Anyone over the age of 30 tends to think in terms of the real world vs. the online world; young people make no distinction between the two. Social networks, where youth connect with their friends, research information, hang out, shop, listen to music, and discuss news and events, are the real world to most young people.

The stats speak for themselves:

• Nearly two-thirds of all online teens aged 12-17 use social networks like Facebook and MySpace on a monthly basis, and almost one-third do so daily. – Forrester Research, “Coolhunting With Teen Social Networkers”, October 2009
• 22% of teens check social networking sites more than 10 times a day and 51% of teens check social networking sites more than once a day. – Common Sense Media, “Is Social Networking Changing Childhood?”, August 2009
• In April 2009 alone, teens spent 21 million minutes on sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. – Nielsen Media, April 2009

The complete integration of social networks into their daily lives is not only impacting how they socialize, but how they learn. A recent article by a teacher and citizen journalist talks about how young people are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter to learn, share ideas, and complete class projects – yet educators are still forbidding use of all social networking due to fear kids are wasting time or getting into trouble online. Some high schools are beginning to experiment with online learning programs and controlled access to social networks to enable students to engage in group learning online, but these schools are still few and far between.

This disconnect between most educators (older people) and students (young people) is starting to narrow, however, with more discussion around how social networking and the Internet can play a key role in education. At Maveron, we’ve been thinking a lot about these issues. Our highly successful investment in Capella University, home of the world’s leading online-only university degree programs, and our recent investment in Altius Education, a provider of technology and services that enable real-world universities to offer programs online, shows how committed Maveron is to evolving education in the next decade and beyond.

College-level institutions have been much quicker to understand the power of online learning and social networking to enable students to collaborate on projects and studying, and reach professors in online office hours sessions. Online degree programs are extremely popular, in large part because young students can learn in an environment where they are entirely at ease: on the Internet. According to the a higher education market research firm Aslanian Group, nearly 12% (2.1 million) of all students at degree-granting institutions in 2007 were enrolled solely in online programs – and that percentage has climbed significantly in the past two years as college costs continue to soar. Enrollment in online higher education is projected to nearly double by 2013.

Altius Education’s first partnership is with Tiffin University. Together, they established Ivy Bridge College, the first online-only, two-year degree program that provides students an accredited path to admittance into a four-year university program.  Ivy Bridge students have access to 24×7 online tutoring and learn with faculty and other students in chat rooms, message boards, and threaded discussion groups. Ivy Bridge refers to its students not as a “student body”, but as an “engaged online community”.

Teens and young adults don’t separate their online and offline lives, so it makes sense that they would comfortably adopt social-networked learning – extending the classroom, study hall, and discussion group into the online realm where they already hang out. At Maveron, we’ll continue to look for promising investments in educational companies that are successfully leveraging the link between social network and education.  After all, for young people, there is no ‘offline’ and ‘online’ – just ‘life’.

At our recent CEO Forum, we had the pleasure of welcoming WIRED Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson as a keynote speaker. As always, Chris presented some thought-provoking, future-forward ideas. Anderson talked about how the Internet forever shifted a centuries-old content model, with the Web enabling everyone to become a creator, author, and collaborator and turning the communications, publishing, and media worlds on their head. This wealth of content, of course, is the “long tail” – Anderson’s now-celebrated term that describes the enormous amount of information generated and distributed online. But Anderson also spoke about how the Internet’s “democratization of production” model in the digital world is now giving way to a “new industrial revolution” in the physical world, a topic on which he’s now writing a book.

In the below video, hear Anderson talk about how the past decade was about finding new social and innovation models on the Web, and how the next decade will be about how consumers and individuals apply these models to the real world to make physical products. In the consumer world of the future, people won’t just buy mass-produced products, but will instead design the specific products they want themselves, and get them made through low-cost, on-demand production methods. Anderson certainly got the crowd of CEOs thinking about what’s next in industrial design and manufacturing. Listen for yourself to hear about the not-too-distant future of consumer-driven production.

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With education spending on the rise, education has become one of the hot investment sectors of the recession.  Jason Stoffer, Principal at Maveron, shares his views on this sector.

