Under 10's are the next big thing!

It used to be old people or woofs (well-off older folks!) and then it used to be tweens (10-18), well now it seems like it's the turn of the under 10's to capture the attention of the fastest growing businesses. Websites such as Habbohotel and Stardoll are making millions by targeting a segment traditionally too poor to be worth courting. The latter recently received $6m from Sequoia Capital - the same VC house that backed YouTube.

Fuelling this market seems to be a combination of precocity and new payment systems. Under tens are unnervingly computer savvy - we even heard of pre-school nurseries now offer mouse control lessons! Plus PayPal and other escrow payment methods let kids make online purchases without opening a bank account.

This market has exploded by word of mouth. Basic viral marketing. My son had a pair of Heelies (skateboard shoes with wheels underneath) last year before they even launched an ad campaign - word spread across the playground before the ad men had even started. The hit Disney film High School Music (which is shockingly cheesy but with annoyingly addictive songs) became the biggest DVD of 2006 as a direct result of playground gossip. Good old viral marketing!

Create your own movement via a nice slive of astroturfing - but be careful. Pretending to be a ten year old blogger brings it's own hazzards.