Obama series 3/3: User Generated content and Community

In the final part of the three-part series on Obama we’re looking at User Generated Content and Online communities. 

Community

Obama used, very effectively, 16 social networking sites – ranging from ‘Facebook’, ‘MySpace’ and ‘Twitter’ to ‘AsianAve’, ‘Faithbase’ and ‘Eons’ – to build a community of supporters aggregated in one place to whom he could blog (well, someone on his behalf we imagine), and importantly with whom he created a two-way dialogue (as opposed to a web-based corporate bill-board of promises summed up in values, behaviours and future projects).  Our generation probably learned more about Obama from social media than we did from his website, or any written document. Log on to any of these and we can rate him, tweet and retweet him, vlog in response to his vlog or offer an opinion.  In so-doing we felt listened to. Furthermore Obama espoused the generation y motto ‘ask, don’t tell’.  It’s genius.  Generation Y wants a ‘conversation’, not just a static page of content and a load of promises.  In these communities we can find out more about him whenever we want. He appears ‘transparent’.

Obama won this race with our generation because: his story had ‘viral’ quality (and we passed it round); He gave Generation Y a vision (and asked for their support to achieve it).  He gave us ownership for achieving it (and used social media incredibly well to create a dialogue) with this voter demographic. Oh, and did we mention that behind every successful president is a 27 year old speech writer?         

Obama series 2/3: Vision and Ownership

We’re on a journey through the Obama campaign and in this second of three posts we’ll unpack two other big factors in Obama’s winning strategy: the way he used vision and gave ownership.

Vision

Obama created a new vision and was able to communicate it such that he achieved agreement from his supporters.  This inspired a generation to take ownership for communicating this to their peers.  It signalled their backing for the ‘audacity of hope’.  ‘We are Americans’ he said, ‘We can do anything if we put our minds to it’.  Why is this clever?  It’s a story that appeals to our subconscious without believing that he is trying to sell us a vision.  But he is already.  He’s telling a third party story, (which includes the audience), that draws them in, because every time Obama says something the audience finds themselves nodding in agreement.  One of our clients recently started a ‘cultural transformation programme’ and in this document they stated that the reason why they wanted to implement this new culture was that it would enable them to ‘transform their industry’.  That is a bold claim.  When we saw the faces of the Emerging Talent group that would be a part of the team to help do this, their eyes lit up.  They realised they were on the edge of something huge, and they wanted to be on the winning side.

Ownership

On the campaign website Obama writes this:  “I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I’m asking you to believe in yours.”  He was asking for their support.  He didn’t just say, “I’m going to do this”, he said “If we really want this, If you believe it, I need your support to make it happen”  Suddenly Obama and the American supporters were on a journey together.  This led to enormous public participation in many different forms.  User generated content played one of the biggest roles it will have ever in any election worldwide (remember Obama Girl?). Looking at this you might think, well that’s just stupid, a bit of fun.  But how many views did this one piece of home-made video have? In excess of 13 million!  Does it have to do with the girl in the video? Most probably! And...Does it raise the subconscious, is it viral (does it have a ‘pass it on’ quality), and did it appeal to Generation Y? Three ‘Yes-es’, better still, its UGC!  They felt a part of a team and they knew that their role was to create as much publicity for their cause as possible.  Another great example is the Microsoft ‘I’m a PC campaign’ – which created mass UGC.  The paradigm shift is in the distribution ability.

Next stop: Online Communities

Generation Y and the Political Sphere

In school, in business, in their online communities, Generation Y is known as optimistic, idealistic, passionate, and eager to make a valuable contribution. But not in politics it seems. In the political sphere, they are perceived to be cynical, apathetic and disengaged. This is reflected in the voting statistics: in the 2001 and 2005 General Elections, of the 18-24 age group there was only a 39% and 37% turnout, respectively (as compared with a 60% turnout in 1997 which were the younger Generation X). Additionally, in 2005 16% of those aged 18-24 were not even registered to vote, as compared with 2% of voters over 65.

What is the reason for this apparent incongruence? Some reports state that the apparent lack of political interest is down to age – as one’s age increases, so does awareness of how political policies impact life’s decisions. However, this does not explain the sudden drop in voter turn-out between the 1997 and 2001 elections. The Electoral Commission (2005) and the IpsosMORI report (2008) argue that Generation Y cares about political issues, but feels powerless to make a difference.

