Blog #3 - Paper Topic (Due 24-Feb)

- What is your idea for this topic?

Hispanics as tablet early adopters... What does this mean for technology companies in the future?



- Why is this topic interesting to you?

I have a passion for technology and read techcrunch, pcworld, cnet, wired, etc. on a daily basis so I want to be able to understand and potentially predict how this tablet trend in the US will impact the tablet space as well as other techology products in the future.

I also struggle with the topic of how to target the Hispanic consumer in meaningful way that can be monetized since the market can be segmented and looked at under different lenses and companies across the US have not been able to clearly identify the best way for segmenting and developing personas for the entire hispanic population. The hispanic market in the US can be looked at in different such as:

*First-generation immigrants vs. Second-generation native-born.
*English speakers vs. Spanish speakers vs. Spanglish speakers
*Dual-identities vs. Acculturateds
*Young trendsetters vs. Older family influencers
*Cash Only Payers vs. Debit Card Payers vs. Credit Card Payers

Another thing to consider is that the identification of specific Hispanic segments in some major markets. In Miami, Cubans are the largest group; in Washington, D.C., it is Salvadorans; in New York it is Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, while in California, New Mexico and Texas have the largest Mexican population.

- What is the connection to the gathering and identification of customer insights and/or the design of valuable customer experiences? (at least, as you see it right now)

1st) Right now, I think the connection would be to identify existing trends, then extrapolate the information to predict tablet future trends.
2nd) Next gather customer insights from this one product and attempt to identify how this impacts not only impacts the tablet market but also the personal tech devices market.
3rd) This would lead into what this means for technology companies in the future.

Open Questions:

What implications does this have for tech companies that do not currently target the Hispanic Market?

Does it matter for all technology products or just some technology products?
What particular devices would appeal to this market?

- Cite and briefly describe at least one article that is related to your topic (this can be either an academic article or trade article, at this point). Do your best to find an article that might be a central source or guidepost for your paper.


Levels of tablet adoption outpace smartphones says study: http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/news/levels-tablet-adoption-outpace-smartphones-says-study-170227932.html

This report found that in less than two years, over 40 million tablets came into use in the US market, equaling a level of penetration that it took the smartphone market seven years to reach. I think this is an important statistic and it is the statistic that made me feel it would be much better to assess the tablet market instead of other non-traditional devices (Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3, Smart TV, Blue-ray DVD players) used to stream content over the web.

Hispanics are tablet early adopters:
http://strategicsalesmarketingosmg.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/hispanics-are-tablet-early-adopters/

People of Hispanic origin are leading early adopters of tablet technology.
*Roughly 7% of the population own a tablet computer
*Currently, 15% of Hispanics are tablet owners
*28% of Hispanics who mainly speak English plan to buy a tablet in the next year
*41% of Spanish speaking Hispanics are planned tablet buyers

Hispanics check in:
http://www.adweek.com/sa-article/hispanics-check-135798

What I thought was very important to note, by 2014, U.S. Hispanic consumer purchasing power is expected to exceed $1.3 trillion, forecasts the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

While Hispanics are a sizable minority, they have become a dominant force in social media due in large part to their greater use of mobile technology. This stands in contrast to their use of the first wave of Internet technologies. Hispanics are less likely to own a personal computer than the general population, and less likely to have home broadband access, according to the Pew Hispanic Center’s 2010 study on Latinos and digital technology. So what accounts for this greater use of mobile and social? Industry professionals suggest this may be because being social is a key part of Latino culture and that that cultural phenomenon is just now playing out in the online world.

How to reach the hispanic market online?
https://www.joinazima.org/blog/%E2%80%9Chow-to-reach-the-hispanic-market-online%E2%80%9D-a-presentation-by-kelly-mcdonald/

I read this article to understand the market as a whole and why it is important and the statistics below made me feel confident that this market is a market worth researching.

Why is the Hispanic Market important?

Latinos are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. 1 in 4 children are Latino, 1 in 6 U.S. residents are Latino, and by 2020 that statistic is expected to be 1 in 5. There are over 50.5 million Latinos in the U.S.

Latinos are early adopters of technology, highly engaged online, and active mobile users – 25% of 1st generation iPhone purchases were made by Latinos, and Hispanics make up the largest percentage of users of MySpace and Facebook. However, Hispanic social media usage is different from non-Hispanic usage in that they are more likely to:

*Engage in social media for personal use rather than business
*Use social media to reach out to extended family or communicate with friends they know, rather than building networks of new people
*Need an effective and affordable way to communicate with family in different countries.