114 CHAPTER 5 EXTERNALCONSIDERATIONSINMARKETING
computermarket,lostpositioninthelate1970stoseveralsmallercompaniesthatwerefirst
todeveloppowerfulminicomputerstoreplacethelargermainframecomputersthatwere
thecornerstoneofIBM'sbusiness.
Allorganizationsmustmakeassumptionsaboutthefutureintechnologyanditsimpact
ontheirbu:;inessactivities.Theresultf.oftechnologycannotbeignored.Forexample,the
Japanesepromotetheuseofelectroniccircuitsandhaveusedthemalmostexclusivelyin
theircontrols. However,U.S.-b asedorganizationshavebeenslowertochangeandmany
havecontinuedtouseelectromechanicalcontrolsintheirproducts.
Everyoneenjoysthinkingaboutthefutureandthekindsoftechnologythatwillevolve.Let's fast-forwardafewyears:0seewhatopportuniLestechnologywillopenupformarketers:
- Howaboutadsthataretargetednot[0a demographicorpsychographicgroup,but
toyouspecifically-ads thatknowwh,J.(youneed andwhatyouwant? - Howabouta houseofsmartapplianceswithInternetconnections-refrigerators
thattellyouwhenyou'rerunningoutofmilkanddryersthatknowtocalltherepair-
manwhentheybreak? - Howabouta cellphonethatknowswhereyouareandcandirectyoutoa great
newKoreanrestaurant,ora Palmh«;1dhelddevicethatdelivers streamingvideo
righttoyourhand?
• Howabouta TVthatairsapia«adyoucanorderfromattheclickofa button,
withtotalintegrationbetweena channelanditsWebsite?INTEGRATEDMARKETING •
NOTINLOVEWITHONLINE-IMAGINE!TherearepeoplewhoareNet-free,andtheyplantostaythat
way.Thisseemstobeespeciallytruewithmanyof therich
andfamous. MarkMcCormack, agentto TigerWoodsandten-
nisphenomsVenusandSerenaWilliams,surroundshimself
withtech-savvyfolks,buthas neveruseda computerhim-
self. ActressDarylHannahhasa computer,buthasn' t turned
itoninthreeyears.AuthorHarlanEllison,whochurnsout
novelsandshortstoriesby typingwithtwofingersona man-
ualtypewriter, is simplyturnedoffbytheInternet."It'sa mas-
sivewasteoftime,"hesays."Does Skippypeanutbutterreally
needa Website?"
.Lestyouthink thesearetheattitudesoftheslightly
demented,a reportconductedbyPewInternetandAmerican
LifeProjectindicatethathalfofU.S.adults arenotonlin~
andthemajorityofthosenon-usersareunlikelytohittheNet
anytimesoon:- 57%havelittleornointerest ingettingonline.
- Morethanoneintenadultswhoarenotonlinetriedthe
Netbeforedisconnection. - Morethan14%ofAmericanshavecomputersbutaren' t ·
online.
The resultsseemto contradictpredictionsthatInternetgrowth
willcontinuetoboomincomingyears."It maytakeanother
generation," saysLeeRainie, directorofthePewProject,
"beforetheNetbecomesasubiquitousandessentialasthe
telephoneandtelevisionaretoday."
Tostudythe 94 millionAmericanswhoarenotonline,
interviewersquestioned1,158non-Internetand.noncomputer
usersindepth.Findingsincludedthefollowing:- 32%, or 31 millionAmericans,saidthey"definitelywill
not"goonline. - 25%saythey"probablywillnot" ventureonline.
- 29%"probablywill"getInternetaccess.
- 12 % saythey"definitelywill"getInternetaccess.
ThosesurveyedbyPewsaidtheirprimaryreasonsforshun-
ningtheInternetarefearandlackofinterest.Morethanhalf
ofthosenotonlinebelievethattheInternetisa dangerousthing
andthattheyarenotmissinganythingbystayingaway.
Sources:KarenThomas,"Not Everyone'sE-NamoredWiththe
Net," USAToday,September25,2000,p.3D; DanaBlankenhorn,
" Hype Blasters,"Advert,ising A ge,June9,2000,pp.58-62.