Indeed, Generation Y has experienced a government that appears not to listen to its needs. For example, tuition fees have been publically and widely discredited, yet they continue to create a generation debt-ridden from the outset. Another example was the 2003 Iraq War, which incurred the biggest protest march in British history - the largest participating age-group being 18-24 year-olds, at 16%.

This is a tragedy, since the passion of Generation Y, plus its considerable size (7 million in the UK), suggests that political parties would benefit from engaging with this population. In the US, President Obama used social media to empower young people during his Presidential campaign, with outstanding results: Obama won the votes of those under 30 by 68% to 31%. Of the 10% new voters, 72% voted for Obama, and 69% of those under 30 also voted for Obama. This kind of engagement sounds like the optimistic and idealistic Generation Y we know and love. And it can work in the UK too: if empowered by a political party and encouraged to vote, Generation Y could prove a formidable force in the 2009 General Elections.

What Dreams May Come

“Young people born after 1982 are the most narcissistic generation in recent history”.

Dr Jean Twenge’s Generation Me (2006) marks her research into narcissism in Generation Y. As a result of over-indulgent and undeserved praise lavished on them by Boomer parents, Generation Y is apparently self-absorbed, lazy and entitled.

According to Dr Twenge, a key manifestation of this narcissism – and ironically the cause of pain and misery to Generation Y – is the pursuit of one’s dreams encouraged by parents and teachers. She argues that a lifetime of pampering has created a generation deluded in the belief that it can achieve anything without making the effort. This ‘delusion’ is revealed for what it is in business, when Generation Ys do not receive the quick promotions and recognition they expect for just turning up, causing them anxiety and stress. Life in business requires effort and dreams can fall quickly to ruin.

While controversial, Dr Twenge’s observations of Generation Y behaviour aren’t narcissism, but signs of naivety.  Indeed Generation Y was brought up believing it could achieve anything, but as discussed in our last blog, educational institutions do not sufficiently prepare students for life on the outside; they don’t equip them with the business tools required to succeed.

3M empowered its employees with such tools with its “Permitted Bootlegging” policy, which enabled scientist Art Fry in 1974 to spend a portion of his working day to put colleague, Spencer Silver’s adhesive to practical use; thus inventing the Post-it Note.

Employers who recognise the pursuit of dreams as the desire to achieve can help Generation Y develop a personal vision or dream, which aligns with that of the company, and provide the tools to empower Generation Y (and so the business) to thrive.

To finish off, President Obama, arguably the mascot for achieving one’s dreams, had this to say at his address on Tuesday:

“...In my life, I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely places; that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power or celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of Americans who are anything but ordinary.” 

Get Generation Y to engage with your brand

One of the key complaints about Generation Y is how naïve they are about how business works. There are already concerned discussions happening about Generation Z and how they will transition from the education system to the working world. The younger generations seem to be hugely unprepared for the life that awaits them upon exit of the education system, often to the dismay of employers who have to foot the enormous bill to fill this skills void.  There is a need to create transparency and visibility so that expectations are matched on both sides.

In our previous blog we left you with the story of Electronic Arts, which has a Facebook page to attract and recruit the iGeneration, onto which student Mohammed Elnaiem asked for advice about which university to attend in order to increase his chance of getting a job with EA.

This signals the eagerness of Generations Y and Z to prepare for their future, but also the distinct lack of relevant career advice or training provided by education institutions – thus defeating the object of education. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Some businesses have taken to doing presentations inside schools, or sponsoring excellent candidates (much like the British ARMY sponsoring graduates through their university degree with the guarantee of a recruit after graduation).  However, this conjures up futuristic images of ‘Google/ Goldman Sachs-sponsored children’s school blazers’ – which we don’t believe is the way forward.

The answer to the dilemma is for employers, rather than waiting until students are in their final year of university before trying to attract and train them, is to get involved with this population early on, engaging them in captivating experiences (to which they can contribute), which in turn may encourage them to tailor their educational choices towards a future career with your brand. A recent example is Nokia’s ‘Dreams Workshops’, which engages children globally in ‘sustainability’ events, designed to improve life skills and raise environmental awareness. So far Nokia has reached over 30,000 young people – that’s 30,000 potential employees worldwide.

