Next week Trey and I are going to be traveling to Seattle, Washington to speak at the 2006 Washington Credit Union League Annual Convention. We’re going to be speaking on social media, credit unions, and how they need to hang out and hold hands.

While working on the talk, I came across some stats that are really indicative of the consumer culture we’re dealing with today, and why more companies need to be blogging.

Check them out after the jump.

From the WOMMA Research Blog:

• 76% of consumers don’t believe companies tell the truth in advertisements. (Yankelovich)
• 68% do trust information from “people like themselves.” (Edelmann Trust Barometer)
• A brand is 1.5 times more likely to grow in equity when talked about. (BRANDZ)

From MediaPost:

• 39% of U.S. internet users, around 57 million Americans, actively read blogs. (PEW Internet and American Life Project)

From eMarketer:

• Around two-thirds of all economic activity in the US is influenced by shared opinions about a product, brand or service. (McKinsey)

From Yahoo Finance

• 76% of companies surveyed have noticed an increase in media attention and/or website traffic as a result of their blog(s. (Cymfony)
• 75% reported that the initial goals of their blogs have been met. (Cymfony)

Well there was a wiki for just about everything else, and now thanks to design contemplators UnderConsideration, the design community can have one of its own. The Design Encyclopedia is an ever-growing collection of all things design, with topics ranging from the revolutionary icon Saul Bass to The visual evolution of the letter R.They say:

“The purpose of the design encyclopedia is to build a resource where anything and everything is explained through its design implications and background.”

I say this rocks and I’m probably going to spend way too much time at this site.

Registered users can join in on the collaboration by creating their own entries or adding to already-existing content.

The site has been around since September of 05, and in the past few months has made considerable leaps in content depth and variety. At present day it is quite the beast.

Also worth mentioning is Speak Up, an incredible design blog also created and maintained by UnderConsideration. Check it.