Essential Virtual Time (EVT)

Generations are often defined, and segregated, by new technologies. Baby Boomers were the television generation and it was often thought that the young Boomers watched far too much of it. Generation Y is the internet generation. Don Tapscott in ‘Growing up Digital’ (1999)[1] argues that, unlike their Boomer parents, where television could be watched by all the family, online games and networking sites are almost solely the realm of the young, which has created exclusivity and widened the generation gap.

This is reinforced by numerous media horror stories about the unseen force of the internet, with young people reportedly losing their lives to a fantasy online existence like World of Warcraft (Daily Telegraph, 2008[2]). This can easily instil fear into the hearts of older generations, who do not fully understand the gaming culture and so allow fear-based assumptions to fill in the knowledge gap.

This is why sharing is important.

‘Sharing’ will result in both an explicit and implicit understanding of a subject, and allows both parties to identify with the other via these new mediums, which previously was the cause of fear and misunderstanding.

So, to employers and parents: Encourage your Generation Y to share with you their online world. Invest in some ‘Essential Virtual time’ and allocate a couple of hours being shown the delights of Facebook, Twitter, World of Warcraft and Second Life. Not only is this is a key to building lasting and meaningful relationships with Generation Y; It’s also the future of your business. The ability to harness online distribution channels and to create networks and communities around your business products will be the most powerful tool in the next 20 years for getting feedback, analysis and new product – ultimately staying ahead of your competitors!
[1] Tapscott, D., (1999) Growing up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation (McGraw-Hill: New York)
[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/3451069/World-of-Warcraft-release-revives-concern-over-games-addiction.html

Online Partnerships

Networking, socialising, interacting, selling and learning: it has all changed.


Companies that are realising this include Mercedes Benz who signed a media broadcasting deal with the online networking site A Small World (ASW) – their mission: ‘to aggregate the world’s most interesting people with the world’s most interesting information’ (as explained by CEO Joe Robinson). Olaf Göttgens (VP Brand Communications) from Mercedes Benz Cars explains how along with their competitors Audi and BMW they have launched Mercedes Benz TV in order to keep up with online representation. So, is TV, Radio, Magazine, dare I say it ‚face-to-face communication obsolete for the next generation? Emphatically no. Nonetheless, they communicate in many more ways than the Baby Boomers, even the Xers do. Online is a trend, more than a fad - and it is an important and strategic new opportunity to distribute (see BMW/ASW press release here).
Generation Y grew up with technology. They were encouraged to use it. You could drive from London to Paris in a time of 4 hours 46 minutes (according to ViaMichelin.com, and assuming you have a car already it would cost you about 60 Euros to fund the petrol). Instead you could fly in 1 hour 20 minutes with a low-cost airline for less money (alternatively you could meet up online).
The mentality for this generation is: ‘It’s here so let’s use it’. To have over 300 friends on Facebook is quite normal. (Do i need to have met all of them face-to-face? No. and where i haven't they are gateway's into other communities, pockets of information or invitations to events). Imagine being able to harness those networks through your employees for the reputation of your company. Its sheer innovative capability. The distribution opportunities. What will be the value of individuals in the 16-30 age bracket as influencers, or consumers in your industry over the next 3 years?

With so many people vying for their attention, what will you do to secure your distribution channels of the future?

What are they saying about your brand online?


Change Matters.


Charles Darwin had this sewn up, somewhat prophetically and ahead of his time when he said: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change’ (Charles Darwin, 1809-1882).