Previously we have mentioned Coca-Cola’s efforts and another example of where this has worked is the iPhone applications:  within 6 months of the launch of the Apple iPhone 10,000 ‘collaborators’ had created third-party applications for the mobile device.  Most recently a 9 year old boy created one! (Thomson Reuters).

Establishing an early (experiential) relationship with potential consumers and employees, will both reduce the high training costs upon entry into the business, and greatly increase loyalty in the long term. It’s a win-win situation that can be created for any business.

Jon Favreau: boY GENius

In the struggle to cut costs and grab what little resources are still available, many businesses are tightening their belts and changing their management strategy, from a ‘looser’ style, as preferred by Generation Y, to a more ‘authoritarian’ approach - thereby exerting maximum control relieving the feelings of fear of wasting precious time and money.  Jobs have also suddenly dried up for Generation Y: 40% of the predicted three million unemployed at the end of 2009 will be under 25[1]. Does this mean that Gen Y needs to both ‘pipe’ and ‘knuckle down’, at least until the storm has blown over?

Well, how does this sound? Working most days till 3am and doing vast amounts of research in personal time, breaking only to spend a few hours gaming;-[2] This is the work pattern of Jon Favreau, the 27-year-old speech writer for President Obama. Hailed as ‘boy genius’[3], Favreau is the youngest Director of Speech writing to the White House on record.  As a Generation Y, by all accounts he should be making ‘unreasonable’ demands of an employer; flexible hours, Facebooking his friends during work, and generally openly questioning the command of authority. Instead, Obama’s ‘mind reader’ works day and night for his ‘master’[4].  Jon organised a team of talented researchers, spending weeks gathering information from which he worked into the early hours crafting Obama’s speeches. And the result? From a little-known politician, Barack Obama succeeded against all odds in winning the Presidential election in November 2008 and is now taking his throne as, essentially, world leader.

This should send a strong message to employers that if their Generation Y really believes in the organisation, and that they feel trusted, they will reveal themselves to be an incredibly loyal, productive and all-round powerful workforce.

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[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/10/graduate-employment-crisis-rescue-package

[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/barack-obama-inauguration-us-speech

[3] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/adaf9610-e708-11dd-8407-0000779fd2ac.html

[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/barack-obama-inauguration-us-speech

 

Inside the Knowledge Generation Brain

Lifelong learning is a known characteristic of Generation Y, manifested in business as a persistent thirst for a challenge and a demand for continuous training and development.  Surprisingly, the cause of this approach to learning is not often discussed in popular blogs and literature.

Earlier this week I attended one of the RSA’s lectures, which explored the Science of Lifelong Learning. According to speaker Usha Goswami, Director for the Neuroscience in Education at Cambridge University, the brain is like a bank and investment from an early age can significantly increase learning ability later in life. She argued that babies brought up in a supportive environment are positively affected in terms of learning capacity and complexity.

Indeed, Generation Y is known by Strausse & Howe (2000) as the most watched and protected generation[1], where ‘helicopter’ parents packed their children’s lives with a myriad of learning-based hobbies, such as musical instruments, sports and extra-curricular school activities. Technological advances, such as the internet, have further increased this ability and desire for learning.

Now eager Generation Y has entered the workplace, expecting the same level of mental simulation from its employer. This can be highly beneficial to the alert employer, as when provided with a supportive environment, this population of young workers can be highly efficient and creative problems-solvers and aggregators of information in what we call ‘online knowledge ecosystems’ - thereby helping to reduce costs in the downturn and increase participation, ownership and innovation in the next boom.

‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled’
- Plutarch 

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[1] Strausse & Howe (2000), Millenials Rising. Pg9

President Barack ‘Hope’ Obama

President Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into office as the 44^th president of the United States of America on Tuesday.  Amongst the buzzing crowd of more than a million faces in the Washington DC Mall there was an air of anticipation and ultimately ‘hope’.

But, as you would imagine, we aren’t here to comment on the political accolades of of Obama, but the motivation of a Generation to support him to get to the position of, arguably, the most powerful man on the face of the earth. 

