"Consumer 3.0"

Two recent articles from MediaPost.com give opinions regarding how the marketing industry learns about their audience. "On the Record: They Aren't Just Like Us" by Mike Bloxham describes the audience as being very unlike market mavens who work in the field. The consumer is portrayed as being relatively unconcerned or even oblivious to the media world and its trends. The average consumer is merely concerned about last night's game or a game show, and is only concerned with what they want out of the media. Bloxham thinks we should be weary of the hype that the dotcom bubbles ultimately generate. The truth is, not everyone is blogging, watching videos on their ipods, constantly using blackberrys or spending their time in virtual worlds. When those who work in the industry learn about the audience, they have to keep in mind that not everyone is as media-savvy and trend-driven as they are.

In "Consumer 3.0: Survival of the Fittest," Peter Lauria tells of the new breed of consumer that is "as much a creator of content as a consumer of that content." The new wave of internet has become a place where consumer created content aggregates in a hub of mass social networking. Sites like youtube, myspace and wikipedia exist due to the people who edit and contribute to them. The time of RSS and Web 2.0 has spawned what Lauria calls "Consumer 3.0," who is writing, splicing, editing, shooting, and manipulating content on the new media ecosystem. Accorind to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than half of children ages 12 to 17 are using sites like facebook and myspace to upload files, %55 of them to be exact. This effects how the industry learns about the audience it can now do so by viewing messages, blogs and videos online. Tapping into these new web-based networks gives us a window into the lives of the consumer. This age group is growing up in the 2.0 environment, which means they will most likely continue to do so as time goes on. As NBC s Alan Wurtzel articulates, "The media you grow up with basically determines the kind of media consumer you'll be."