Why Not Here?

David Brooks says the most powerful question in the world today is Why Not Here?
He writes in the aftermath of the Iraqi election, that people around the Arab world look at voters in Iraq and ask, why not here? He writes about Thomas Kuhn who wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Thomas Kuhn famously argued that science advances not gradually but in jolts, through a series of raw and jagged paradigm shifts. Somebody sees a problem differently, and suddenly everybody's vantage point changes.

He reports that the head of the Syrian Press Syndicate said, "There's a new world out there and a new reality.  You can no longer have business as usual."

It's the same with business, marketing and public relations.  There's a new world out there and a new reality.  It's the blogosphere, the millions of personal blogs and websites, that can boost or bollix your business.  You can't deny it or ignore it.  You must deal with it, sooner or later.  Why not now?

Why not here?
It's no longer a question of should your business blog, but how do you implement blogs in your business.  The technological tools are here.  The question today, and it's a harder one,  is what is your blog strategy.

Do you want a public blog to have a continuing conversation with your customers.
Do you want an internal blog for your employees.
Do you need a crisis blog, a prepared website with emergency numbers and resources, that you and others use to communicate when an PR or natural disaster occurs.

or do you just want to play defense and keep track of what blogs are saying about you and your products?

Internet the new normal and more

The Pew Internet project, after 4 years of studying how Americans use the web reports on how the web has become the new normal, mirroring the offline world and  a new way of being, allowing Americans to do what they never could do before.

A decade after browsers came into popular use, the Internet has reached into–and, in some cases, reshaped–just about every important realm of modern life. It has changed the way we inform ourselves, amuse ourselves, care for ourselves, educate ourselves, work, shop, bank, pray and stay in touch…..

The Web has become the “new normal” in the American way of life; those who don’t go online constitute an ever-shrinking minority

On a typical day at the end of 2004, some 70 million American adults logged onto the Internet to use email, get news, access government information, check out health and medical information, participate in auctions, book travel reservations, research their genealogy, gamble, seek out romantic partners, and engage in countless other activities.

That represents a 37 percent increase from the 51 million Americans who were online on an average day in 2000.

For the most part, the online world mirrors the offline world. People bring to the Internet the activities, interests, and behaviors that preoccupied them before the Web existed.

Still, the Internet has also enabled new kinds of activities that no one ever dreamed of doing before–
On a typical day,

• 5 million people post or share some kind of material on the Web through their own Web logs (or “blogs”) or other content-creating applications;
• at least 4 million share music files on peer-to-peer networks; and
• 3 million people use the Internet to rate a person, product, or service.

More evidence of the blog advantage

Steven Broback over at the Blog Business Summit has created a terrific graph to show the blog advantage over traditional websites. 

Tech tunnel vision

So, if the 50 plus market controls as much as $750 billion to $2 trillion in discretionary income, why are tech manufacturers making everything so tiny with dimly lit screens that 50 plus people can't use easily.

Why are gadget makers shortsighted in ignoring older Americans?

Companies are doing themselves a disservice if they don't go after" older Americans, said Danielle Levitas, a senior analyst with IDC, a technology-research firm in Framingham, Mass. "It's a demographic with disposable income and ... it's ripe for the opportunity. 

Most mainstream consumer-electronics product makers have ignored or been extremely slow to do anything for" this market, said Matt Thornhill, president of The Boomer Project, a market-research firm in Richmond, Va.

Wired Seniors

The "Silver Tsunami" hasn't begun and still the percentage of seniors going online has jumped according to the Pew Study on Older Americans and the Internet 

• 22% of Americans 65 and older use the Internet. That translates to about 8 million Americans age 65 or older who use the Internet.
• The percent of seniors who go online has jumped by 47% between 2000 and 2004.
• In a February 2004 survey, 22% of Americans age 65 or older reported having access to the Internet, up from 15% in 2000. That translates to about 8 million Americans age 65 or older who use the Internet. By contrast, 58% of Americans age 50-64, 75% of 30-49 year-olds, and 77% of 18-29 year-olds currently go online.

