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Tag Archive: Connecting

Gen-Y Moms Are Digital Moms

Written on October 14, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

I always and still wonder how digital we will be once we become parents. As parents, our lives will undoubtedly change as we alter and shift our priorities. But what does this mean for our digital nature? After all, Generation Y is a generation that has grown up and continues to grow digitally inclined. Will we carry on and evolve in our digital nature, creating families immersed in the digital world? Or will our smart phone and social media ways regress to be figments of our young adulthood?

Still in mainstream infancy, the social and mobile worlds have yet to be fully realized. With quick swings occurring and segment maturation being an unrecognizable reality at this moment, predicting what can happen next year, in 3 years, 5 years and in 10 is, frankly, impossible.

There has already been some debate over this last summer regarding the social media sharing characteristic of Gen-Y. But even then, I don’t see a future of sharing but rather one of growing connectivity. Trust me, there’s a significant difference between sharing and connecting.

Equally, I’ve brought up the idea that Gen-Y will unknowingly introduce to the world a series of Truman Show-esque children. Complete childhood’s will be recorded online for the world to see. And with friends, family and our long lost colleagues on Facebook, I’ve begun to see a strong influx of young mothers absolutely sharing everything about their young children. Whether this is positive, negative or meaningless remains to be seen. But it’s happening in a large series of circumstances where young Gen-Y mothers have had children. At least, in my experience of course.

All that being said, it’s common knowledge to know that mothers are affluent members of blog communities. Both as bloggers and readers. Commonly and most notably known as mommy bloggers. However, what is new and truly interesting is the findings behind how youth Gen-Y moms are communicating.

In pure Gen-Y fashion, these young mothers lead the way in phone, text and Facebook as methods of communicating with immediate family members. As a recent article via eMarketer reports, Gen-Y does them 21%, 14% and 10% of the time respectively. Further, their amount of in-person conversation with immediate family shows significant disparity from mothers older than them. In-person immediate family communication accounts for less than half of all Gen-Y mother communication at 48% in comparison to Gen-X at 58% and Baby Boomers at 62%.

So what does all this mean? Well, obviously, if the means are there we will use them, especially if they can instantaneously satisfy the situation at hand. Secondly, I can’t see dominating lifestyle factors, such as social media and mobile phones, which have been integrated into Gen-Y life, simply dissipating in a cold turkey like manner. And lastly, although there are clear privacy issues involved with the social and mobile worlds, we still trust these mediums enough to continually incorporate them into our lives.

I also understand that these characteristics aren’t necessarily exclusive to Gen-Y. Non Gen-Y mothers do the same things. I won’t deny that. The point here is not to indicate the similarities but rather, to show the notion that picking up a digital lifestyle is vastly different from growing up digital. And growing a digital family structure. And digitally grown parents parenting their digital children. We can hardly understand both the positive and negative implications here. Though, what is for certain here is Gen-Y moms are digital moms. Were we all really expecting everything to stay the same?

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Embrace the Gen-Y Stereotypes

Written on October 8, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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We’ve all heard the Gen-Y stereotypes. The typical argument suggests that many of these characteristics are negatively impacting these young individuals. And everywhere you turn, everyone seems to be yelling from the roof-tops that we’re too connected, too privileged, too entitled, we share too much, we’re too technologically savvy, we’re too young for anything.

Youthfulness often does imply ambition, optimism and a know-it-all attitude. However, with Gen-Y, like everything else, we’ve taken it to another level. As a result, we’re too impatient, we do too much multi-tasking, we’re too youthful and we’re told we’ll fail with these mindsets. And this sentiment is becoming widely common amongst the media and even professionals.

What I find truly fascinating here is that we are roaring-forward regardless of the situations we face. I think it’s safe to say most of us were promised the world as we were growing up. And even in these troublesome times we’re still looking to fulfill those promises. But then the arguments of being naivety come into play. The popular agenda seems to be a put-down agenda.

But I can’t help but wonder the absolutely positive and powerful elements these stereotypes carry with them. It’s not often that stereotypes actually have a significant plus-side to them. Rather than shy-away from these supposed weaknesses, embrace Gen-Y for who they are. Embrace the stereotypes for the strengths and opportunities they present.

So with out further hesitation, here are the characteristics you should be embracing.

Connecting: The emergence of social media, social networking and the advances in mobile technologies has made the world a seemingly smaller place. Not only have these elements become common place to Gen-Y, they’re imperative to our daily routine.

