blogging

Will the Real Millennials Please Stand Up?

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Thu, 07/16/2009 - 23:46
Generation Y

Earlier this week Matthew Robson, a 15 year old summer intern with Morgan Stanley, made headlines from the Financial Times to Time Magazine for his claim, that among other things, “Twitter is for old people.” While on a two week internship, Robson wrote the report, How Teenagers Consume Media which Morgan Stanley claimed to be one of the “clearest and most thought provoking insights we have ever seen.” 

However, if you have a bit of common sense or if you know a teenager or two yourself – you’re likely to find the information rather obvious. Robson sums it up something like this (and I’m paraphrasing): kids don’t read newspapers, the PC is like a radio, mobile phones are for texting not talking, no one clicks through on pop-up ads, and if you’re under the age of 23 you don’t use Twitter.
 
Whether or not you think this is earth shattering – the larger question, and the one I posed on Twitter earlier this week (since I am over the age of 23), is “if this is buzzworthy then we need to do a better job researching these trends.”
 
While Robson’s research is not overly scientific, his assessment was honest, and has certainly created a stir. But, there’s clearly a need for more information about how the Millennial Generation is thinking and acting, and if we’ve learned anything from Robson’s report -  it should be authentic and come from Millennials themselves.
 
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of terrific resources out there– many of which we’ve profiled here on Social Citizens. But books like Millennial Makeover by Strauss and Howe, or Generation We by Eric Greenberg, while well researched and insightful, are not capturing the voice of the Millennials in the same way that Robson has.
 
Where are you getting your information about the rising Millennial Generation? Are you trusting the experts – or engaging with Millennials themselves to understand their motivations, habits and desires?
 
Here are a few of the resources (by and for millennials) that I go to when I want to keep up with the latest perspectives from Gen Y. However, in compiling this list I was surprised how difficult it was to find Millennials who are writing about trends in technology -- perhaps that's what has made Robson's piece that much more interesting. 
 
Most blogs like the one's I've highlighted below, focus on Millennials in the workplace or the impact of their new and collaborative styles of leadership.  Suggestions or additions to the list? Please add them in comments.
  • Penelope Trunk's - Brazen Careerist 
  • Dan Schawbel's - Personal Branding Blog 
  • Dave Knox's - Hard Knox Life
  • Anthony Portuesi's - Driven Leaders
  • Rosetta Thurman's - Perspectives from the Pipeline
  • Daniel Bowen's - Young and Frugal
 
 
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Blogging for a Job: Meet Kynam Doan

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 16:44

Many of you write and ask, "who are these social citizens you're always talking about?" 

Well, let me introduce you to KyNam Doan - he hails from San Francisco, graduated from MIT last year, and just launched a blog that will chronicle his efforts to find a job in marketing in the Bay Area.  But, let's just say this isn't your average job search.

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Blog Action Day '08: Stand, blog, unite against poverty

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Wed, 10/15/2008 - 09:06

Today, we join thousands of bloggers across the globe in Blog Action Day 2008, an annual event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters, and videocasters to post about the same issue on the same day -- this year's topic being poverty.

Let's face it, global issues like eradicating poverty are incredibly complex. But through the voices of thousands of bloggers and thier millions of readers, perhaps the solutions aren't as far off as we might think. 

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The Who's Who of Gen Y Bloggers

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 10:35

In true Beth Kanter style, she has gone above and beyond to provide us with a terrifically robust roundup of the “who’s who” of Gen Y and twenty-something bloggers. I’m excited to say we’ve featured many of these great voices here on Social Citizens, but some are brand new to me — and have quickly made their way as new additions to my RSS feed.

We appreciate the nod to Social Citizens and are glad to be recognized as one among the growing voice of Millennial bloggers. As we see more and more people talking about and writing about Gen Y (admittedly sometimes ad nauseam), this list renews my hope and confidence in our generation to share their own thoughts and ideas about how we’re changing the social change sector.

Here are a few blogs that have recently found themselves in my rotation … what’s in yours?

Gen Y Give: As a millennial, Miriam Kagan believes in the power of young people to “give” and talks about the motivations and trends related to her generation and philanthropy.

Mobilizing Youth: Ben Rigby of MobileVoter incidentally also wrote the book Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Technology to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth, a book with lots of answers for those of you who are just looking to break into this.

The Brazen Careerist: This site based on Penelope Trunk’s blog always seems to have some timely and relevant blogs, probably because of its self-proclaimed network of “vibrant, curious and ambitious career-minded bloggers.”

Amy Sample Ward: She provides some enlightening thoughts on the intersection between the social change sector and technology.

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Over "Exposed"?

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Fri, 05/23/2008 - 22:12

For me, Sunday morning isn’t complete without a bagel, nonfat latte and a copy of the Sunday NY Times. And lest you think I’m not a Social Citizen tried and true – every other day of the week I get my news online.

After a thorough skim of Section A, I skip directly to the Magazine to see the timely political, ethical, or philosophical themes the editors have chosen to highlight in the oversized glossy pages. But, this week is a little different as the Times Magazine cover story has been lighting up the blogosphere and my inbox a few days early.

The 8,000 word personal story by Emily Gould, appropriately entitled Exposed tells the intimate confessions of her life as a serial blogger / stereotypical Millennial. So, when does sharing become “TMI”? (or for our Boomer readers – Too Much Information) And, when and how can blogging serve a deeper purpose? Is there a place for both?

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Glossary 2.0

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 11:40

Are you new to the Web 2.0 world? Wondering what terms like blog, RSS, and social network mean? Then check out these great videos from the creative folks over at Common Craft to learn more about the technologies and tools we’ll be discussing on Social Citizens.

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