Grab a hold of these statistics:  the BBC reported that Obama won the votes of those under 30 by 68% to 31 %!  From the US-based CNBC news channel we can further add that this was the highest ever score of the youth vote achieved by any presidential candidate ever (since exit polls began in 1976).  Here’s the crunch... out of the total number of voters 10% were voting for the first time, and in this group 72% voted for Obama, and in the sub-30 (largely Generation Y) category 69% voted for Obama (compared to just 28% in favour of McCain). 

So, Why?  Here’s our analysis.  What caused the best part of a generation to support Barack Obama over McCain?  We see three elements:  Vision, Ownership, and Community.

First, Vision:  Obama created a new vision and was able to communicate it such that he achieved agreement from his supporters.  This inspired a generation to take ownership for communicating this to their peers.  It signalled their backing for the ‘audacity of hope’.  Second, Ownership:  Obama, whilst able to paint the picture, then actively sought the involvement of his supporters. He maintained, throughout his campaign, undertones of ‘You got me here’; ‘This is your doing’; and ‘Thank You’ – creating now almost iconic images of Obama clapping stadiums full of supporters: ‘It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy [and] who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep’ (Obama, Illinois, November 4, 2008).  Thirdly, he used, very effectively, 16 social networking sites – ranging from ‘Facebook’, ‘MySpace’ and ‘Twitter’ to ‘AsianAve’, ‘Faithbase’ and ‘Eons’ – to build a community of supporters aggregated in one place to whom he could blog (well, someone on his behalf we imagine), and importantly with whom he created a two-way dialogue (as opposed to a web-based corporate bill-board of promises summed up in values, behaviours and future projects).  In so-doing he listened to supporters, fence-sitters and cynics and espoused the generation y motto ‘ask, don’t tell’. 

There’s one final thing.  A sub-story perhaps, but one that is worthy of note.  Obama has been using a generation Y speech writer – Jon Favreau.  At 27 years old he has become the youngest ever director of speech writing to the White House.  Significant?  We think so.

Naked Generations addresses leading Energy Industry executives

Get Energy Events, a global conferencing company, providing education and insights into the Energy industry, has invited Naked Generations to run a workshop at their annual Exploration and Production conference in London.  The slot will be delivered by Christopher Lomas (Naked Generations CEO) and will be entitled: ‘Explaining Y: Understanding, Creating and Managing strategic relationships with Generation Y’.  The session will ‘lift the lid’ on Generation Y and take attendees into the mindset of the generation.  We will be explaining why it is critical for company leaders to understand this generation not just as Employees but as Consumers and Competitors too.

The conference will be held from the 23-25 March 2009 at the Business Design Centre in North London, United Kingdom.  For more details see the Get Energy Events website.

Accidental Betrayal

Michaela (a Generation Y) began working in a company after university, with an idealistic view to how she could create a successful career, based on the promises made by the company. She soon discovered that the reality was different to her expectations: espoused corporate values were not adhered to and her eagerly anticipated career opportunities were not as she had imagined. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Michaela left.

In late 2008 Naked Generations worked with a client, who was genuinely upset at their Generation Y turnover rate. They had made both a financial and emotional investment into their graduates, many of whom were leaving. The client felt hurt and betrayed.

From the outset the trust has been accidentally broken on both sides, creating a culture of distrust which is incredibly costly to business. The economic climate is tempestuous and treacherous, meaning that more than ever that employer and employee must unite in order to steer through the storm.

It must begin before graduates join, with employers setting crystal clear expectations about the job and of the employee. They also need to fully understand the expectations of their Generation Y in order to attract, retain, and leverage their skills into the business, thus rebuilding trust between employer and employee and strengthening a company from the inside out.

The Grass is Greener Where you Water it

I recently had coffee with the MD of a significant fine jewellery company and we were discussing the retention of Generation Y and the costs of training this group. Although keen to leverage the skills of Generation Y, he repeated a line which I’ve often heard from older generations: “train them and they’ll leave”. Indeed, if an employee is well trained, they become more valuable and so more employable. And many businesses have suffered the blow of up-skilling graduates on training schemes, only for them to take their skills elsewhere shortly after.

