Hello 4 Cs of Digital...

A popular video in corporate presentations, seminars, webinars and other events aimed at educating business people about social media is Social Media Revolution, published in 2009 by author Erik Qualman to support his best-selling book, Socialnomics.

Since 2009, the video has been updated a few times to take into account how social media is evolving along with what people do with social media and how they use it. I’ve used them all myself, quite a lot, in business workshops and meetings.

I was reminded of the original video just this week when I heard the catchy Right Here, Right Now” soundtrack by Fatboy Slim during a marketing presentation at a company I was visiting. While the video is indeed a compelling audio-visual experience, the content isn’t wholly up-to-date any longer and misses quite a bit of what’s happening today. A lot has evolved and changed in five years.

If you are still using it, or any of the subsequent updates to it up to 2013, stop and get hold of the latest version, published this month. It’s called #Socialnomics 2014. (There’s a good indicator of changes over five years – the title itself is a hashtag now.)

#Socialnomics 2014 Video from Erik Qualman on Vimeo.

As with the previous versions, #Socialnomics 2014 has its own share of memorable metrics, like these that are pretty contemporary:

  • In ten years, 40 percent of the Fortune 500 will no longer be here.
  • More people own a mobile device than a toothbrush.
  • One in five divorces involves social media.
  • “What happens in Vegas stays in…” now reflects newer social channels such as Instagram, Pinterest, Weibo and Snapchat, to add to a steadily-growing list.
  • Each day, 20 percent of the terms typed into Google have never been searched before.
  • “Selfie” is  now a word in Webster’s dictionary.
  • Every second, two new members join LinkedIn.
  • Grandparents are the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter.
  • 53 percent of people on Twitter recommend products in their tweets.
  • 93 percent of shoppers’ buying decisions are influenced by social media.
  • 90 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations (only 14 percent trusts ads).
  • The average person has a seven-second attention span – that of the average goldfish is eight seconds.
  • Goodbye 4 Ps of marketing (product, place, price, promotion), and hello 4 Cs of digital (creating, curating, connecting, culture).

The focus of everything is American so bear that in mind in terms of how many of the metrics may or may not be credible when applied to different countries.

Still, it’s a highly useful and practical look at a constantly-evolving landscape where tools like this offer an entertaining way to get up to speed with what’s happening.

Incidentally, the soundtrack is Around the World by Daft Punk. As good as the Fatboy Slim one? You’ll have to watch and listen to decide.

Definitely worth your time.

24 responses to “#Socialnomics 2014: A lot happened in five years”

  1. Jonathan Bean avatar

    Oh I remember using that back in 2009 to warm up audiences :) Although there are some interesting new stats I feel even the new video feel a bit out of date… as though social media is something special… for me with the monetisation of social networks due to their public company status social media has finally become just media and a core part of your marketing mix in terms of promotion just like print, outdoor, tv and radio have been in years gone by. In terms of replacing the 4 Ps with the 4Cs I would say that is a bit short sighted. For many organisations digital is only part of the answer and I would look more towards the SAVE framework which surveyed 500 managers globally and published last year in the HBR if you want a model for replacing the 4Cs. I guess what this video is targeting is those organisations where marketing teams “get it” but their organisations do not. In my experience people now get “social media”, its benefits and risks but we are a long way from organisational structures and practices enabling organisations to take advantage of this. Anyway – thanks for sharing Neville – in many organisations and in many parts of the world this is really helpful stuff.

    1. Neville Hobson avatar

      Thanks for your comments, Jonathan, good points.

      I would use a video like this as a scene setter – a ‘warm up,’ perhaps, as you note – that offers opportunities to engage with those who you’re showing it to. It does require some walk-through explanation where you have views on some of the content.

      Great conversation starter!