Jan 22, 2008
Reviving Friend-to-Friend Mail
In my last column I made a New Year’s resolution: to do everything I can to make mail cool again. It’s been two weeks and I remain resolute (I’m also still going to the gym six days a week, my other resolution).
My theory is that if we can take the pain points out of sending mail we can revitalize the channel because people—yes, even young people—still enjoy getting mail. And as my mom used to tell me, you have to send mail to get mail.
We all understand that young people prefer email and instant messaging and texting and chat rooms and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace as their means of communication. On one of those warm days we had here a week or two ago I was picking up some chinese take-out and there were a bunch of high school kids hanging out outside the place. They reminded me of me and my friends at their age: bored, with nowhere to go; but, instead of talking amongst themselves, they were mainly talking on cell phones or texting other members of their network who weren’t there. Hanging out just ain’t what it used to be.
So why am I so sure that young people will go for mail? Because if we allow them to create the mail piece online—the letter, the envelope, inserts, etc.—without having to physically put it all together or even touch pen to paper it’s not all that different from emailing someone. In fact, one company I know of, Postful-Inc., maintains that the message is what matters, not the channel. The play here is that subscribers can attach a physical address to email addresses and basically send an email but those that are designated as paper mailees get it as postal mail, which Postful processes for you. So, for example, if you want to send your vacation photos of the kids to family and close friends, those that use email get the files electronically but grandma and Aunt Jen get physical letters with photo inserts.
Another company I’ve been working with, the UK-based Sureprint, has been piloting a program for small businesses that want to send bills and invoices from their desktop to recipients. Sureprint partners with mail fulfillment houses to accept the files and print and post them at a lower rate than they would have paid by themselves. Either one of these technologies (or many many others I’m sure) could be used to revitalize friend-to-friend or person-to-person mail.
I believe this will work because everyone likes to get mail and if they can generate a response online and send back a mailpiece and them get yet another physical letter back, that’s even cooler. Because you have to send mail to get mail. And nobody will get into this more than the Net Gens (net generation) meaning roughly 9-26 year olds.
The Target Audience: Net Gens
Here’s what I know about the college students I’ve taught recently: they are more socially-conscious and progressive than previous classes. A number of my students spent vacation time in New Orleans rebuilding houses instead of partying on Bourbon Street. They are more activist and altruistic. They are very strongly concerned with climate change and conservation. They don’t cheat on tests and in fact are indignant at the very suggestion that they might. Race tends to not be a factor. They want to get more out of life than just earning money, which was an obsession of the kids I taught in the 80s and 90s. Success means more than just making money, it means doing something unique or of value to others.
A Pew Research Center poll showed that 51 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds surveyed said that getting famous is their generations most important or second-most-important life goal. Not just rich: famous. And not just famous: but distinctive. Distinctive doesn't necessarily mean being on TV but to become an influential and prominent figure in their chosen field. Being authentic is important. Finding your bliss is important.
They have an odd desire to influence peers and claim ownership for ‘scoops’ or new ideas or products, anything that has some “buzz” to it. They have blogs and My Space pages. It’s almost as if our celebrity-driven culture has led them to want to be mini-stars in their own personal movies, even if these dramas play out on My Space, YouTube or other social sites.
Surveys indicate that this generation is more structured than those in “Generation X” or especially Baby Boomers. They like to network, adding new names to their lists of “friends” on their social web pages and cell phone directories.
At the same time, research suggests that they lean more on family, friends and the community. They are more likely to engage in huddling or group hugging. Young men and women seem to get along better and spend more time in mixed groups. They like to be a part of a team and, while they want to be distinctive, they don't necessarily think that standing out from the crowd is a good thing. Perhaps their most characteristic trait is that they value each other's opinions. In fact, most of them will not make a purchase unless they consult with their peers beforehand.
The older members of the generation, those between the ages of 20-24, are actually the ones with the most power to influence the rest. And they are perpetually connected via cell phones and the Internet, tools which they have had their entire lives. They have their own language, one that is stripped down to make texting easier, with an acrostic vocabulary that is growing every day beyond the already-too-familiar “LOL” and “IMHO.” They could use a little more old-fashioned literacy and the linear thought patterns that arises from hard copy.
But happily they are highly experimental and interested in new experiences. It may seem odd to some of us, but the Internet and email are old hat to them. Perhaps mail would be novel.
All of this tells me that there is great power in converging the dynamism of the Internet with physical mail production and delivery. I think it could be a big hit and spread quickly. The technology—the software discussed earlier plus digital print and dynamic enveloping—makes it possible to make this a reality. Doing so can revive the mail channel and make our society more literate.
Next Time: The Tools We Need to Succeed