational thing?  I'm not sure.  Are older or younger people more prone to accepting requests from people they don't know?  And, how does this change the nature of your "real life" relationship?  Say you run into someone you haven't seen in a while...  If you've been following their friend feed, maybe it enhances your relationship because you feel like you've been a part of their life all along.  Or maybe that's just being a stalker and the value of your friendship is slowly diminishing because you don't ever have to pick up the phone and dial their 10 digits.

What do you think?  Do you friend people that you don't know?  Are your offline relationships better or worse because of your online ones? 

I love my free TV

Most of you haven't been to my mini-house (who am I kidding, most of the people reading this probably have been to my apartment/..).  Either way, if you know even a little about me, you know that I'm just like any other GenXYZ American and I love TV.  However, unlike the rest of the digitally savvy crowd, I have an ancient analog TV with basic-plug-it-into-the-wall cable. 

I won't go into the many reasons why that's true, but I will say that I'm also addicted to online TV.  Since most of my favorite shows are on ABC, that means I get them all for free.  Online.  Anytime I want.  That also means I can catch up on all the seasons of LOST and continue to give myself nightmares (the previous post where I wrote about never watching LOST - that's no longer true thanks to my friends AM and CL).  This was all very handy during the writers strike and continues to be a good source of entertainment. 

Now, I also really like HBO TV shows and think that Entourage and SATC are amazing, but today's announcement from iTunes and HBO just isn't for me.  Why should I have to pay $1.99 or more to watch HBO shows through Apple's interface?  Why can't they just play fair and post them online for free or with ads... like everyone else?

I think there will be a time when consumers reach their limit.  Sure, there are people out there stealing movies, music and TV shows through illegal download sites, but wake up content owners: some of us don't want to do that... but we still want to watch/listen for free.   This debate could go on and on, but the point is: sometimes giving things away creates fans and followers and it IS an important part of any business model, especially when we're talking about media distribution.  The younger crowd feels increasingly entitled to getting what they want, so if you don't give it to us, you run the risk of us cutting you out all together. 

Too Many Messages

I got this message in a Daily Candy email today... (Apart from the increasingly crude nature of DC's emails, and the fact that sometimes, the advertising is a little out of control, I still love them.  Sign up here: www.dailycandy.com).

PLAY
Kelly’s Bags
What: An online game tailor-made for those who can’t resist the latest clutch, hobo, or satchel. Get clues, find twenty of Kelly Ripa’s designer handbags (which have been hidden all over the Internet), and build a personal collection. Then pick the perfect bag to bring to each day’s virtual event.
Why: You could win a collection of new, oh-so-stylish premium Electrolux kitchen appliances while supporting the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
When: Going on now.
Where: Online at electroluxappliances.com.

Really?  Play a game related to handbags to win kitchen appliances to support a cancer fund?  What are they trying to get me to do?  Support the fund, covet the kitchen appliances or play a game that shows how much I love handbags?  Oh, and throw a scavenger hunt related to celebs into the mix, because, why wouldn't you?  Too many messages are confusing the core message (and me) and I just don't have time to figure that out.  Instead, I'll blog about it and solicit your comments.   :)

More soon...

 

Alone and fat in the lip gloss aisle

Today, I’m hosting an awesome guest blogger who always has a lot to say and is never shy about sharing her opinion.  Here’s what’s on Sue’s mind… keep in mind that this week, “she’s so Colorado.”

Use lip gloss as a diet strategy? Drink juice for better skin? Sounds a little too good to be true… This weekend I saw a new lip gloss, Fuze Slenderize, which claims to "energize and slenderize." It has an "appetite curbing" ingredient--Is this like effedrin you smear on your lips? If so, no thanks.

I also recently got a sample of Borba Life Balance water which, as a huge XXX Vitamin Water fan, I was excited about. The drink claims have skin clarifying ingredients, which, honestly, I wouldn't have paid much attention to if right on the bottle it didn't say in big letters "for oily skin and clogged pores." Now, I like skin products as much as the next person, but when asked about your delicious looking drink, who wants to say, "Oh, this? Its for my acne and clogged pores." Nor do I want to broadcast the fact that I'd like to lose 5 pounds through my tube of lip gloss.

These products seem a little reminiscent of Campbell's mishap with "Soup for One" — people didn't want to buy a product that reminded them they were eating alone, but when Campbell's rebranded it as "Soup in Hand," the product took off (mmm…tomato). I like lip gloss, I like flavored water, and I like soup, but I'd rather the products I buy didn't advertise the fact that I'm alone, fat and have oily skin.

Eat Your Friends

I love Swedish fish and this ad.  Poor kitty...

Ode to all things green

I've been thinking more and more about how I live a more sustainable life.  All those flights to Chicago aside, I'm making some small changes that over time will have a big impact.  I haven't given up the conveniences of modern life like this guy, but he is truly an inspiration to us all (he has goats.  smiling ones).

Check out the video:

Also, since this post should say something about advertising, I find it really ironic that the first time I watched the video from Boing Boing TV, it was interrupted by ads for a BMW.  Doug Fine writes a book called Farewell, My Subaru, and you put an ad for BMW in the middle?  Not ok.

p.s. Another time I'll tell you the story about my fight with the grocery store clerk that put a plastic bag inside my reusable one.  Followed by the comment, "my time is more important than the environment..."  I guess that is the story.  Infuriating, really.

I want! I want! I want!

You know when advertising makes you want something?  When I was a kid, I'd kick and scream until I got that "something"... today, I'm still the same kid at heart, but now I'm also the adult kid that has to buy the things I want for myself. 

In any case, lately I've been seeing more and more TV ads that tell me my decades-old TV is not only ugly, but soon, it won't even work.  Clearly, I need a shiny new HDTV.  I'm not even crediting a single company with a genius advertising campaign here - although maybe that's the point.  Collectively, the HDTV industry is working together to make me want a new TV.  This is all coming from the one "kid at heart" you know that doesn't have cable. ;)

This, however, is possibly the most genius ad ever for TVs:

It's for a Sony Bravia and I will never stop wishing I'd seen that in person.  The video shows the commercial and then the making of the ad.  Enjoy!