There are two things going on here. Generation Y sees learning as a lifelong process[1], so if training stops, they will seek it somewhere else. Indeed, PwC’s 2008 Generation Y report revealed that training was three times more important to this population than cash bonuses, with 98% believing that mentors were an important part of their development. On top of this, the training will cause Generation Y to seek trust from the company to allow them apply what they have learned to their daily work.

Unfortunately, too often Generation Y is given a whiff of what they can have, such as increased responsibility and the opportunity to make a significant contribution, but are then informed it will be a number of years before this can happen. This is training for the sake of training, which serves no purpose in business. It’s like learning to drive and then being told you will have to wait five years before you can get behind the wheel of a car. What would this motivate you to do? Leave.

The moral of the story: keep them challenged, fulfil expectations created by the training, and in return they will give you loyalty, improved productivity, and a great return on your investment.

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[1] http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=191002&d=pndpr&h=pnhpr&f=pnfpr, http://www.grb.uk.com/generation_y.0.html

Youth, Risk and the Virtual Realm

High risks can reap high rewards, but they can also end in costly failure. So should employers welcome or shun risk-takers? Research has shown that Generation Y has a seemingly high risk profile. For example, Beck & Wade (2006) observe that online game-players are strongly encouraged to take risks, with trial and error seen the best strategy for success. They also argue that risk aversion accrues with age, following an increasing number of unpleasant experiences following failure.

So does this make Generation Y a liability to employers? While the evidence suggests that this population is naive around risk in the real world, it is important to observe Generation Y’s approach to risk-taking. An oft-used strategy for success, game-players mitigate risk by ensuring a transparent flow of information through the team and distribute responsibility amongst the other players according to their skill sets.

This demonstrates that, in order to succeed as a team, online game-players must take individual accountability for their actions and the risks they take. This implies a level of understanding, perhaps by even the youngest players, of responsibility distribution as an effective risk management strategy.

Indeed, the virtual world is not the same as the physical realm, in which Generation Y may not have the experience of older generations, but their risk-facing attitude combined with a strategic understanding of risk mitigation learned from online games could reap big rewards for businesses too.

Thatcher's Innovators

Generation Y is often perceived as arrogant and self-centred, traits not well received in business. The first of ‘Thatcher’s Children’[1] were born just as Margaret Thatcher’s government came into power in 1979. During this Conservative reign, educational and social reforms were introduced, which directly affected the lives of Generation Y.

One such reform was the 1989 Children Act, which focused on the child’s relationship with the government. For the first time in British history the law recognised the child as an independent individual with rights and choices, whose voice would be heard above that of the state[2]. For example, if a social worker was considering removing the child from its parents, the outcome would depend on the wishes of the child, whose opinion was given more weight than that of the social worker.

Another significant policy was the Education Reform or ‘Baker’ Act of 1988, which again aimed to empower the ‘consumers’ of education – the children.[3]

These reforms encouraged children to believe that they were important members of society, whose opinions were to be taken seriously by authority; parents, teachers, and employers alike.
This mindset is arguably connected to Generation Y’s entrepreneurial spirit[4], a fiercely independent mindset, where they believe that their individual ideas can change society. And why not? Einstein discovered E=MC2 when he was 26[5], Frank Whittle invented the jet engine when he was 21[6]. If employers listen to Generation Y – the first generation to be recognised by the law as relevant individuals of society – they have the potential to develop innovations which will reap enormous rewards for business.

[1] Pilcher, J. & Wagg, S. (1996). Thatcher’s Children? Falmer Press, p1.
[2] Winter, K. & Connolly, ‘Keeping it the Family’: Thatcherism & the Children Act 1989, in Pilcher, J. & Wagg, S. (1996). Thatcher’s Children? Falmer Press, Pp29-42
[3] Wagg, S. Politics, Childhood and the New Education Market, in Pilcher, J. & Wagg, S. (1996). Thatcher’s Children? Falmer Press, pp8-28
[4] http://www.grb.uk.com/generation_y.0.html
[5] http://resource.npl.co.uk/docs/educate_explore/posters/bg_einstein_poster.pdf
[6] http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-83959095.html

Essential Virtual Time (EVT)

Generations are often defined, and segregated, by new technologies. Baby Boomers were the television generation and it was often thought that the young Boomers watched far too much of it. Generation Y is the internet generation. Don Tapscott in ‘Growing up Digital’ (1999)[1] argues that, unlike their Boomer parents, where television could be watched by all the family, online games and networking sites are almost solely the realm of the young, which has created exclusivity and widened the generation gap.

