I started this blog one year ago (during Super Bowl Week 2009). A lot can happen in a year! Consider the following three facts:
1. The People are On the Move—Together.
The percentage of Americans who use the internet has been hovering at a roughly steady level, about 70-75%, for the last five years. But what people are doing online is changing rapidly. The number of Americans joining and using online social networking tools has exploded. About one third (35%) of American adult internet users have a profile on an online social network site—four times as many as three years ago. According to The Nielsen Company, the amount of time spent on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter saw an 82% increase from the same time last year. As of this past week, Facebook now has 400 million members.
The blogosphere hasn’t exactly been standing still, either. Blogs as a platform for information and connection are now pervasive, with Technorati’s 2009 “State of the Blogosphere” showing that 77% of active internet users read blogs. Forrester Research reports that 25% of adults publish a blog and upload video/audio they created.
2. Sure, Plenty of Folks Argue that this is a Bad (or Good) Thing.
Yes, you can now use Twitter as a tool in your search for the ideal date or spouse. In general we can now more easily connect with all kinds of people, for all kinds of reasons. But academics argue that solitude is fast becoming extinct, and we’re losing our ability to introspect or even commune with a Higher Power. Some say that the word “friend” has lost its primary meaning forever. Such observations are often met with laughter (at best) or (more typically) age-related bias—as in, “That sounds like an old coot talking!” What’s the true state of affairs? Plenty of fodder for debate exists on both sides of the issue. That’s not my primary concern, though. There’s something bigger afoot.
3. But There’s Never Been a More Exciting Time of Disruption and Innovation.
The business world has turned upside down in the last year. The financial sector and the economy as a whole have been transformed—and not necessarily for the better. “The New Frugal,” with accompanying shifts in consumer values and behaviors, has come to the fore. Plus questions of corporate responsibility and accountability are now regularly debated, in the town square and in the blogosphere.
But for marketers, “change been a’comin’ for awhile”—and now it’s happening at an unbelievable pace. How to market, where to market, who must be accountable for marketing—all of it is up for grabs.
For these reasons, and fundamentally because I’m passionate about connecting with—and learning from—you, I’m back and ready to roll here at thinkfeelsaydo.com And what better time than the one year anniversary of when I launched this blog: Super Bowl Week.
So here we go!
Tomorrow’s post will be a tip sheet, a prep guide for what to look for (and what we’re likely to see) in the Big Game.
- During the game I will be at #SBadwatch2010 on Twitter—please join us in a rousing TweetChat, and weigh in with your reactions and analysis of the ads.
- Immediately after the game a Super Bowl Advertising Survey will go live at this site. I hope you’ll participate and share your take on the ads.
- Later I will post with a full analysis, results of the survey, and thoughts looking ahead to the Next Big Thing.
It’s good to be back in the saddle. Let’s talk soon.
Think, Feel, Say, Do 