Selling to the Future (Part 5 of 5): Don't call us, we'll text u

by christina 7/1/2008 9:36:00 AM

(Part 5 of a 5-part blog series on Selling to the Future)

Why walk when you can run, and why talk when you can text. More and more, younger generations are focused on speed and results, and demand both…yesterday.

Whether it’s advancing in their career, having the highest speed Internet connections, or shopping on Websites that display personalized product selections pages. This fast-paced, instant gratification-craving lifestyle helps explain the explosion of text messaging as a preferred communication tool.

Consider the North Olmsted, Ohio teen currently working toward sending 18,300 text messages in one month. A June 28 Cleveland Plain Dealer article interviews the seventeen-year-old Drew Acklin, who talks about his texting behaviors in the social context, as well as the possibility of establishing a Guiness World Record.

The article states that as of December 2007, the U.S. telecommunications industry had handled 48.1 billion texts. The article also refers to surveys from comScore M:Metrics, a Seattle audience-measurement company, that state of those 13 to 17 years old, 52 percent say they text daily, and the number jumps to 56 percent for 18- to 24-year-olds.

According to a March 2008 Pew Internet & American Life Project study, 58 percent of adult Americans have used a cell phone or PDA to conduct non-voice data activities like texting, emailing, pictures, mapping or video.

Of those ages 18 to 29 that have a cell phone or PDA, 85 percent send or receive text messages, 82 percent take photos, 38 percent play music and 31 percent access the Internet for news, sports or other information.

With the world at our fingertips, it seems nothing is worth the wait. Understand this and you may start to understand the popularity of the Twitter social network. Twitter answers the question "What are you doing?" by keeping people connected through the exchange of short and frequent messages.