The "Silver Tsunami" is the term the Pew Internet study  used in 2001 to describe those in their fifties who are vastly attached to the Internet and will carry their habits into their retirement and old age.  Well before the recent tragedy in SouthEast Asia.

Wired seniors use email more often than the average and sharply  increasing their health searches, online shopping and online banking

Future of the Internet

Put together a wide-ranging survey among technologists, consultants, and analysts as the Pew Internet study did and you can glimpse the future of the Internet.  The biggest changes will be coming to news organizations and publishing companies because of THE BLOG.  Least affected will be religion.

from most affected

• news organizations and publishing mean 8.46
• workplaces  mean 7.84
• medicine and health care mean 7.63
• politics and government    mean 7.39
• education mean 7.38

to least affected

• religion mean 4.69

Honesty Beats Stonewalling

From the Blog Business Summit, a lesson for corporate bloggers - Honesty beats Stonewalling.

Steve Broback investigates the assertion by Mitch Ratcliffe that lawsuits can be reduced by honest admission of error and finds this article from Medical Economics, Why some doctors get sued more than others

Grena Porto, director of risk management for VHA, an alliance of more than 2,200 hospitals was quoted in the piece: “Patients will often forgive honest mistakes when they’re disclosed promptly, fully, and compassionately,” says Porto. “But they become enraged when they suspect they’re being stonewalled.”

Dan Rather and Eason Jordan in their deepest hearts would agree.

Red Hat Society

Disorganized and fun, the Red Hat Society of middle-aged women is making a lot of people sit up and take notice, like the Executive Update Online where they made the cover in the Rise of a Dis-Organization.

The small group of women aged 50 and older decided to greet middle age with a no-rules verve, and their enthusiasm was contagious. Today, that circle of friends has evolved into a staggering 35,000 chapters of nearly one million women around the world — and growing. Members wearing red hats and purple clothing get together for tea, pajama parties, roller skating, spa nights, card games, parades, and motorcycle rides, among other uplifting activities....

And talk about organizational credibility. The uniquely disorganized sisterhood is spreading so fast that physicians actually are prescribing the Red Hat Society to patients to improve their physical and mental health, and educators at Pennsylvania State University are studying the positive health connection between the Red Hat Society and the aging process.

Why Women will rule

Via Tom Peters,  the only big company with over 50% women on its board of directors is Albertson's, next is Wells Fargo with 35.7 % women on its board.  Tom quotes Alberston's CEO Larry Johnston,

Women have insights into our customers that no man—no matter how bright, no matter how hard working&mdashcan match. That's important when 85 percent of all consumer buying decisions made in our stores are made by women." Retail analyst Burt Flickinger calls the absence of women in top slots, pre-Johnston, the company's "tragic flaw." He adds, "It was a bunch of old white guys making erroneous assumptions and erroneous conclusions about women and the multicultural consumers that make up the majority of Albertson's customers." All this still doesn't make it a cakewalk to go toe-to-toe with Wal*Mart in groceries, but it helps!

Tom is one of the best evangelists for marketing to women around, especially boomer women.  His powerpoint slides can be downloaded by anyone to learn who he listens to and the statistics he quotes like these.

From 1970-1998 median income

men's median income increased by 0.6%
women's median income increased by 63%

Women have great business purchasing power

They are 51% of all purchasing managers and agents
They are more than 50% of human resource managers
They are more than 50% of administrative officers

Women-owned businesses

In the United States, women-owned businesses employ more than the Fortune 500 companies do world-wide.

All sources are from Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women  which you can see right over there on the right

Age Wave Coming

If the past 10 years were all about how technology is changing our lives,  I venture that the next 10 years will be how demographics are shaping our future.  There were more Americans over 50 in the year 2000 than there were Americans in total in 1900! 

Ken Dychtwald has been writing about the Age Wave for almost 2 decades now ...

In recent decades, dramatic advances in medicine, public health and lifestyle management have caused predictable and irreversible trends toward declining fertility and increasing longevity. These demographic changes are causing an "age wave" whose mass and force will transform every aspect of our personal, social, financial and political lives.

