Technology Adoption & the Age Myth

As I evangelize around the upcoming surge in innovation driven by technology and globalism one topic that is often raised is the issue of how older people are unable or unwilling to adapt to the change brought on by technologies. Hence, the rapid states of change I predict are unlikely because of this "age" phenomenon.

Focus on the 50 and over crowd regarding technology was explored in a recent marketing research project sponsored by AARP and Microsoft. 60 people in total gathered for dinner and after-dinner discussions about their attitudes toward, use of and expectations for technology. The focus group sessions were in four cities: San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago and New York. Participants ranged in age from 50 to 60. See the video recap below.

The conversations have been consolidated and published in a report  “Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation.” The project was directed by Michael Rogers, formerly the vice president for the Washington Post Company's new media division. Innovation and technological advacements are coming and in ways and in places that aren't about the young. They will meet real needs of an aging population as the video explains.

Mr. Rogers had some interesting findings, as disclosed in a recent NYT's article on the rearch. It included the following excerpt (please note the emphasis on medical records and health care):

“It surprised me how much boomer technology habits are still in flux.” In the past, he said, studies have shown that as people reach 60, “technology adoption falls off a cliff.” Not so with the boomers. They grew up with technology, he noted — they were in their teens to early 30s when the first Apple computers and IBM PCs appeared.

The dinner conversations, he said, suggested enthusiasm for cutting-edge gadgets with practical uses like microprojectors (also known as pico projectors) — pocket-sized devices that can take video and play it on any surface, turning a wall into a 50-inch screen.

Boomers, Mr. Rogers predicted, are also going to be the driving force behind the use of information technology in health care. The dinner attendees who had access to electronic health records, he said, were “just ecstatic” about the benefits of setting up appointments online, e-mailing doctors and reviewing their records over the Web. As they age themselves, the incentive for using technology tools to manage health and wellness programs grows as well.

The boomer's won't be an impediment to technology adoption. They'll be the significant drivers, as this research reflects. Innovation: bring it on. Us old folks are truly ready.

Mobile Devices Continue to Wow - Sony Ericsson's Android XPERIA

Mobility is at the core of a new round of innovation for businesses and the consumer.  Access to information whenever and wherever one is present is going to further empower the consumer and continue to fuel a shift to the merger of the digital and physical worlds.  The result being a continued and radical evolution of retail and other physically based business models across a wide swath of industries.

While Apple has delivered an exceptional product via the IPhone, theirs is not the only game in town as Android devices are beginning to rival the utility of IPhone - with the recent Sony Ericsson product being an example. By the way, you have to watch the video below to grasp the exceptional functionality of this device.

Sony Ericsson officially unveiled their first Android smartphone, the handset known as the Sony Ericsson Rachael (or Rachel), XPERIA X3 and X10 and – most recently – the Sony Ericsson Infinity.  We’ve already seen a video demo of what Sony Ericsson’s custom user interface might look like but now a second demo has recently appeared and Apple best take note.

Wal-Mart Is Learning to Love Social Media

In a recent post on THE BIG MONEY, Caitlin McDevitt shared the fear and experience Wal-Mart is having with face book. A sure sign that social media is entering the main stream. Here is some of what Caitline observed:

Wal-Mart has apparently quit worrying about the negative feedback it’s bound to get online. Instead, it’s trusting that its fan base will grow larger and louder than its detractors. The page now boasts slightly more than 200,000 fans. It has grown tenfold in just two months. And according to recent reports, Wal-Mart is in the process of launching what the executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Stephen Quinn, calls a “very big, significant initiative on Facebook.” It seems that the world’s biggest retailer is preparing to win over the Facebook community once and for all. Better late than never.

As mentioned during a recent presentation at MFA, the 4 P's of marketing (price, place, product, promotion), are being replaced with value exchange, merger of the digital & physical, experience and engagement. Promotion is no longer as ROI friendly and for Wal-Mart to recognize this by diving into social media just proves the point. Read Caitlin's article for more insights.

The Low Cost Model - Disruption in the Fitness Industry

At $20 Billion in annual revenues the US health club industry, like most bricks and mortar centric business models, is coming under increasing financial and market pressures. Rising costs and consumers being offered increasingly low cost alternatives, either via new bricks and mortar models or alternatively with the deployment of digital tools to deliver value at much lower price points, are creating a ripe field for disruption.

Many players in the fitness industry are at great risk and the opportunities for those with vision are enormous. Yesterday I witnessed yet another innovation that speaks to this future learning of Pocket Innovation, watch the demo . This morning when I read Ray Algar's tweet, wherein he shared his recent presentation below, I was only further convinced of the future. Ray is a strategic marketing expert who advises the fitness industry. We share very similar views on the future of the fitness industry. although his presentation does not touch upon the new paradigm of wellness - another topic. Here is an excerpt from his web site:

I was in London last night at a Leisure Property Forum event to present my thoughts on the low-cost (budget) gym trend that is now gaining momentum in the UK. This presentation looks at some of the key 'drivers' of the trend and also case studies the growth of McFit in Germany. My thanks to Niels Gronau, a member of the Deloite Corporate Finance team at Deloitte in Germany, who helped with background data on McFit.

John Treharne, CEO of The Gym Group was also there to discuss the company's strategy. John was fresh from this week's opening of their new Manchester club, which means they now have five clubs open, with Leicester due to open in the first quarter of 2010. The Gym Group has an ambition to open a further 10-15 clubs during 2010.

In all industries the replacement of the former 4 P's of marketing (price, place, product & promotion) is being replaced, in order, with new value exchanges, the merger of the physical and digital, the experience and engagement. Additionally, by leveraging technologies fewer people can deliver more engagement and greater value. If your fitness organization is not adopting these strategic orientations in its business model you will be in for a rough future. Afterall, why pay a monthly fee to use a treadmill on occassion? This is the question more and more consumers are starting to ask, given all the options available. and what is happneing in the market It is also why cancellations for the industry on an annual basis amount to nearly 40% of the customers.

A Doctrine for Change - To Lessig Again

I was again reading and reviewing Lawrence Lessig's work tonight. The man is so very articulate and his observations so compelling. If you haven't become a student of his work, please take my advice and give it a try here.

At the 2002 Open Source Convention Lessig challenged the audience to get involved in the political process. A tireless advocate for open source, Lessig shared some basic concepts that are a solution to most of the barriers preventing our soceity from overcoming the major challenges of the time. A complete transcript of Lawrence's keynote presentation made on July 24, 2002 is available here. In summation his logical findings were as follows.

Creativity and innovation always builds on the past.  

The past always tries to control the creativity that builds upon it.

Free societies enable the future by limiting this power of the past.

Ours is less and less a free society.

Watch the video from Big Thinkers wherein Lessig explains his views on freedom our culture and creativity.