Are You a New-Media Marketing Maven?
If you think it’s not easy keeping up with the fast-changing landscape of new media and the technologies that enable them, you’re right. A few years ago, no one had even heard of MySpace or YouTube. Now there is a new crop of names: Slingbox, Digg, ”splog,” and many more.
It’s not easy being a new-media marketing maven.
But the new media and technologies are changing the ways we interact with and influence our customers and prospects. So we need to stay ahead, or at least abreast, of the dizzying collection of new buzzwords, brands, and capabilities that are defining today’s world of communications.
In the interest of helping measure your new-media “maven-ness,” we offer the following quiz. Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t register a high score–at least you’ll know what you don’t know and can start catching up. And don’t think that you can coast if you score well on this quiz; you have to keep paying attention to the next generation of innovations that surely will appear during the coming months.
Ready to see if you’re a new-media maven? Give yourself one point for each “yes” answer to the following questions:
1. Do you own a DVR?
2. Do you have an HDTV?
3. Can you actually tell–for sure–that you’re watching HDTV?
4. Do you own an iPod or an MP3 player?
5. Have you listened to a podcast?
6. Have you watched video on an iPod?
7. Have you accessed VOD?
8. Do you have a personal Website?
9. Have you uploaded pictures to a Website?
10. Have you uploaded video to a computer?
11. Have you uploaded video to YouTube?
12. Do you have a blog?
13. Have you posted in the last two weeks to your blog?
14. Do you use Del.icio.us?
15. Do you have an RSS reader?
16. Do you know what a splog is?
17. Do you have a Slingbox?
18. Do you use Slingbox mobile?
19. Do you own an Xbox or PS2?
20. Do you own a networked game console?
21. Do you own a PSP or a Game Boy?
22. Do you have an avatar in Second Life?
23. Have you posted to a wiki?
24. Do you telecommute from home at least once a week?
25. Have you texted on your phone?
26. Do you have a Bluetooth headset? (Subtract a style point if you wear it when not using it.)
27. Have you watched video on your phone?
28. Do you access the Web from your phone at least once a week?
29. Have you sent a picture from your phone using MMS?
30. Have you texted a short code to an advertiser?
31. Do you have a MySpace profile?
32. Do you have music on your phone?
33. Do you get any of your news online from Digg?
34. Do you have personal pictures on your phone?
35. Did you understand every question on this quiz?
How did you do? If you answered “yes” to five or fewer questions, you are still living in the 20th century. Consult the nearest teenager immediately.
For the rest of you, let’s suggest a few ranges to consider:
6-10 points: Just faking it. You can get by in a conversation about new media, but don’t try demonstrating anything in a meeting.
10-15 points: Wannabe. You’re getting there. In fact, you’re probably past a threshold of knowledge and expertise that many “civilians” will never reach.
16-20 points: Junior expert. Okay, you know your stuff, but you still have a long way to go before achieving “maven” status.
20–25 points: Expert, first class. The IT guys accept you. People ask your opinions of new social networking sites. You’re in a pretty advanced “comfort zone” of new media adoption and use.
26–30 points: Maven-in-waiting. You’re a hotshot, a star, a go-to guy (or gal) when it comes to all things new in media and marketing.
31–35 points: Maven-di-tutti-mavens. When will your book about new media be available?
Feel free to share this quiz with your friends, colleagues, or clients. If you scored high, I probably didn’t need to tell you that. If you want to maintain any sense of pride or status, do not share this quiz with your teenaged son, daughter, niece, or nephew.
Last question: If you really are a media maven extraordinaire, I’ll bet you can identify questions I should have included on this list but did not. What questions did I miss? Feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below and let me know.
Dave Friedman is president of the central region for Avenue A | Razorfish, a Seattle-based interactive services firm, and a monthly contributor to CHIEF MARKETER. Contact him at [email protected].
Other articles by Dave Friedman:
Young and Restless: Tips for Reaching Teens Online
Finding the Hispanic American Online
Decoding Digital Footprints with Analytics to Better Understand Consumers
Offline Research for the Online World
Social Media: Four Crucial Mentality Shifts for Marketers
Social Media: Out of Control, on Target, and Changing the Rules
Digital Media, Collaborative Thinking, and the Whole-Brained Approach