Here is a chart that shows just how dramatic the change will be   

Grandparents raising grandchildren

According to the website, raisingyourgrandchildren.com, more than six million children, approximately 1 in 12, are living in households headed by grandchildren (4.5 million children) or other relatives (1.5 million children).  2.5 million households of grandparents raising grandchildren/

Online banking surges

Nearly half of all U.S. adult Internet users now manage their bank accounts online, making banking the fastest-growing online activity, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Forty-four percent of U.S. Internet users bank online, up from 30 percent two years ago, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said.

Fifty-three million people, or 44% of internet users and one-quarter of all adults, now say they use online banking. Those figures amount to an increase of 47% over the number of Americans who were performing online banking in late 2002. Of all the major internet activities tracked by the Project since its inaugural survey in March 2000, online banking has grown the fastest. Internet users with high-speed connections, those with six or more years of experience, and those between 28-39 years old are the most likely to bank online.

The nonprofit group said banking has grown faster than any other online activity since it began measuring Internet use in March 2000.

Most Beautiful Words

When the British Council planned for its 70th anniversary, they decided to make a list of  a list of  the 70 most beautiful words in the English language.  They asked 7000 "learners" - whatever they are - in 46 countries and ran an online poll where 35,000 people registered their favorites.  Here they are,

The magnificent 70

1 Mother
2 Passion
3 Smile
4 Love
5 Eternity
6 Fantastic
7 Destiny
8 Freedom
9 Liberty
10 Tranquillity
11 Peace
12 Blossom
13 Sunshine
14 Sweetheart
15 Gorgeous
16 Cherish
17 Enthusiasm
18 Hope
19 Grace
20 Rainbow
21 Blue
22 Sunflower
23 Twinkle
24 Serendipity
25 Bliss
26 Lullaby
27 Sophisticated
28 Renaissance
29 Cute
30 Cosy
31 Butterfly
32 Galaxy
33 Hilarious
34 Moment
35 Extravaganza
36 Aqua
37 Sentiment
38 Cosmopolitan
39 Bubble
40 Pumpkin
41 Banana
42 Lollipop
43 If
44 Bumblebee
45 Giggle
46 Paradox
47 Delicacy
48 Peekaboo
49 Umbrella
50 Kangaroo
51 Flabbergasted
52 Hippopotamus
53 Gothic
54 Coconut
55 Smashing
56 Whoops
57 Tickle
58 Loquacious
59 Flip-flop
60 Smithereens
61 Oi
62 Gazebo
63 Hiccup
64 Hodgepodge
65 Shipshape
66 Explosion
67 Fuselage
68 Zing
69 Gum
70 Hen night

Focus Groups on Target Subscribers

What we learned in our focus groups of high net worth women.  Two-thirds use financial advisors and of

• half said they would expand their relationship if their advisors used EstateVaults™
• 38% said they would be more likely to choose a firm/advisor if it used EstateVaults.
• 43% of those who use a financial advisor today would be more likely to choose a new financial advisor  or financial institution if they used EstateVaults.™

  What they saw as key values for them were:

• having everything in one safe place
• security and 24/7 access
• control
• the protected e-vault organizer
• access after death

Additional benefits they really liked:

• secure collaboration/meeting rooms to use with advisors
• the prepackaged alternative to a family website that enables family meetings anywhere, anytime.

Holism

From dictionary.com- an essential information site

ho·lism (hlzm)  n.
1.  The theory that living matter or reality is made up of organic or unified wholes that are greater than the simple sum of their parts.
2.  A holistic investigation or system of treatment.

holistic (hO-'lis-tik) adjective
1: of or relating to holism 
2: relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts

holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body—ho·lis·ti·cal·ly adverb

About Jill Fallon

Jill Fallon is a lawyer, entrepreneur, widow and passionate communicator. 

A graduate of Smith College and Boston University School of Law, a member of the Massachusetts, New York and U.S. Supreme Court bars, Jill has worked in politics, government, law and business. 

She has worked on presidential campaigns, as a media consultant to law firms, insurance companies, senatorial and gubernatorial candidates and health care providers, settled law suits to add over 400 species to the endangered species list, established a task force to oversee Indian gaming and a non-profit to promote aquaculture, negotiated with salmon farmers, the Department of Justice and Indian tribes.

