SocialSphere Web 2.0 Products and Strategy

After spending the last two days at the Personal Democracy Forum 2009 conference in New York, and hearing thoughtful and inspiring presentations from the CIO of the USA (love that title) Vivek Kundra about new efforts in government transparency (spend some time on http://data.gov) and from Alec Ross, a State Department official who challenged us on the role of the digital citizen in 21st Century Statehood – I am turning my attention to an upcoming meeting with the CEO of one of America’s leading financial services companies.  And man, do these guys (as in the collective industry) need help talking to people.

Seriously, Vanguard one of the finest mutual fund companies in the world has a blog where they ask for feedback, but don't publish comments.  Check this excerpt out: 

What's your opinion?  We welcome your feedback on this blog. Unfortunately, we're not able to publish readers' comments at this time. Rest assured that we'll read and consider your feedback carefully.  Please don't use this blog to submit questions about your investments or customer-service issues. 

And then there's Charles Schwab. These are the guys running the "Talk to Chuck" campaign.  I checked out their YouTube channel -- it has 23 subscribers and 1,432 views in three years. Their Facebook page has fewer fans (888) than the racehorse who recently won the Preakness, Rachel Alexandra (893).

As my friend Keith would say, "You can't make this up." 

So here's the deal financial industry -- if I were you, I would use the summer months to get serious about how you communicate.  This is 2009 and your communications and outreach efforts remind me of 1989 (NB, the year the Berlin Wall fell and Tienanmen Square was challenged by students protesters).  Take three lessons from recent world events and apply them to your business -- here are some starters:

1. Listen to What the "I" States Are Telling You:  The events that transpired at the Iowa caucus in January of 2008 changed the campaign and later the world.  That was the night that Senator Clinton won the vote of all traditional caucus-goers, as in those over 30, but got trounced by Millennials, those between 17 and 29, 57% to 11% by Barack Obama.  If not for Millennials, Senator Clinton wins both Iowa and New Hampshire and most likely is back living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 
   
   While there have been more than a few serious and shockingly violent bumps in the road, the events that are happening in Iran today are also changing the world.  The median age of an Iranian is 27 (ten years younger than a US citizen) and Internet penetration is low, but growing rapidly (up to 35% in 2008 from 10% in 2005) -- do you think the Supreme Ruler of Iran and their "elected" President will be hearing more from Millennials in Iran over the next few years?
   
   Lesson for Financial Industry:  Begin immediately to think about what you offer and how you talk with Millennials – the largest generation in the history of the world who will soon be establishing relationships with financial institutions that could last the better part of 50 years. Research that we’ve reviewed by Deloitte and Harris Interactive clearly indicates that Millennials are more likely than others to seek financial institutions that allows them to do their own research and provides a forum or vehicle to tap the wisdom from people they trust – parents and peers.
   
   
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On my way to New York this morning to attend my first Personal Democracy Forum, I picked up two interesting research studies that are being released this week.  The first, “How Teens Use Media,” released by the Nielsen Company headlines that compared to older Americans, teenagers have fairly traditional media habits.  For example:  

• Teens are watching more TV than ever, averaging 3 hours and 20 minutes per day, an increase of 6% over the last 5 years in the U.S.; and
• Teens watch far less online video per month (about 3 hours) compared to older Americans – especially 18 to 24 year olds (5 hours, 35 minutes on average).
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