This is reinforced by numerous media horror stories about the unseen force of the internet, with young people reportedly losing their lives to a fantasy online existence like World of Warcraft (Daily Telegraph, 2008[2]). This can easily instil fear into the hearts of older generations, who do not fully understand the gaming culture and so allow fear-based assumptions to fill in the knowledge gap.

This is why sharing is important.

‘Sharing’ will result in both an explicit and implicit understanding of a subject, and allows both parties to identify with the other via these new mediums, which previously was the cause of fear and misunderstanding.

So, to employers and parents: Encourage your Generation Y to share with you their online world. Invest in some ‘Essential Virtual time’ and allocate a couple of hours being shown the delights of Facebook, Twitter, World of Warcraft and Second Life. Not only is this is a key to building lasting and meaningful relationships with Generation Y; It’s also the future of your business. The ability to harness online distribution channels and to create networks and communities around your business products will be the most powerful tool in the next 20 years for getting feedback, analysis and new product – ultimately staying ahead of your competitors!
[1] Tapscott, D., (1999) Growing up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation (McGraw-Hill: New York)
[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/3451069/World-of-Warcraft-release-revives-concern-over-games-addiction.html

EIIL Conference

Naked Generations has been invited to Chair the European Institute for Industrial Leadership conference in Brussels, in October 2008. The EIIL is dedicated to developing a sustainable supply of future leaders for technology-led and manufacturing industry in Europe, and is committed to the continued professional development of engineers, scientists and technical professionals and to encouraging young people into careers in the technical professions. The conference will be addressing the specific challenges around attracting Generation Y into a technical career and will draw together Industry, Higher Education and Generation Y to aid knowledge transfer and best practice learning between the Generations.

Future Talent in Oil, Gas & Power 2008

Naked Generations has been invited to join the debate around talent in the Oil & Gas industry at the CWC conference in London. If you are there come and say hello! We'd love to see you there. We will be hosting one of the round tables in the afternoon of the 8th October to talk about 'Understanding and Leveraging Generation Y'.

Shifting Environments

Generation Y is comparably different to previous Generations. Their beliefs and behaviours are being driven by a different set of macro and micro socio-economic and philosophical contexts. Take for example the Educational system which has shifted from teacher-centric (‘telling truths’) to pupil-centric models (‘discourse and debate’), according to Nick Pollard (Pollard: 2006). Leadership and follower experiences that they are gaining in online technology environments such as ‘massive multi-player online role-playing games’ (MMORPGs) is teaching them a different form of team structure to the command and control compositions still prevalent in many multinational corporate bodies – the legacy of a military culture derived from the Builder generation (1925-1945). This generation is growing up using ‘mash-up’ leadership structures (fast assimilation of teams, in order to achieve a goal and then dissolving the structure and joining with others to form new teams). They are stimulated through goal-oriented objectives, where they receive ‘immediate compensation for successful completion of a project’ (Reeves, Malone and O’Driscoll: 2008). The increase in the uses for, and speed of, Technology has inevitably been a major factor in driving a shift towards a culture of immediacy and heightened expectations. These are the ‘Generation Y’-ers that are coming into global businesses around the world that are being asked to operate under old paradigms. In these situations there can be a distinct mismatch between expectations and reality.

Online Partnerships

Networking, socialising, interacting, selling and learning: it has all changed.


