Don Tapscott’s book “Grown Up Digital” is a must read for any marketer who wants to stay in business more than five years from today.  In it, he identifies a generation that is larger and perhaps more world changing than the Baby Boomers…the Net Generation.

The Net Generation represents 27% of the population of the United States.  They are 12 to 30 years old and they are a hyper-demanding bunch from a marketing perspective.  Tapscott identifies eight norms for the Net Generation that have already revolutionized marketing:

1. Freedom of choice and lots of it.  The more the better.
2. Customization.  The ability to make it their own.
3. Scrutiny.  They want to check your product out before buying it.
4. Integrity.  You’ll need to earn their respect.
5. Collaboration.  They want to make a product or service better.
6. Entertainment.  Be fun.
7. Speed.  They want it all and they want it now.
8. Innovation.  The newest is the best.

Any one of the above eight norms is challenging, combined they may well revolutionize our economy and lives.  In the coming days, I’m going to take each one and discuss how it changes how business does business.  So be sure to check back.

There have been two notable experiences in that past week that gave me some grins and perhaps a better understanding of the social nature of our marketing world.

Business books are a habit of mine.  I buy them, read them, listen to them, quote them and pass them along.  Last week I bought and read one that I thought was good money wasted on a premise meant to sell books and not to help marketers.  I had read the reviews on Amazon and all but one was positive.  So, my expectation for the book was fairly high.

After reading the book, I reviewed it on Amazon and added a negative review.  The first time I had ever done such a thing.  Then I forgot about it and the book.  A day later, an email from the thin-skinned author shows up on my iPhone.  From there came argumentative emails that were condescending and insulting suggesting that perhaps I wasn’t smart enough to know the “truth” as known by the author.  And that if I couldn’t see that he was “absolutely right,” well then…

Two things come to mind.  First, he could have a point about my intelligence.  Second, his response perhaps destroyed the intellectual ground on which he made the initial accusation.  As of this writing, I know of no marketing author, theory or practice that is absolutely right and his response really demonstrated a lack of understanding of the influence of social media.

The very next day, Wendy Gray, a friend of mine and the agency, emailed me because she had gotten an alert about my review.  She then sent me a link to another blog who had reviewed the book poorly and had gotten the same kind of response from the author.  I left a comment of common experience.

So now the guy who was “absolutely right,” had multiple people saying he was absolutely wrong.  And they were saying it more believably that he could ever claim to be “absolutely right.

All this guy had to do if he wanted to stop a negative process was to thank me for my review and my insight.  Tell me that he would consider my point of view in the future.  Ask me, to do the same and to watch for his next book.  An amazing difference.

I listened to someone I really respect say that she was afraid of social network media because she was out of control.  I thought back to the author.  He was not in control of how I felt about his book, but he was in control of how he responded to how I felt about his book.  And that my friends is the lesson.

Stop and think.  How many ways do you get information?  If we documented every method, it might surprize us just how much of an information junkie we have become.  And the same exists for the audiences to whom we market.

Here’s a hypothetical information half day in the life of a business executive.

1. Morning newspaper, or web site over coffee.  Good Morning America in the background.

2.  Check email on iPhone.

3. Satellite radio on the way to the office switching back and forth between CNN, FOX, Bloomberg, a local sports talk station, CNBC and POTUS.

4.  Checking email on iPhone while driving, also stock updates, Twitter and weather.

5.  Arrive at work, check email.  Scan Google alerts about clients, industries, social network marketing.  RSS feeds from bloggers you read. Visit ten sites that the alerts and briefs have highlighted.  Check news aggregator sites like Drudge Report, AAF Smart Briefs, Politico, Bloomberg.com, ESPN, CNN, Fox. Check on investments online, just in case something changed overnight.

6.  Visit Wall Street Journal’s web site, along with the New York Times.

7.  Check Facebook page, Summize and any message boards followed.

8.  Access Google Analytics to check web visits, where they’re from and who their from.

9.  Check snail mail.  Breeze any magazine received.

10.  Go to an association lunch to listen to a speaker. Check email, stocks prices, Twitter and Facebook from your phone during the talk.  Listen to ESPN on the drive to and from the office.

It’s now 1:00 p.m.

We have stopped thinking about mass media audiences and now think about our audience’s media finger print.  That is the revolution.

We’re celebrating!!!  We’re in Kansas City. 

Jennifer Bowlen joins ZLRIGNITION as Executive Vice President and General Manager of our Kansas City offices.  Jennifer has been Vice President and Group Director at both Bernstein-Rein Advertising and Nicholson Kovac, both of Kansas City.

Our office is located downtown at 1600 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO, 64108.  You can reach Jennifer at 816-877-3622.

More later.