Early on, she created and produced Boston WalkAbouts and later Mass Fax, both innovative communication tools that won the attention of the national press.  Her career thread is one of persuasive communication that brings demonstrable results. 

For the past few years, she's been an enthusiastic supporter of blogs, for families, businesses, non-profits and universities.  She's also a passionate advocate for the people in their middle ages who are doing the work of business and caring for children and their elderly relatives.  The needs of boomers, especially women, are neglected by the marketplace and some of their needs in taking care of the important business of their lives and their legacies are unmet.    On the edge of the coming age wave, Jill founded Estate Legacy Vaults to bring attention to these great needs and solutions to market.

Contact

Jill Fallon can be reached by email at jillfallon (at) gmail.com

eSol : Protected E-Vault and Private Office

For some time now, I and my team have been working on an electronic system to organize life/legacy.  We've called it  EstateVaults™.    

While a  lot of people like this name, but some think that it sounds too dour and seems too focused on death, a subject everyone shies away from.  EstateVaults™ is a difficult because I never know where to put the period, before or after ™?  It's a singular product, but with the "s" on the end, it doesn't always sound right to say EstateVaults™ is

So, we're experimenting in calling EstateVaults™ -

eSOL - an Electronic System for Organizing Life and Legacy.

Everyone loves the tag, Securing Today What Matters Tomorrow.

EstateVaults™ or eSol consists of  two modules: a Protected e-Vault to organize vital information and a Private Office to share that information securely and collaborate with whomever you want.

The Protected e-Vault organizes all your critical medical, legal, financial, and personal information and includes in your personal database whatever documents you want in digital form.  Think of it as your digital safety deposit box where all the vital information for you and your family is encrypted, and only you can access it.  Just as Quicken organizes your finances, eSol can organize the Business of your Life and keep your affairs in order at the same time.  As an individual vault owner, you  designate who can access your information in the event of your death or incapacity.

The Private Office is just that, the secure and permanent place online where you can share information with the people you want.  Each Private Office comes with as many private meeting rooms as you want.
So you can have one for your lawyer, one for your financial advisor, one for your family where you all share and store whatever you want - vital information, vacation schedules or family history. 

Either module can stand alone, but they work better together.

But first, I want to talk about the problem it solves: We all have too much to keep track of. 

Virtually nobody knows where all that they have, where it all is and who to contact if needed.
There has been no easy way to organize the business of their lives.

Consider just one family today.  Click image for larger view

Now, Bob and Ann have responsibilities that extend beyond their children.  They have parents, stepchildren, a former wife, and siblings.  Because they are responsible, their extended family counts on them at important times.  Here's their extended family.

Click image for larger view

How can anyone keep track of all this stuff and have the right documents, right at hand, at the right time.
The reality is you can't.  People today have so many accounts, policies, vital documents, important records and  advisors that it’s difficult to keep track of them all, much less manage them well.    People are not in control of their own stuff.  That feeling of being out of control causes undue stress.  The reality of not having the right documents easily accessible can cause undue grief.

With eSol, all the necessary information would be right at hand,  even if it weren't needed for years.
And that's the point.  eSol gives you one safe place where you can put all this information and documents for whenever you need it.  eSol gives you back a sense of control.    You can easily revise and update the information and you should do so, once or twice a year.

eSol lets you manage easily what's most important.

Take working with your advisors for example, on let's say an estate plan.  The estate plan that's best for you can only happen when your lawyer, financial advisor and accountant work together.  The information involved is highly confidential.  But it's difficult to get them to work together because they are all too busy.
You also want to involve your spouse and later your adult children.  With the secure collaborative technology of Private Office, you can set up a meeting room, allow access to your lawyer, your accountant, your financial advisor and your spouse.  Every person who has access can see all the documents needed in that meeting room's file cabinet.  With secure conferencing, you can set up virtual conferences or pose questions that everyone can respond to on their own time.  Any one of your advisors can show a presentation or launch one of their sophisticated financial tools from their own desktop.

With eSol, you all save time and gas while working more effectively and efficiently .

