Teens and the Movies

This time around I am going to complete my review of a Morgan Stanley research report on teen behaviors. It was authored by a teen intern at the company. So you would think it had some extra authority.

The teen stated that most teenagers download songs illegally from file sharing sites. You don't need a PhD to discern that. He also went on to say that teens do go to the movies.

Teenagers almost always own a cell phone these days. They like the Ericcson brand. Most teens are not on regular mobile plans. They pay for minutes. Surprisingly enough, teens don't fall for the paid ring tones you can get. They also do not get new phones often.

Some other curious facts shared about teenagers is that they usually have TVs. The also have computers with Microsoft Office on them. No wonder Microsoft is making a killing off their applications. Now the real story is how we can benefit by understanding this profile of the average teenager.

Teen Outlook on Internet

Let's get back to that research report produced by a young intern at Morgan Stanley. He says that Facebook is the ubiquitous social networking site.

Strangely enough he stated that Twitter is just not used by teens. Well I know a lot of teens who beg to differ. He also comments that teens really don't use directories. Neither do I. At least not since the 90's.

It is no surprise that teens use Google for search. So does everyone else who lives on earth. Here is another obvious observation. Teens like viral marketing. Who doesn't?

Next time I will wrap up my review of the teenage review. We will cover movies, music, and cell phones. Peace. Go hug your teen.

Teens Outlook on Media

Morgan Stanley put out an interesting research paper on How Teenagers Consume Media. It was researched and written by a 15 year old intern at the firm. That's a fresh perspective. I thought I could use this to determine how to get these teens as my customers.

Here was a disappointing finding. Teens are reluctant to pay for media. However they will go to the movie theater. Texting is still very popular with teens. I can attest to this as I had to sign the family up for an unlimited texting plan.

Teenagers do not listen to the radio that much any more. They also do not read newspapers in general. The latter is due to the cost of papers. That seems strange. My paper cost a quarter. Moving right along, teens live the Wii. Once again I can attest to this fact. My family plans to buy a Wii and the games and accessories that come along with it.

Here is something that took me by surprise. Teens are not that into PC gaming. I wonder who the PC gaming demographic is then. Is it older, single males? Who knows. Next time I will delve further into the Morgan Stanly findings on teenagers and the media. We will pick it up with Internet usage.

Dreaming Big

I want to continue my previous post about a guy that quit his job to be his own boss. He has reached a point where he just gets paid without further action. That is a great state to be in. That does not mean that he does not do work. In fact, he is available at a contract rate of $97 per hour. He does encourage others to live their dream by working towards a lofty goal. Now let's talk about the monster feedback that his article has generated.

Here is one thing to keep in mind. If you dream big, you sometimes need to "take a leap of faith". In other words there comes a time when you have to take some risks. To use a cliche, no pain, no gain. Personally I don't like pain. But I would like to be my own boss. Therefore I need to do some risky activities to achieve that goal.

When you do become self employed, you are essentially liberated from working for the man. You escape the bondage that the majority of us workers endure. You know that's a great feeling. I know I have dabbled with some business activities on the side. My reward has been a few peanuts. I am still looking to cash in on my own dream. And I am not talking about winning the lottery either.

Work for Yourself

Some guy recently tendered his resignation to his boss. He is now happily self-employed. How did he do it? He made a goal to quit within a year. Things went well. He got to meet his goal. There was a monster list of comments from the blog entry declaring this guy’s freedom. I thought I would discuss some o9f the tactics he used to generate the recurring income needed to quit.

The first was a general principle he applied to his writing. He made sure that he truly added value. That is a rare commodity these days. You get a lot of ranting on the Internet. But how much of it actually adds tangible value to you? Not a whole lot I bet. I have not read any substantial writing from this author. If he is truly adding value to his readers, then I can see why he might be successful.

The second principle this author uses is ensure his blog posts are must reads. He had tried hard to set himself apart from the bunch of bloggers out there. That seems like a good angle. You tend to want to read those bloggers that push the limits. Or you like somebody who is extremely controversial because it is interesting. I need to learn how to do that. Normally I write about the daily grind, which is normally not too exciting for anybody other than myself.

The final thing I want to mention about this self-employed author is that he wrote and published an e-book for sale. The thing is actually bringing in money for the guy. I find that exciting. Authors whom I respect have repeatedly stated that there is no money in writing books. Just yesterday I read a post about a Ruby developer who, in the end, made less than minimum wage on his book writing endeavors. Perhaps you get more profit it you self publish and release your book electronically. I will have to look into this.

Be on the lookout for more insight from one man who now is his own boss. I think I about going to learn more about him, and write about my findings here. The guy’s name is Jonathan. His blog is the illuminatedmind, which is “the less boring side of personal development”.