Keep the passion, but shake off the marketing frenzy

Forrester has launched their Consumer Market Research Professional blog. I’m glad because this keeps the signal clear and strong for those trying to hone in on trends, research and discussions on the conusmer market. So if you’re looking for market research best practices, global consumer insights, consumer behaviour,  industry insights, and social media research, then this is one of the places to go.

Reineke Reitsma shared some interesting facts on Twitter usage in the U.S. in her post “To Tweet Or Not To Tweet – That’s the Question”.

Despite the global attention it has reached, Twitter is still in the early adopter phase. Only 3% of US adults post Twitter updates regularly compared to 8% for the 18 to 24 years old.
85% don’t use Twitter.
4% follow on Twitter but don’t write.
8% tried it but not regularly use it.

How does Twitter compare to other social networks?
Followed a brand or company on Twitter 2%
Became a fan of a brand or company on a social networking site 10%
“Friended” a brand or company on a social networking site 6%
Read a blog written by a company or brand 17%

With these facts in mind, Reitsma advices brands to always do a reality check before deciding to tweet or not to tweet, and avoid falling into the marketing frenzy that also engulfed Second Life when it entered the mainstream.

I’ve commented on her post and would like to share it with you.

Great frenzy and enthusiasm always welcome the arrival of new media channels. And they keep on coming. It seems like everyday there’s a new app, program or service being born that potentially can be leveraged by companies. Today, there’s so much emphasis on getting the latest nugget of knowledge before anyone else, or conversely, not be left behind in adopting new technologies that brands / companies may tend to jump in first without really understanding what the real benefits are.

Your post is a good reminder that it’s not about the tool but the context. Twitter, although extremely easy to access and use, doesn’t have to be for everybody or should be expected to be able to address every business objective. By the same token, Second Life is a much more complex, interactive and high-bandwidth environment that demands a more creative approach for brands and business to be able to leverage it. Again, it’s not for everybody.

I believe though that with the buzz on Augmented Reality applications, interest in Second Life (and other virtual worlds) will be revived and more successful brand-oriented experiences will evolve. These initiatives exist already, such as the one which uses Second Life as a platform for augmented reality. The guys from http://arsecondlife.gvu.gatech.edu demonstrated, in my view, the power of Massively Multiplayer Online Worlds (MMO) plaforms in evolving new forms of interactive narratives using augmented reality.