Positive Word of Mouth

From life experience in general, and specifically from doing volunteer work with a non-profit organization, I would be inclined to say that most often people who are dissatisfied are the ones who speak loudest. My experience has been that complaints far outnumber compliments. So, it was very encouraging to me to read in WOM Research, Word of Mouth Marketing Association's online newletter that positive reviews of online products and services outweigh negative ones 8 to 1. Shoppers are more anxious to spread information about great products than they are to badmouth the worst ones.

"According to research by Keller Fay Group, 63 percent of all word of mouth is positive. A recent JupiterKagan study concludes that 60 percent of online shoppers provide feedback about a shopping experience, and are more likely to give feedback about a positive experience than a negative one."

This is very encouraging news for online ventures such as M2W2 and indicates just how important "word of mouth marketing" is. I am pleased to know that my experience with non-profit customers or members does not hold true in the for-profit world.

IPods and hearing loss

A study by several leading hearing experts offers guidelines to safe listening of IPods. They reported, according to Digital Music News, that the average person could listen to the IPod for 4.6 hours a day at 70 percent of its maximum volume without increasing the risk of hearing loss. A separate study took into account types of earphones used and the environment in which the subjects listen to music. In a noisy environment, 80% of students listened to music at risky levels, compared to only 6% who turned the volume to levels increasing the risk of hearing loss in quiet surroundings.

I'm sure it is an indication of my age, but I have thought for quite a while now that we are likely to one day have a whole generation of hearing impaired individuals. I wasn't basing this on the levels at which individuals listen to IPods but rather the volume at which music is played in some teenagers cars. I wonder if a study has been done about that?

Are lawsuits the anwer?

Digital Music News reports that IFPI has pursued thousands of lawsuits against illegal file- swappers. '“They all thought they were unlikely to be caught, but teachers, postal workers, IT managers, scientists and people in a host of other occupations, as well as parents, have ended up having to dig deeply into their pockets,” said IFPI chairman John Kennedy.' I am certainly not in favor of illegal file-swapping, but I wonder if this is the solution to the problem. For one thing, how can Kennedy be so sure that these people all even knew they were doing something illegal? Maybe they did and if so, it is right for them to pay. But, I'm not sure you can assume that all were doing something they knew was wrong and just thought they wouldn't be caught.

Being involved in a digital music distribution venture, I want the public to purchase our music and to only download and swap the music they are allowed to. Although apparently most of the lawsuits have occurred outside the US, I question whether this is the best use of the legal system regardless of the country in which it takes place. If it is in other countries like it is the US, the courts are overflowing with cases, some very serious - especially in comparison to swapping music files.

I guess I don't really know what the solution to the problem is. But, I wonder if there is not a better way to discourage this activity than through lawsuits?