Consumer Transparency

Social Networks are changing the way we present ourselves and the way that we interact with others. It was not that long ago that we "presented" the image that we wanted to portray in a given situation. We had our "work-self", our "family-self", our "church-self, our "country-club-self", etc. Because each of these contexts were relatively self-contained, the persona that we conveyed could be (in some cases) quite different.

In the 1990's team-building became a big drive in corporate cultures. The thinking was that if you could get to know a person outside of a work setting, you would have a new appreciation for that person. In other words, if you came to see your co-worker as a devoted parent, a loving spouse or a community volunteer you could come to appreciate that person in a more holistic way. In fact, you might even detect skills that are not currently utilized in the work place and be able to put them to good use.

But today, more and more people are putting their entire lives on display for all to see. Rather than separating and projecting multiple images, people are becoming comfortable being who they are and not trying to be who people expect them to be.

When it comes to understanding consumers in the marketplace, we need to take this perspective into consideration. It is great to understand a person's opinion about a given concept or idea. It's even better to watch how they interact with a product to surface their unspoken needs. But how well will that predict their buying habits? What role do their political views play in their day to day lives? How about their spiritual nature? How much better could we do in developing new products if we understood the "whole person" that we were targeting?

It appears that people are putting their entire lives on display through twitter, facebook, myspace and other networks, depicting themselves as a "total person" with many aspects and attributes. That's the perspective that product & service suppliers must begin to consider when developing new offerings.