Scavenger Hunt on Twitter

Dear Sir,
We want serious Gold dust buyers worldwide.
QUALITY: 22 CARATS+
PURITY: 96%+
Quantity 400Kg.
Price: USD20,000kg
Terms
MT7OO irrevocable DLC/SBLC as a payment guarantee or the payment of
the 7% value before delivery and balance to escort after assay. Any
other payment options is not acceptable.
Thanks
Mr. David Nelson
davidnelsongold@yahoo.in
00233 542 538 292

Paul: I may have sounded a bit too harsh with you, and it wasn't meant as a personal attack. However the herd mentality in general of jumping on Twitter or FB or whatever because it's "the big thing to do" without proper understanding the medium is annoying to me. Furthermore the basis on which these decisions are made are outdated: they're based on the web of the 90's not the web of 2000's. And 10 years on the internet = a lifetime in the real world. It's like saying: "let's use this 1950's store/retail concept to open a new store". One wouldn't do that either. First think. Then do. (Again said in general, not you personal).

Remember it was Gen. X who created the whole netroots movement... it's Gen X who built most of the internet powerhouses (except say FB) so who are you exactly trying to fool with a "creative promotion" ? We are NOT the boomers that grew up in the onset of the advertising age (see: Mad Men). Gen X grew up with the onset of pervasive computing. Gen Y grows up with distributed communication. So to most X'ers and Y'ers participatory communication is integrated in our daily lives. We do not WANT creative promotions shoved down our throat unless they are really really creative. We get bombarded with them.. and we ignore them. After all the social media statement is to "JOIN the conversation". It is *participatory* and therefore fundamentally different from the mass media such as print, tv, radio (even talk radio yes). You guys can write as much as you like on social networking, but without a thorough understanding of how Gen X and Gen Y communicate, and how relationship building and changed attitude play a role.. it won't really help very much: you keep scratching the surface and many seem to think that "having a facebook page" is "joining the 21st century. Well it's not. In fact blogging is 10 year old technology, social networking is 8 years old. There are no quick fixes. No quick campaigns or promotions. No "build a website and now everyone will come". No I shout and you listen (everyone wants it but few get it). The first and foremost thing to remember is: "authenticity". Look at what happened in the case you mentioned: it was *authentic*. That's why it catched on. And the case had another interesting thing: it ended totally differently than the guy who started the scavenger hunt wanted: "some 21yr old kid found it and sells it". Something the original owner could have done. So the two REAL lessons to learn here are: 1) you got to be authentic 2) you have no control over the outcome. Any control freaks, do not even THINK of starting a campaign. It's participatory, and the participants will influence its outcome whether you like it or not. Those are the two real lessons to learn from your example. Not "let's copy the process and create a promotion".

Dear Patrick and Carrie -- Both of you have made good points on the generational use of the social networks. Perhaps JCK needs to do a story on the generational misconceptions of the social networks. But, we may have to wait some time before addressing such matters on the subject, as online social networks have been discussed quite a bit in the magazine and on the blog. Patrick: My goal was simply to get retailers thinking about ways to come up with creative promotions. And, I don't profess to be an expert on your generation or the Internet, but responses that contain suggestions, advise and constructive criticism can help everyone develop a better understanding of both. Thanks for tuning in. Paul Holewa

textint=texting. Final comment: anyone who's been on Twitter longer than a day knows Tw. is swamped with self-promoting spammers that thing they have the deal of the century and now the whole universe is going to fall for that. And then they're surprised they're shouting but noone is listening. Twitter is to INTERACT with people not to push your product, with a sales gimmick or without. It's a long term investment and building relationships. You think you're the only one who's got a product to sell ? What makes your 140 tweets so interesting for me or anyone else to subscribe to. If you cannot answer that question you really have no business being on Twitter other than to entertain yourself. Without a proper media plan and a thorough understanding of social behavior you're just fiddling around in the margin wasting many hours away.

@miamore: I agree with you. It's a boomer misconception to think it's gen Y that does twitter. They don't. They use YouTube, IM and textint and social networks and video games. If you want to reach the milennials: advertise in games. Being a gen X myself.. I find the posting not only derogatory of my generation and gen Y, it also shows a total lack of understanding of the internet. You cannot copy a spontaneous action that someone held with a specific storyline and think you can fool my generation with some retailer cheap sales tricks and think we seriously fall for that. We're a lot savvier than that. Man o man.. you soooo ain't getting it. Not the internet and not my generation.

Thanks Carrie. That's very interesting data. So, for those empty nesters not paying college tuitions can certainly learn more about jewelry and jewelers on Twitter.

Interesting post, and a GREAT idea for jewelers to use Twitter for promotions! I came across this as I researched Twitter's user demographics, so I just wanted to add a caution that it is a misconception that Twitter is a way to specifically reach a younger audience. Only 22% of Gen Y uses Twitter, and the fastest growing Twitter demographic is 45 to 54 year-old (with 20% of Twitter users have a household income of $100k or more). My research is on my blog, but I recommend eMarketer research for more insight! Carrie

Dear Robyn -- Yes, I am on Twitter, but I'm not as active on it as I would like. In the coming months, I hope to do more on facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks for posting your comment. It's good to know you're out there. Warm regards, Paul Holewa

This sounds like so much fun! where is that GPS? Are you on

Twitter Paul? Robyn Hawk @aflyonthewall

Hi Jennifer — Thanks for that. I like what Robbins Diamonds did,

but their hunt was all with text messages. Although very cool, I

think the Twitter element to this type of event is what will really

help retailers appeal to the younger generations of customers.

Robbins Diamonds in Philadeliphia did conduct a scavenger hunt last

year, and the prize was a Hearts On Fire diamond ring. It sounded

like a lot of fun! www.jckonline.com/article/CA6605180.html