Team

I've had a wonderful group of people who have made up the Estate Legacy Vaults extended team over the past few years.  They are smart, they know their stuff, they believe in EstateVaults™ and our purpose -helping people take care of the business of their lives and enlarging their legacies for those that follow.

Karen Roche acting CEO brings considerable executive experience in managing software and professional services, especially financial services while establishing partner alliances and building revenue.  She tells the truth even when it hurts and couldn't be nicer about it.

Julie LeMoine has been an Internet security architect for over 20 years and has worked with military and intelligence agencies and Fortune 500 companies.  Today, she's CEO of UCHow selling the secure collaborative technology she's developed and providing high level umbrella security consulting.  Her product - secure digital environment (SDE server) has been called 'best of breed' by Forrester Research and she's one of the few female tech stars of New England.

Susan Foley seems shy but she's a star at business development.  Her prior experience at Standard & Poors, Digital Equipment, DMR, HP and ADL make her a veteran at the intersection of finance, health care and technology. 

John Fanciullo's 25 years of experience in financial services, as a bank president, consultant to insurance companies and accounting firms makes him invaluable in understanding how bankers think and don't.

Jim Jordan is a rising star, co-founder of Venture Advisors, bringing part-time first class accounting, legal and sales development expertise to smaller businesses.

Dick Buckingham is giving to promising young companies the benefit of his operating and financial management experience in technology, education, services and consumer products.

Linda Moulton is an international banker, now at BankNorth,  is always working on some new great deal and is one of the ultimate connectors.

Anil Khosla is a wonderfully kind lawyer (this is not an oxymoron) at Eckert, Seamans, Cherin and Mellott with 22 years of legal experience representing emerging growth companies and venture capital firms

Buz Allen is corporate and personal financial strategist in San Francisco with clients around the world who once built, owned and ran a radio station which was a natural given his wonderful voice.

Phil Doherty,  a database expert with a scottish brogue and a cheery smile.

Beverly McKie is one you turn to when you want to make sure something gets done right and on time.

Others who've contributed are

Carol Mofford helped me in the very early days at Initial Stage Consulting, but has relocated to Boca Raton, Florida

Deloitte and Touche is extremely supportive of early stage companies and has generously allowed us to use their conference rooms from time to time.

Holland and Knight, our corporate counsel has been extremely responsive and patient and for that special thanks to Richard Yanofsky

Brian Williams lives in Virginia and is a wiz who continues to help me with Moveable Type

Codi Traver, a technology wiz who started CIO Global to provide part-time CIO services has since relocated to Washington state.

Paul Lazay, a lovely man whose good advice in the early days is still appreciated.

Ann Christensen whom everyone knew at Fleet and Baybanks because of her skill and success in bringing in revenues through call centers has been most supportive, even though she's now in Phoenix with Charles Schwab.

The emerging high tech start-up group of The Commonwealth Institute has given me great support and better advice, especially Linda Kanner  and June Rokoff

No one knows more about marketing to financial planners than Lyn Zurbig and she's been very generous with her expertise and her insights.

Ann Kaplan, a long time college friend understands the importance of financial education, especially for women, and her 25 years at Goldman Sachs make her insights especially valuable.

Derek Sanderson, a hockey legend whose bad experiences make his financial advice really mean something to his client athletes, believes that EstateVaults™will make his services even more valuable.

Sydney Rice knows more than anyone how people can navigate both corporate and personal transitions if they pay attention to their top ten and how Prime Time opens up a whole new stage in people's lives.

Linda Crawford knows about good energy, how to get it unstuck, how to give it and she does.

Ellen Bender's contagious enthusiasm and willingness to help is more impressive than her remarkable experience at the intersection of health care policy and the law.

Pat Lentell's desire to really know his clients and their lives makes him a financial planner and advisor you can only wish you had.  From the earliest days, he's been one of the biggest supporters because he understands what EstateVaults™ could mean for his clients' lives.

There are many others who have encouraged me along the way, too many to mention, except by group, the MIT Enterprise Forum, the Technology Capital Network, my Prime Time group and even my Smith College book club.
Did I mention my Mom?  A bedrock of quiet support.