There has never been a time in history where this much individual-to-individual communication has taken place. That means if you’re not talking to us, we most likely won’t know you’re there. That also means we are very focused on our conversations. We get answers and responses quickly. We influence and are influenced faster than ever. 15% of 12-17 year olds and 18% of 18-24 year olds send over 6000 text messages a month. So are you a part of that relationship? Are you in their conversation?

Sharing: For anyone that has been truly paying attention to the sharing habits of Gen-Y you would have realized by now that it’s about being “status update worthy.” And as I so eloquently put it as when I introduced the idea, we, Gen-Y, are looking for something to share.

From those who barely use anything to share a thought, a moment and an experience to those who are as savvy as they come, the fact of the matter is we are sharing. I have a great friend who refuses to be part of the social media world but yet, even without him being part of Facebook, he is still inherently effected by all those around him who use Facebook. No matter which way you approach it, we all share. And we all share more than compared to pre-social media and pre-mobile times. The question is what are you giving us to share? Will we say it’s good or it’s bad?

Multi-tasking: Chances are members of Gen-Y are doing more at once than is truly conceivable by everyone else. And this has resulted in notions of being elusive, over-ambitious, and even the famed notion of entitlement. The reality is, we do many things at the same time and we do them well. The problem is everyone else believes in doing one thing at a time.

We simply don’t shop, work or walk. We compare, confirm, analyse, search, research, connect, share, respond, text, tweet, Facebook update, examine the mobile website, get answers from everywhere possible for the best situation possible. And it’s not a matter of having to, it’s simply because we just want to.

With that all being said, I can already picture the arguments of over-zealousness coming. Just face the facts. If it was up to me, I would have 3 computer screens in front of me instead of doing everything the hard way on a single laptop. I’ve never headed into a purchasing decision without knowing everything else first. If I don’t know, I’m, texting, BBMing and looking at everything I can find on the web. And when I walk, I don’t bump into things. But I do glance at a my BlackBerry and send off of messages if I can.

There is so much unused power in truly understanding who Gen-Y really are. No, we won’t become robotic drones. And our souls aren’t controlled by Facebook. Are their implications to these actions? Of course there are. Though, when aren’t there implications to a particular action. The power, effectiveness and significance of connecting, sharing and multi-tasking can’t be denied. It’s almost as if we all put Gen-Y down because we can’t embrace their great qualities and abilities in being, well, great. Imagine the productivity, free-marketing and advertising, heightened abilities and everything else they provide simply by being themselves. There is no room for negativity here. Embrace the stereotypes. Embrace Gen-Y.

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The New Twitter is the New Standard

Written on September 17, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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This last Tuesday evening, Twitter announced a major redesign and launch of a new web interface. After watching the live-feed of the actual presentation, though I was amazed and absolutely impressed by it, I couldn’t help but think what a definitive game changer it will become. And with it rolling-out to all users over several weeks, we all had to simply wait and see.

But low and behold, by late morning Wednesday, I was amongst a “privileged” few who were using the New Twitter platform – hopefully this should show all my tweeps who weren’t otherwise convinced. Furthermore, every inclination I had to it’s game changing ability was made more than apparent. That’s when the ideas, comparisons and futurist thinking took over.

After spending more time playing around with it than anyone would be willingly to admit, of which was at least a few hours, the possibilities, opportunities and future success seemed endless. Though I won’t necessarily address all the new functionality of the New Twitter platform, I will address a series of issue that will not only bring glory to Twitter. And examine how Twitter will single-handedly change what we expect from the internet, social media and all social networking platforms.

Twitter has traditionally been known since it’s creation as a single column of incoming tweets. Other than being able to open a little profile window for tweeps within your stream, there was no sense or ability to stay on the same page after clicking a link. As the picture shows above, Twitter has created a two columned screen. The one on the left representing the incoming tweets, which also has an infinite scroll function. And the one of the right that opens into a new window when clicking on profiles, tweets and tweets marked as conversations, pictures and videos.

With that being said, one of the biggest weakness I’ve always found with anything online is the fact that you always had to move into a new window or tab after clicking a link. The New Twitter not only allows you to watch a tweeted video, but you can continue to observe tweets and send tweets simultaneously. Talk about the leveraged ability this presents to brands, advertisers, companies and everyone else tweeting their own work, photos and videos. It definitely promotes content sharing, while leveraging continuing tweeting and giving us the further ability to absorb more.

The new interface layout will definitely resonate with the Millennial generation, who are amongst the current lowest users of the site. It provides them their growing want for online content while keeping them on the same page and connecting further at the same time. Once the New Twitter becomes mainstream, get ready to see an unprecedented growth amongst this group. All the ingredients are there.

