june 2009

There’s a recent study that came out regarding Millennials and social meda that is causing a considerable amount of speculation and interpretation.  The study, released by the Participatory Marketing Network, shows that while Millennials are active participants in social media in general, what they aren’t is all that interested in media darling Twitter.

The study, which questioned 200 panel members between the ages of 18 and 24, reported that while 99 percent of respondents have a profile on a social networking site that only 22 percent of the group say they use Twitter.

While there’s a barrage of articles speculating on why, I personally don’t find this to be all that surprising.  Considering the nature of the networks, and the Millennials themselves, Facebook makes sense.  Twitter does not.

High on the list of Millennials core values are authenticity and transparency.  And, what do Millennials utilize social networks for?  To build and nurture relationships.  Stopping right there the preference toward Facebook over Twitter seems obvious.

On Twitter, you can hide behind a profile and be anyone you want to be.  Don’t want people to know who you really are?  Open a GMail account and sign up.  Create your fake bio and go for it.  Parade around as whomever you want and say whatever you want.  If things don’t work out, start over.

Facebook couldn’t be more different. Facebook is decidedly focused on creating a network of people, not profiles.  While it is possible to make it through the registration process with a made up name and empty bio, what’s next? Its akin to showing up at a black-tie party in a bozo the clown suit.  You’ll definitely find yourself short on friends let alone interaction.

In terms of servicing their users, Facebook also aligns more closely with Millennials needs than Twitter does.  Twitter is a simple messaging platform that allows the broadcast and receipt of 140 character messages.  Yes, Twitter has utility.  One utility.  It does one thing, and not especially well.

Facebook’s offering provides a far richer set of tools, allowing members to interact in a far more dimensional context.  Twitter is a simple messaging system, and not one that Millennials have much of a need for in its current form.

Related posts:

1. 2008 social network site data
2. Do you Twitter?
3. Tvviter is phishing for your Twitter account

There’s a recent study that came out regarding Millennials and social meda that is causing a considerable amount of speculation and interpretation.  The study, released by the Participatory Marketing Network, shows that while Millennials are active participants in social media in general, what they aren’t is all that interested in media darling Twitter.

The study, which questioned 200 panel members between the ages of 18 and 24, reported that while 99 percent of respondents have a profile on a social networking site that only 22 percent of the group say they use Twitter.

While there’s a barrage of articles speculating on why, I personally don’t find this to be all that surprising.  Considering the nature of the networks, and the Millennials themselves, Facebook makes sense.  Twitter does not.

High on the list of Millennials core values are authenticity and transparency.  And, what do Millennials utilize social networks for?  To build and nurture relationships.  Stopping right there the preference toward Facebook over Twitter seems obvious.

On Twitter, you can hide behind a profile and be anyone you want to be.  Don’t want people to know who you really are?  Open a GMail account and sign up.  Create your fake bio and go for it.  Parade around as whomever you want and say whatever you want.  If things don’t work out, start over.

Facebook couldn’t be more different. Facebook is decidedly focused on creating a network of people, not profiles.  While it is possible to make it through the registration process with a made up name and empty bio, what’s next? Its akin to showing up at a black-tie party in a bozo the clown suit.  You’ll definitely find yourself short on friends let alone interaction.

In terms of servicing their users, Facebook also aligns more closely with Millennials needs than Twitter does.  Twitter is a simple messaging platform that allows the broadcast and receipt of 140 character messages.  Yes, Twitter has utility.  One utility.  It does one thing, and not especially well.

Facebook’s offering provides a far richer set of tools, allowing members to interact in a far more dimensional context.  Twitter is a simple messaging system, and not one that Millennials have much of a need for in its current form.

Ministry of Truth anyone? The City of Bozeman, Montana is blazing a path to 1984 by taking an arcane, troubling stance on what’s personal and what’s private.  In Bozeman, getting a job with the City requires a background check which requires not only usernames, but also passwords to social network sites the applicant participates on or has participated on in the past.

According to an article posted on DailyTech, local media was made aware of the request by a city job applicant citing the City of Bozeman’s “Consent and Release to Conduct Criminal Background and Reference Checks” form (available online for download) [update: the form has since been changed to remove the section requesting user names and passwords].  The single page document confirms the section the applicant spoke of and includes clear directions.

Please list and and all past, and present, personal or business website or web pages, memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, MySpace, etc.

An article posted on MontanasNewsStation.com quotes the City attorney as saying “So, we have positions ranging from fire and police, which require people of high integrity for those positions, all the way down to the lifeguards and the folks that work in city hall here. So we do those types of investigations to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the City.”

The attorney added that no one had exited the recruiting process due to the social network information request.  While the City attorney seems confident about the stance, a poll accompanying the story on the same website shows readers disagreeing: 98% saying the policy is an invasion of privacy.

