Technology and business have become interwoven. I hear from a lot of people that they’re scared of Facebook and Mobile Phones. They don’t want to do it and they don’t like it. Here is the problem with this. The next generation grew up with the internet, Facebook, had a cell phone by the age of ten and this generation is beginning to buy houses, have families, and become a large majority of your consumer base. Let’s look at some facts and let the numbers speak for themselves.
Individuals born between 1980 and the early 2000’s, meaning people around the age of 28, are buying homes! According to the National Association of Realtors they said 28% of the homes sold last year were to people in this age group. I bought my home at 28 as well, and so did a lot of my other friends and I am 30 now and I’m the only one that hasn’t had a child yet. Thus meaning the majority of these 28 year olds are also starting a family after they buy. Of course, every area is different but why not cover all your bases and we should never ignore this younger crowd that could bring in income for you.
If you read study after study one thing people always agree on is that the digital age will continue to radically reshape and change business. I think business owners that are ignoring technology and that are refusing to learn or ask questions are being smug and neglectful. I understand people are frustrated with Social Media and the fact that people search for things on their smart phones rather than looking it up in a phone book but let’s face the facts we’re never going back to phone books and a world without Facebook and Google! That life sucked! I love my iPhone and I’m not afraid to say it.
So, I remember being a kid and we got our new computer and then Internet arrived and we hooked the phone cord up to this mighty Gateway. We installed the AOL cd and then anxiously awaited the Dial and the sound of the chhhhh—eeeerrrrrr—-and then “Welcome, You’ve Got Mail”. What! We have mail and have never been on the Internet yet? I’m so excited! Then to read the Welcome Message from AOL and then I was free to cruise the World Wide Web. What a dream? How was this suddenly there? How did this image appear magically in this space that was coming through a phone cord? It was utterly mind-boggling! I started playing around with web design with this thing called Angel Fire. I eventually got a fan base that wanted to check out photos of Hollywood’s Hottest Hunks. My website was not informational at all it just contained pictures of all the movie star guys I had crushes on. My mother said I was wasting my time and that the Internet will soon be an old fad that will lose steam. How wrong was she, the only thing that aged and lost steam was Jonathan Taylor Thomas and some of the other hunks that are dinosaurs now.
As I grew older my homework assignments contained Internet Projects. I loved “My Space.” This was a great way to check out what my friends and to see what they were doing and I could listen to their favorite song.
“Why won’t you load My Space!? Why?”
And then in College I was taking classes in school and online. And then this awesome social club emerged and became a hit and it was so much better than that “My Space” that was now only for children.
Goodbye High School !
Hello College Life!
My Space is sooooo ancient and “un-cool“!
Hello Facebook!
Where have you been all of my life?
And within ten years I couldn’t imagine a life without the Internet. Once I graduated from college and began my day-to-day life cell phones were also changing. My first was a gigantic one that had horrible service and soon as things evolved I had a flip phone and then the evolution came to smart phones! Wow, I can be in town and check my Facebook! I can get an Alert that gives me breaking CNN News? I can Google whatever I want and need and receive an immediate answer! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
I guess what I’m getting at is that I’ve lived through this technological advancement that has changed the world! It’s progress and it’s going to stick around and yes SEO is something you need to remain on top in Google however I believe Social Media will one day be the arch nemesis you’ll be regretting that you ignored. My generation does not want to go back to a world without Facebook, Smart Phones, and Google! So, get use to it. And the ugly truth is the generations below me are even worse and are more dependent on technology than use 30 year olds.
My advice? Take Social Media courses and other technology courses that are offered at local community colleges in your area. Trust me, it will help and make you feel a little bit better about life and technology. And the majority of people in those courses are people like my mother for instance that shunned Facebook and everything social on the Internet and then suddenly as I showed her more and gave her some Facebook lessons she evolved into a witty savvy Internet and Facebook gal. And she loves it! I say stop shunning technology and embrace it!
