On the eve of the launch of Geoffrey Miller’s book “Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior”, we discuss the key role of openness, the importance of dialogue, and the true reason for advertising.

Geoffrey, a tenured professor at the University of New Mexico, combines an evolutionary framework with a data driven mindset to create insights about consumers. Openness, perhaps the least studied of the Big Five personality traits, and inherited to a large degree, is often underestimated. As we reflect on how our time as graduate students in Cognitive Psychology at Stanford has shaped us – Geoffrey worked with Roger Shepard and I with David Rumelhart — we discuss how marketers used to force-communicate customers, and got away with ignoring the deeply social characteristics of humans. Furthermore, Geoffrey explains, the traditional goal of advertising was to demonstrate to a few potential buyers the large symbolic significance of a product for the broad masses. Communication now having primarily become C2C, consumer to consumer, and C2W, consumer to world: what is the impact of the Social Data Revolution on advertising and consumer behavior?

Courtesy: Andreas Weigend, weigend.com/blog

Purchase the book today @ Amazon.com! Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior

Let it be known: I’ve never owned an iPod or iPhone (nor do I want one). Matter of fact, I still use a 1st Generation Microsoft Zune for all of my listening needs; it works great… so why upgrade? The 30gb storage space is more than enough, and the LCD screen is plenty, although rarely used. I love the automatic software update too.

Now it is rumored that Zune is releasing a “Zune HD” which appears to be an upgraded MP3 player but also (down the road) Microsoft’s answer to the very ‘hip’ and heavily marketed iPhone. Zune for mobile phones – picture that!

But will a more slim, redesigned Zune with a tiny 16:9 aspect ratio screen, capable of playing back HD media be enough? What about a touch screen with TV-output such as a mini-HDMI port? As an avid video and tech enthusiast, my answer is no, these features will not be enough to change the minds of Mac nation.

Either way, I’ll be sticking to my trusty ole 1st gen. Zune.

Need an MP3 player that can store 30,000 songs, 25,000 photos, or 375 hours of video? My next upgrade is a 120GB Zune – the thing is a beast!