Mimi Ito, author and professor,shared her insights on teen social trends with attendees at Imagine. Mimi showed us there are two types of social interaction: interest-driven and friendship-driven. There is a clear “fault-line” between these two types of social participation.

  • Interest-driven participation is less common. It isn’t about popularity and more about researching and learning about interests and hobbies. Interest-driven participation connects you to others with the same interests beyond your general friends circle. This is usually the techy, geeky teen types. Think Tumblr and Photobucket.
  • Friendship-driven participation is the most common kind of interaction. It’s teens hanging out with other teens that they already know. Think Facebook, Flickr, or Texting. Content is more about status updates, flirting, and gossiping that has always been a part of teen interaction.

The fault-line is a fundamental difference that really makes a difference in understanding youth-driven innovation. Mimi made the point that it’s not the typical teens but the exceptional teens who set the digital mainstream trend. Advertisers need to be following the trends of interest-driven teens if they want to see what the next big thing in youth social media will be.

Advertisers should recognize diversity, when and how diversity matters. It matters when we want to know which kinds of people are leading which types of trends. its really only particular kids that led the leading edge of social.

So what is the next big thing with teens? Mobile social. The average teen sends more than 3,000 texts per month. Girls send on average more than 4,000 where as boys send about 2,500 per month. Mobile is a must. 75% of Japanese teens connect through social mediums and this is trending globally.

To finish up, let me ask, what are you doing to get ready for mobile social?

View the Microsoft Advertising social media solutions as well as our mobile advertising solutions. Continue the conversation with our sales team.