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Allconnect, the leading comparison shopping and connections marketplace for essential home services recently reported another record quarter of earnings, customer, and revenue growth. In the third quarter of 2009, Allconnect reported a 42% increase revenue year-over-year and a 34% increase in customer traffic.

Allconnect is the type of consumer-driven company that Maveron is excited to back: one that offers an easy-to-use, free, and useful service that saves people time and money. Consumers are flocking to Allconnect’s free phone and Web-based service that helps them get their household services like gas and electric utilities, high-speed Internet, phone, cable TV, satellite TV, and home security systems up and running before moving into their new homes. People simply call Allconnect’s 1-800 number or log onto their site to compare pricing and service options across dozens of providers with complete transparency, choosing the providers that are right for their budget and personal needs. Allconnect does the rest – setting up all the services for free and guaranteeing the lowest prices available.

Founded in 1998, Allconnect has connected over 10 million people through its partnerships with more than 30 utility companies and hundreds of service providers across the U.S. With its recent increase in customers and partners, Allconnect’s marketplace has grown annual sales to more than $3 billion in home service products from over 200 service providers.

Allconnect’s tremendous growth proves what Maveron has believed since day one: a business built around delivering trusted information to consumers to empower them to make better purchasing decisions is not only useful to consumers, but delivers substantial returns to investors.

By Dan Ginsberg, Maveron Sector Advisor, former CEO Red Bull

The seismic shift that has occurred throughout the business world has been felt as strongly in the leading edge of the fast moving consumer product categories as anywhere else – maybe stronger. After all, it is not difficult to understand that, when put under buying pressure, the consumer will stay as closely attached to their tried and true brands, those that they know deliver what they want, rather than taking a “risk” on a new product, even if the price point is “only” $2-4. This has presented problems for innovative brands right on through the value chain from creation through funding, distribution, retail merchandising and, ultimately, the consumer.

What is an Entrepreneur to Do? While there is no doubt that price plays an integral role at a time like this, it seems that price, like a better, greener package, is the ante alone, and not enough right now to move the consumer to a, so-called, riskier purchase. So, as happens in any cycle, we are now seeing brand after brand finding a new path and, in food and beverage, it is definitely functionality. Innovative entrepreneurs are adding a distinct health advantage to naturally nutritious products by supplementing with ingredients that add value in a therapeutic manner, and/or for consumer convenience.

Some beverages, for example, are providing the calcium and Vitamin D that women are being told they need as supplements in their diet. Because of this efficacious movement, the consumer can refresh themselves and satisfy this pharma-type need all in one purchase. Meal Replacement beverages, as well, are seeing good growth, even in these tough times. Those would be the belly-filling, nutritious, great tasting products that also feature the simple, but all important, mouth appeal of a classic beverage. They deliver the protein, or the multi-vitamin, or the carbs that consumers are looking for in an incredibly convenient package that doesn’t require a fork and a knife, or even a hard stop in a time-starved day. It’s so portable; they can even drink their meal while driving.

This healthy-on-the-go movement sees no end right now and so, as I speak with the entrepreneurs who are looking for their next round, or even first round, of financing, I am careful not to discourage them about their own better mousetrap idea, while making certain that I firmly cement in their minds the growing opportunity to move beyond refreshment, alone, and articulate the power of this movement toward functionality. Certainly this is not the only way to success, but look around at all the new products and the numbers speak for themselves. Those emerging brands that feature functionality far outstrip those that don’t. In the case of those that don’t, they had better be healthier, reduced calorie or greener choices.

Just so that we are clear on this not being a beverage-only conversation, the same applies to snack foods. While it is a tough road to hoe for traditional empty-calorie snacks, the nutraceutical approach to snack foods that promise the same healthy value-add as their beverage brethren is working. What began as health bars has leaped into chips, sticks, dips etc. etc. Why not get my daily dose of X while still getting the satisfying crunch I’ve always gotten from my previously-favorite bag of chips. But for a few pennies more out-of-pocket, it’s a no-brainer for many consumers and, especially, for the Mom gatekeeper, who is more studiously than ever, moving quickly down the aisle looking for better alternatives for her family, and herself.