This document discusses the evolution of digital media and communication. It notes that consumer behavior is changing from passive consumption to active participation. Technology has also changed, offering content wherever and whenever users want it. This has resulted in touch points that seem infinite across various devices and platforms. Social networks and instant messaging are among the verticals growing faster than the total population in Italy. The challenges with social media include monetizing networks and measuring the value of online "friends." Younger digital natives, who speak the language of digital technologies, process information differently than older digital immigrants.

1. L’evoluzione dei media digitali e la comunicazione Luca Colombo Marketing Director, Microsoft Online Services Group Italy Roma, 29 maggio 2008 Email: [email_address] IM: [email_address] Blog: http://spaziolucacolombo.spaces.live.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucacollombo

2. From Passive Consumption To Active Participation Davide Armano “Micro Interactions + Direct Engagement in a 2.0 World” Consumer Behavior is Changing

3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stabilo-boss/93136022/sizes/o / Technology Has Changed Too

4. The New WWW Tom March, Web-based educator, author, and instructional designer The New WWW – offering us whatever we want, whenever and wherever we want it – may seem like just an extension of our already-technology-enhanced contemporary life

5. ANALOGIC DIGITAL NETWORK DIGITAL Flat screen TVs Digital radio Notebook & tablet PCs Media PCs Games consoles IP TV STBs Media Server Networked DVD players Personal Video Recorders Handheld Games consoles Removable storage Digital Imaging devices MP3 players Multimedia mobile phones PDAs Portable Media Players Digital Trends

6. The End Result Are Touch Points Which Seem Infinite

7. Nielsen Online, Mar08 Nielsen Online, Mar08 Italian Market Population Nielsen Online, Mar08

8. Verticals outpacing Total Pop Source: Nielsen Online, Mar08

10. Social Networks Potential Hi Sat How much is reliable the following media to gather information before buying a product? How often an info/opinion found on ... affected your buying decisions? Digital PR , Millward Brown Delfo , Mar08 58% 51% 67% Incredibly optimistic about social media. Specific challenges 1) Tons of inventory . Lack of scarcity creates a liquidity challenge. Working on bringing big brands aboard. 2) People who are visiting social networks there for different reasons, different uses . Figuring out how to target. 3) What's the value of a "friend"? Trying to figure out new metrics to communicate with marketers. One area of specific weakness : social networking . The company is having trouble monetizing "social networking" inventory (e.g., MySpace). Guaranteed payments to MySpace, et al, caused the "Traffic Acquisition Cost" rate to jump to almost 90% of network revenue from 84% last quarter. This is not a big deal for Google, but unless Google can figure out a more effective monetization scheme, it's bad news for MySpace. 2007 Q4 Earnings Conference Call

11. Instant Messaging in Italy Source: Nielsen Online, Mar08

13. Digital Natives: the challenge ( Marc Prensky – “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” 2001) Jennifer Carrier Dorman http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/Conferences It is now clear that as a result of this ubiquitous information environment and the sheer volume of their interaction with it, today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors. Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games, instantaneous communication, and the Internet. Those of us who were not born into the digital world but have, at some later point in our lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are Digital Immigrants. Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast . They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext ). They function best when networked . They prefer games to “serious” work.