Generation Gap

The Kiplinger Letter had results of an interesting study at the end of 2010.

To me it highlights the basic reason small business has been so slow to understand not just the importance of the web, but the transcendent effect of mobile technology.

Simply put, the folks that own the small businesses do not yet use the technologies most of their prospects use.

Here is a snapshot of the results...

Here were some other results of Generation Y's technology usage...

•   90% use the Internet
•   75% use social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
•   60% access the web wirelessly on-the-go
•   83% keep their cell phone nearby, even when asleep
•   40% don’t even have a landline

A good friend of mine from the Boomer generation bought his first smart phone - an Android -  two weeks ago today. After he had it for three days I saw him at a conference. He could not believe how it had already changed how he did everyday things.

I asked him if there could have possibility been anything I could have said to him before he bought his smart phone that could have made him understand what just a few days of having his own smart phone made him understand.

His unqualified answer was "no". Nothing I could have said could have made him understand.

I asked him if he thought he could explain it to someone who did not yet have a smart phone. Again, he said no.

This was a truely transformational event in his life. Yet he can not clearly explain it.

 It is no wonder the average small business owner doesn't understand. But if they want to work with those who do, they need to take the leap and get a smart phone - Android or iPhone, the Blackberry or Windowes phones don't count because they have no significant apps - today. Approach it with an open mind and learn what it is all about.