A World Between Us

Nearly a year ago when we first introduced our Social Media Impact Score, we segmented the world of social media users (or non-users) into 5 distinct categories – architects, creators, transmitters, spectators and bystanders. Today, it looks virtually the same with very little change.

Still, a sizeable percentage of online users (almost 1 in 2) don’t let the Internet world slip by without having their say… these architects and creators either post their own original content, or critique or comment on someone else’s at least once every week.

However, about 1 in 3 online users continue to surf the Internet passively (either as transmitters or spectators), viewing, storing and/or forwarding information on the Internet without actively weighing in.

And, about 1 in 4 online users continue to act as bystanders, not even viewing Internet content on a weekly basis. My media-hungry (or it obsessive?) self can’t help but ask how this category still exists but anyway….

SMIS Segments

Dear Hallmark, Love Peter

As anyone who has ever been to a mall or turned on the TV in the past month knows, Valentine’s Day is today. And while I am certain Hallmark has put the finishing touches on their cards for this year, they may want to consider the following for next year for the (small but compelling) minority of Americans who want to….

(the parentheses indicate the % of Americans who have done so in the past)

• Send an anonymous card to someone they love (15%)
• Buy a Valentine for themselves (14%)
• Rock a new look, specifically for Valentine’s Day (12%)
• Buy a Valentine for their pet (9%)
• Plan a party for their single friends (9%)
• Start dating just to celebrate the Big Day (6%)
• Break up on the Big Day (5%)

And for those of you who have forgotten Valentine’s Day when your partner remembered, the advertising appears to have become more ubiquitous, so that we may never again make the mistake – to not celebrate our love and to not buy things (see: Teleflora’s Super Bowl ad, Dove’s mobile app, and Heineken’s Facebook app).

Is your workplace doing anything special to market Valentine’s Day to its employees, its consumers, or its clients?

Percent of People Who Celebrated Valentine's Day by...

We Are Lovers, Not Fighters

It occurred to me some years back that Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that either owns you or it doesn’t. For many of my friends, Valentine’s Day passes without much fanfare. I’m not sure whether it was never important to them or if it just faded in meaning shortly after elementary school. For me, it became special after meeting my wife. Our first Valentine’s Day became one of those pivotal moments when I absolutely and undeniably knew she was the person I wanted to marry and grow old with.

While I might be hopelessly romantic, most Americans do appear to have a positive impression of the holiday. 8 in 10 Americans (slightly more women, younger people and single adults) are either in mild “like” or extreme “love” with the holiday.

• Only about 1 in 5 have purposely avoided Valentine’s Day altogether and chosen to do nothing.
• Only about 1 in 7 (16%) think it is a sham set up for “suckers”, the most cynical being men ages 18-29.
• And only a mere 3% say “no one” benefits from the holiday.

That said, most believe Valentine’s Day is designed for those whose relationships are still blossoming and growing – and less so for older, married couples (actually only 43% of married couples say Valentine’s Day is for us).

And by and large, women say Valentine’s Day is for… women. And men say Valentine’s Day is for…. women. In fact, both men and women are almost twice as likely to say the holiday is designed for those with two X chromosomes, rather than those with an XY.

So if your partner is a woman, you better get cracking because Valentine’s Day is less than a week away. Here are some ideas if you don’t want to end up present-less. I recommend this if you are on a budget, or this if you want to some humor, or this if you want to mix it up?

Or, have you already made your plans for this coming Valentine’s Day?

Who is Valentine's Day for?

Be the Change You Seek

If you thought talent was the most important criteria to get ahead in the workplace, well think again. According to our latest employment poll, talent actually comes in a mere 7th and is endorsed by only 30% of employed adults as being “absolutely essential” for success in the workplace.

Six qualities beat out “talent” including:

• Honesty (60%)
• Hard work (53%)
• Intelligence (38%)
• Ambition (36%)
• Flexibility (36%)
• Experience (33%)

The good news here is that four of the top five traits listed (honesty, hard work, flexibility and ambition) are totally under our own control and suggest we can change today if we really want to. These traits are neither driven by genes nor personal relationships nor education nor anything outside of our own will-power and initiative.

So who needs Tony Robbins? Follow Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Seuss and …. dream big, work hard and tell the truth.

Absolutely Essential Traits to Get Ahead in the Workplace According to American Workers

Not It

Remember that time you called in sick to work and then went shopping or just vegged out in front of the TV…. Well apparently you’re not alone because almost 1 in 2 employed Americans are complicit in a similar breach of work conduct.

And remember the time you hoarded those new Sharpie pens that your office manager just bought from Staples only to bring them home to use in your kids’ latest art project. Well, here you’re among a smaller, more select group of peers who have similarly transgressed….

And remember the time you had one too many martinis at that client lunch and you came back to work only to stare at your computer screen for hours a little unhinged. Well here you might want to keep that story to yourself because few American workers have committed that particular “work crime” and even fewer probably admit to it.

In the workplace, there appears to be some sort of continuum for what’s acceptable (at least in terms of what we own up to) and what’s not. For example, among American workers:

• Almost 5 in 10 have… called out sick when they weren’t (46%)
• About 3 in 10 have… taken office supplies for personal use (30%) or have given a positive reference to someone who performed poorly (27%)
• About 2 in 10 have… had a romantic relationship with someone at work (23%) or yelled at their boss (16%)
• Nearly 1 in 10 have… hired someone they knew wouldn’t be successful in a position (8%); plagiarized something (7%); been drunk during the day at work (7%); or fired someone they thought didn’t deserve it (7%).
• And only 1 in 20 have… treated a friend at work poorly to get ahead (5%)

What’s most compelling is that only about 3 in 10 American workers (29%) say they have done a sum total of zero things on the list above – which means that most of us are guilty of at least one work offense at some point in our career.

What’s your number?

American Workers Who Have...