I took a look on Facebook to see if the City had a City of Bozeman Fan page to gauge what, if any, lash back there was on the social site to discover there is no Fan page for the City of Bozeman on Facebook.  No surprise there.

Photograph by Mushroom and Rooster

Ministry of Truth anyone? The City of Bozeman, Montana is blazing a path to 1984 by taking an arcane, troubling stance on what’s personal and what’s private.  In Bozeman, getting a job with the City requires a background check which requires not only usernames, but also passwords to social network sites the applicant participates on or has participated on in the past.

According to an article posted on DailyTech, local media was made aware of the request by a city job applicant citing the City of Bozeman’s “Consent and Release to Conduct Criminal Background and Reference Checks” form (available online for download) [update: the form has since been changed to remove the section requesting user names and passwords].  The single page document confirms the section the applicant spoke of and includes clear directions.

Please list and and all past, and present, personal or business website or web pages, memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, MySpace, etc.

An article posted on MontanasNewsStation.com quotes the City attorney as saying “So, we have positions ranging from fire and police, which require people of high integrity for those positions, all the way down to the lifeguards and the folks that work in city hall here. So we do those types of investigations to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the City.”

The attorney added that no one had exited the recruiting process due to the social network information request.  While the City attorney seems confident about the stance, a poll accompanying the story on the same website shows readers disagreeing: 98% saying the policy is an invasion of privacy.

I took a look on Facebook to see if the City had a City of Bozeman Fan page to gauge what, if any, lash back there was on the social site to discover there is no Fan page for the City of Bozeman on Facebook.  No surprise there.

Photograph by Mushroom and Rooster

A good friend of mine asked me if I could recommend some good sites for social media marketing so he didn’t have to hunt around and try to figure out what was worth its salt and what wasn’t. Separating the wheat from the chaff is pretty challenging when you’re trying to learn about the topic you’re exploring.

If you’re looking for some reliable social media sources, here’s a few places to start:

• Chris Brogan – Chris Brogan is a fixture in the social media community who keeps a very active blog with insights, tips and strategies for leveraging social media.
• Social Media Explorer – Social Media Explorer is Jason Falls’ site.  Jason’s blog also provides valuable insights on social media, and features the perspective of other social media bloggers as well as his own.
• Convince and Convert – Convince and Convert is run by Jason Baer, an online marketing consultant, consultant adn trainer who specializes in social media marketing.  Jason teaches agencies and companies how to excel at social media marketing, and his blog provides fresh, valuable insights (without the consulting fee).
• Read Write Web – Likely the most trafficked site of the five, Read Write Web publishes on a variety of topics, and social media marketing is a more-than-recurring topic.  They’ve been at it since 2003, and the site is updated at a furious pace.
• Social Media Today – Social Media Today aggregates information from various bloggers covering social media topics and publishes the ones they deem worthy of their readership.  I’d recommend this as a good way to get advice from a variety of bloggers while being confident that the content is being reviewed by a human that green lights it before you read it.

There’s plenty more out there; I just wanted to provide a few for a friend in need.  If you have a favorite which didn’t make the cut give it a shout below.

Photograph by Birger Hartung

A good friend of mine asked me if I could recommend some good sites for social media marketing so he didn’t have to hunt around and try to figure out what was worth its salt and what wasn’t. Separating the wheat from the chaff is pretty challenging when you’re trying to learn about the topic you’re exploring.

If you’re looking for some reliable social media sources, here’s a few places to start:

• Chris Brogan – Chris Brogan is a fixture in the social media community who keeps a very active blog with insights, tips and strategies for leveraging social media.
• Social Media Explorer – Social Media Explorer is Jason Falls’ site.  Jason’s blog also provides valuable insights on social media, and features the perspective of other social media bloggers as well as his own.
• Convince and Convert – Convince and Convert is run by Jason Baer, an online marketing consultant, consultant adn trainer who specializes in social media marketing.  Jason teaches agencies and companies how to excel at social media marketing, and his blog provides fresh, valuable insights (without the consulting fee).
• Read Write Web – Likely the most trafficked site of the five, Read Write Web publishes on a variety of topics, and social media marketing is a more-than-recurring topic.  They’ve been at it since 2003, and the site is updated at a furious pace.
• Social Media Today – Social Media Today aggregates information from various bloggers covering social media topics and publishes the ones they deem worthy of their readership.  I’d recommend this as a good way to get advice from a variety of bloggers while being confident that the content is being reviewed by a human that green lights it before you read it.

There’s plenty more out there; I just wanted to provide a few for a friend in need.  If you have a favorite which didn’t make the cut give it a shout below.

Photograph by Birger Hartung