Virtually, anything is possible

So who’s actually in ‘there’? A quick look at the Second Life map (powered by Google, notably) through a programme called ‘Slurl’ revealed some interesting facts: CNN has set up a news station to report on events in Second Life! Sun Microsystems has bought land for (seemingly, at the moment, 'just') advertising and Coca Cola launched a campaign (‘Virtual Thirst’) in 2007, through a viral You Tube format (of course!) to design vending machines to be used inside Second Life.
Coke set the online community the challenge of building a vending machine that could vend the ‘essence’ of Coke – the Coke experience (refreshment, joy, unity and experience). The contest challenged individuals to submit concepts for new world vending machines, an appliance that could vend virtual experiences. Coke assembled a virtual avatar board of advisors (metaphysical, real, people of course control these virtual characters) and worked with a marketing firm ‘Crayon’ and ‘Millions of Us’. Throughout the process, submissions were made through YouTube, MySpace and VirtualThirst.com. The winning concept ‘Lucky Puzzle Bottle’ by Ann Marie May (see 'You Tube' for the video) , was a concept that meant avatars had to ‘solve’ puzzle bottles in return for a coke experience ranging from ‘virtual snowball fights’ to ‘giant bubble rides’. The virtual contest was Coke’s first interaction with the virtual world – it was an opportunity for them to learn about virtual worlds. (Oh, and by the way, for anyone who enjoys Second Life it raised a huge amount of brand awareness for Coca Cola as well).
Coca Cola also (indirectly) sponsored a music concert in Second Life. The ‘early adopters’ of these new online worlds are there for extended periods of time – multiple hours. These companies, that are subconciously communicating their brand inside these virtual worlds, have an individual’s attention for a considerably longer amount of time than is possible in the real, fragmented, media world we are used to. Think, for how long does anyone really look at a billboard?
So what else, is it just about brand awareness? No. One London creative agency ‘Rivers Run Red’ has taken to creating ‘immersive workspaces’ online. Rivers Run Red (RRR) boasts these virtual opportunities to communicate with each other all around the globe cuts down on carbon footprint, air fares, and time. Moreover, clients can see their work in progress: through modelling avatars in the online space they can quickly see how designs are working out. So, it would seem reasonable to assume that their clients would be only the one’s on the leading edge of online and web technology (Google, Microsoft, Apple...?) Not so, it is Boots (No. 7); Penguin Publishing; and the charity Bernardos that show up in their online portfolio.

So is this all play, a fad or a trend?

At least one company, River Runs Red, has a multi-million pound (Sterling) turnover and seems to be getting a positive response from its clients.

So what about some 'big names'. People that would really know about whether this can work in big business. In his 'view from the Top' interview with the FT John Chambers (CEO and Chairman of Cisco Systems) said ‘Collaboration is the next big step in terms of productivity’ (FT.com). Cisco has also been working on this since 2000.

Another world?

So, what’s all the fuss about ‘online’ and Web 2.0? What has changed? The World Wide Web (WWW) has fundamentally shifted up a gear in terms of what it can do now. Web 2.0 has changed the online experience from being ‘talked at’ to being able ‘to be in conversation’. It is perhaps this ongoing concept of interaction that is most distinctive. Web 2.0 has opened the door (for example) to Collaboration (Wikis/ Blogs), Recommendation (Tagging/ Digg’ing), Convergence (MySpace/ Second Life), Casting (Narrow/Wide/Video/Pod), and VOIP (Skype). What impact does that have on the average business in the real world? Take for example the ‘futuristic’ (but nonetheless, here today) world of Second Life [created by Linden Labs (http://lindenlab.com/)]. Just wasting time? Well, not so for Rob Hof of BusinessWeek who went ‘in-world’ and discovered a whole new parallel world with an economy that genuinely crosses over into our ‘real’ world. Hof (a Baby Boomer) found creating his avatar (Rob Cranes) very involving. He describes the ability to have a ‘...social experience. You can do almost anything… Create homes, buy islands and create a resort...” “ This is not just a business phenomenon… it’s entertainment at its root [but] there is an economy developing here…[Linden Labs] not only let people create their stuff (e.g. clothing)… they have ownership of the intellectual property they create [inworld]… they can sell it… it gives them an economic incentive to create it…” and they can turn it into real product outside ‘Second Life’, explains Hof. There is an internal online currency that is in fact exchangeable into real world money. The currency online is ‘Linden dollars’. The rate to exchange it into real dollars is roughly 300:1 (Lindens to USD). Money is exchanged back and forth through the creators ‘Linden Lab’ and Hof reports some people are taking out ‘thousands of dollars a month’. People could do this for a profession! Too far-fetched? Well, you aren’t alone – not everyone is a fan.

Next time: What about ‘real’ businesses? How is this relevant?