Woodstock

Forty years ago this weekend,the seminal event that defined a generation took place in Bethel NY. At this "quaint little music event" held on Max Yagur's farm in Bethel NY, millions of young people, hippies, flower children and other labeled types of people descended on this town for a weekend of music, love and fun.

Who would have thought that 40 years later those who attended this Woodstock event would be reminiscing about it and telling their friends "I was there". It probably never occurred to these people that 40 years later this concert would be analyzed, dissected, defined, redefined and discussed to the degree that it has been discussed; so much so that the legend of Woodstock grew larger every year.

Many people who attended the concert did so on a whim, not knowing what it would mean to them for the rest of their lives, not knowing that amongst the music and good "vibes" there would be rain, mud, lack of food and shelter and massive traffic jams to endure.

No doubt Woodstock mania must drive the younger generation nuts because it is another reminder of how the baby boomer generation had endured the isolation; the feelings of being disconnected and stranded and how everybody slept in the rain because no one wanted to miss Jimmy or Janis or Richie sing their songs.

Current young people may have their own concerts with hundreds of thousands of people in some remote location listening to music, eating and drinking and just having a heck of a good time. With one exception, young people today would never be cut off from the rest of the world.

From texting to twittering to IM-ing to emailing, young people today never feel that sense of being 'cut off; of being isolated and alone. No, they are all connected and always will be. Even as I write this, there is someone in some garage figuring out a new social network idea to "revolutionize" the way we communicate and market our products.

The message to remember is: their "connectivity" and the ability to spread your message far more quickly then ever before, while perhaps started by the younger generation is by no means confined to the younger generation.

Give your customers a Woodstock experience that they will be talking about until they are "64"!