Companies that are realising this include Mercedes Benz who signed a media broadcasting deal with the online networking site A Small World (ASW) – their mission: ‘to aggregate the world’s most interesting people with the world’s most interesting information’ (as explained by CEO Joe Robinson). Olaf Göttgens (VP Brand Communications) from Mercedes Benz Cars explains how along with their competitors Audi and BMW they have launched Mercedes Benz TV in order to keep up with online representation. So, is TV, Radio, Magazine, dare I say it ‚face-to-face communication obsolete for the next generation? Emphatically no. Nonetheless, they communicate in many more ways than the Baby Boomers, even the Xers do. Online is a trend, more than a fad - and it is an important and strategic new opportunity to distribute (see BMW/ASW press release here).
Generation Y grew up with technology. They were encouraged to use it. You could drive from London to Paris in a time of 4 hours 46 minutes (according to ViaMichelin.com, and assuming you have a car already it would cost you about 60 Euros to fund the petrol). Instead you could fly in 1 hour 20 minutes with a low-cost airline for less money (alternatively you could meet up online).
The mentality for this generation is: ‘It’s here so let’s use it’. To have over 300 friends on Facebook is quite normal. (Do i need to have met all of them face-to-face? No. and where i haven't they are gateway's into other communities, pockets of information or invitations to events). Imagine being able to harness those networks through your employees for the reputation of your company. Its sheer innovative capability. The distribution opportunities. What will be the value of individuals in the 16-30 age bracket as influencers, or consumers in your industry over the next 3 years?

With so many people vying for their attention, what will you do to secure your distribution channels of the future?

What are they saying about your brand online?


Change Matters.


Charles Darwin had this sewn up, somewhat prophetically and ahead of his time when he said: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change’ (Charles Darwin, 1809-1882).

The Power of Online

So, Can any of this online 'stuff', blogging, discussion, have an impact on anything like the scale of a multinational corporation. Well it seems so. Aided by the eternal 'opinion-based valuation' nature of the stock exchanges, a group of 'cyber coolies' (young graduates in call centres across India) have set up an 'e-union' that promises to attack clients and investors of their companies in response to the sacking of 400 of their graduate peers. By threatening to release information from inside the business to investors, they hope to incentivise firms to re-employ or compensate their peers. They claim the information would sabotage the share price of these firms significantly. The BPO ('Business Process Outsourcing') union claims that members of the Indian BPO industry were unlawfully sacked and should receive compensation or be reinstated.

It seems as though some of the loyalty to an organisation has left a generation and their loyalty to the management team has left too. Can it be restored? Watch this space.

Love Generation

Baby Boomers have been noted for their love and involvement with Generation Y. Termed ‘Helicopter Parents’ (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article3734696.ece) Baby Boomer parents have developed a ‘love blanket’ for their children. Generation Y have grown up on praise. Every (Gen Y) child is a winner according to their parent (watch the reaction if anything is suggested to the contrary), and is taught they are able to make a difference in their own right. Gen Y grew up on compliments and validations as if it were oxygen. Any surprises, then, that they come across as a little over-confident? Enter Gen Y into the world of work… they see managers or Managing Directors about the age of their parents and expect the same acknowledgements will come. But, alas, there is money involved now. With nobody to validate their achievements – as generally they will be living away from home – and nobody to nurse their wounds if they are criticized, or to go back to their ‘teachers’ (managers/ boss) to challenge feed-back. So… they went ‘Online’. In search of likeminded individuals with whom to share their grief. Generation Y are notoriously bad at being internal processors – they externalize their feelings, and express in digital language! They talk online. No fears about sharing company information, there is no pride involved – just an expression of the injustice to them – and so within a few moments they perceive the grass to be greener somewhere else. Unfettered and disenchanted they move, to realize the same is true in ‘pastures green’ after all. But… the information is still out there – it forms a record in the online world and a reputation begins to develop. An exponential reputation. Information is published, shared, discussed, linked and noted. It becomes… like a ‘truth’. In some senses it is a truth - an ethnographic account of what happened from an individual’s point of view, just… expressed differently to the (Baby Boomer and X) generations before them.

So, what (if anything) can we learn in the middle of all this hype, subjectivity, pride and (essentially) just another point in time? Crucially, no judgment of any other Generation. Allow for individualism. I have been asked, “will Gen Y’s just become like Gen X’s and Baby Boomers eventually?” ‘If some Boomers have resignedly become the organization men and women they once mocked, others have unleashed innovative and entrepreneurial energies that in the long run may provide enough growth and opportunity for them to realize their dreams after all…’ (TIME Magazine, 1986).

So, that depends… on you (as a Baby Boomer managing X and Y’s; X-er in the middle; Y responding to Baby Boomers and X-ers).