The Rise of Generation C

The Rise of Generation C by Roman Friedrich, Michael Peterson and Alex Koster is a great introduction to a new group of consumers that are connected to the world digitally. As business owners, we know that our customer has already gone or is going digital. So, the future, "2020", is going to be extraordinary. You will find below an excerpt from the article "The Rise of Generation C" but, I encourage you to read this article in its entirety by clicking on the author link above. WSI Digital Marketing and their WSI Franchise opportunity is clearly in the right place at the right time.

"...a new generation that will be coming into its own over the next decade. Its members are typically realists and materialists. They are culturally liberal, though not necessarily politically progressive. They are upwardly mobile, yet they live with their parents longer than earlier generations ever did. Many of their social interactions take place on the Internet, where they feel free to express their opinions and attitudes. They’ve grown up under the influence of Harry Potter, Barack Obama, and iEverything — iPods, iTunes, iPhones. Technology is so intimately woven into their lives that the baby boom–era concept of “early adopters” is essentially meaningless.


We call them Generation C — connected, communicating, content-centric, computerized, community-oriented, always clicking. As a rule, they were born after 1990 and lived their adolescent years after 2000. In the developed world, Generation C encompasses everyone in this age group; in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), they are primarily urban and suburban. By 2020, they will make up 40 percent of the population in the U.S., Europe, and the BRIC countries, and 10 percent of the rest of the world — and by then, they will constitute the largest single cohort of consumers worldwide.

This is the first generation that has never known any reality other than that defined and enabled by the Internet, mobile devices, and social networking. They have owned various handheld devices all their lives, so they are intimately familiar with them and use them for as much as six hours a day. They all have mobile phones, yet they prefer sending text messages to talking with people. More than 95 percent of them have computers, and more than half use instant messaging to communicate, have Facebook pages, and watch videos on YouTube. Their familiarity with technology; reliance on mobile communications; and desire to remain in contact with large networks of family members, friends, business contacts, and people with common interests will transform how we work and how we consume."

The Dirty Little Secrets of Search Optimization

Bravo to The New York Times for exposing to Google the dirty little secrets of J.C. Penney and their #1 spot in Google for many different search terms. They were exposed for "Black Hat" tactics. When BMW was caught for "Black Hat" tactics they were penalized to the bottom of the Google search engine. J.C. Penney however has only been recently manually moved down the page rankings one search criteria at a time. Considering J.C. Penney has now been caught 3 times for these unethical tactics why is it their punishment pales in comparison to the treatment experienced by BMW from Google. Read the New York Times article and form your own opinions. Many lessons to be learned here: Cheaters will be caught. Google has to watch the perception real or not of favoring the big spenders of ad space on their search engine and; businesses need to ensure they are using a reputable Digital Marketing firm. From small business to as large a business as J.C. Penney who spends millions on Digital Marketing, the best in the business isn't always based on price. There is no substitute for experience and ongoing learning from a Global perspective. This is where WSI Digital Marketing beats everyone else hands down. WSI is a franchise model and have hundreds of offices globally. For WSI Digital Marketing Franchise Information click here.

The Franchise Show Excel London

I'm off to The Franchise Show in London, UK which runs from Friday, February 18th through Saturday the 19th. This is an exciting show with many exhibitors, seminars and workshops. This is a great opportunity to learn about the many franchise choices and listen to industry keynote speakers introducing Master Franchise opportunities. I will be there with WSI conducting seminars at the Crown Plaza Hotel. With what happened recently in Egypt, the Digital Marketing and Internet Industry is exploding with opportunities and high growth. The WSI booth will I'm sure be busy and the limited seats at the seminars are filling fast. I will keep you posted on WSI's success in London.