Being a Millennial myself, the New Twitter has created wants for a few more advancements, both equally within Twitter and further online. Why limited the 2nd column to tweets, conversations, profiles, tweeted videos and pictures? Why not open up the actual links within that column? I can only imagine this is the next step within Twitter’s future. But if Twitter created the capability to do this, no one would ever leave Twitter, because, well, you wouldn’t have to. Twitter could realistically become an interface network where everything runs through it. And if Twitter wants to fly me down to San Fransisco, I’d be more than glad to share an idea or two.

Interestingly, the New Twitter also highly reciprocates the a touch-pad and screen interface and functionality. There is no denying touch-screen technology is the future. And it seems Twitter is jumping on board before everyone else. Imagine the impact this will have to Facebook and YouTube. Although YouTube remains king of the video castle, I can only but wonder and believe other online video channel’s will garner significant growth from Twitter’s progress.

Equally, at a time where Facebook users are growing, there doesn’t seem to be the same coolness and overall sentiment that existed 2 years ago. Though it might be a little soon to say anything, but “Facebook who?” has become seemingly more realistic, if my just the slightest margin. But my hunch is Facebook won’t wait around but will match Twitter’s effort with the a sophisticated overhaul as well.

In the end, not only does Twitter win in this situation, but further they have set a new standard everyone else must follow. Aside from the better functionality and content distrubiton, amongst other characteristics, I can’t help but think the New Twitter is targeted towards the Millennials in hopes of getting them on board, since it offers significant aspects of what they want from an online source.

Further, this is an absolute big plus for brands, products, advertisers, companies and anyone looking to promote themselves. It encourages everyone to at least examine the tweet without missing anything and never leaving the page. I can only hope they pick up on this sense of new-age thinking and level the traditionalism behind.

And lastly, it will create a want for something greater. Why should we ever have to leave a page ever again? Why bother using anything else when everything I want is right there? Not only has Twitter raised the bar, they’ve changed the entire framework of the online game. And how we look at it. And how we think about it. And how we act on it.

So, forget about what you knew before. This is the new standard. This is the new online world. This is the New Twitter.

7 Quick Ways To Think Like A Millennial

Written on September 10, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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It’s always fascinating to watch companies, products and brands trying to target Millennials. Yes, we YouTube, Facebook, text, share and connect, but just because we do it shouldn’t suggest that if you do it we’ll necessarily tag along. Just like you shouldn’t assume that if we “like” a Facebook page, it gives you permission to go beyond that and clutter our news feeds. If we wanted all that clutter, we would’ve asked for it.

With all that being said, many miss the target when going after Millennials. Simply, it’s because they’re not talking, thinking or acting like Millennials. Here are 7 quick ways to get you thinking like a Millennial. I’ll admit, they’re a little broad. But be creative. Be open-minded.

If it’s slower than a text message, it’s too slow.
We’re highly optimistic, seemingly regardless of the situation. Don’t deceive us, but do give us something to be optimistic about.
We sleep with our smart phones. We eat with our smart phones. We go to the washroom with our smart phones. Well, you get the point.
There’s some great and cool technology out there. Use it.
Chances are we’re doing more than one thing at a time. So why do you market and advertise to us like we’re only do one thing at a time.
Any situation we’re in could possibly warrant us to tell someone else about it. Give us something good to talk about. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure to tell everyone about the bad.
Don’t interrupt our daily processes. It would be the equivalent of us interrupting you while you’re speaking. It’s, well, rude. But hold on a sec, I have to send this message…

Targeting the Millennial market is by no means an easy one. Will every suggestion we give ever really be taken into consideration and put forward? I doubt it. But if you’re smart about it, there are a series of clever and non-traditional ways that can be used, aside from the over-emphasis on social media marketing along with other obvious and quickly drawn conclusions. Effort is definitely being wasted in many area’s and missed in others. Though these 7 points don’t necessarily represent all that there is to know about Millennials, but they most certainly give you something to work with. Just remember, think like a Millennial. It’s easy, isn’t it?

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The Millennials Uncanny Ability to Absorb

Written on September 9, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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Today’s post originally began as a response to a colleague’s request. Sidneyeve Matrix commented on my previous blog post suggesting my “observation about ‘the uncanny ability of Millennials to absorb’ deserves a separate post,” and that she would like to see my analysis on this behavioural trend. And though I myself replied that the posted would be finished yesterday, after I began writing, a whole can-of-worms seemingly opened up. So enjoy!

We’ve all heard about the many characteristics that make the Millennials something of a unique bunch. From their psychological make-up to their technologically advanced environment and web-savvyness, to say the world has never seen a generation like this would almost be an understatement.

The course of visible change that has occurred in this decade compared to the last is extraordinary. And we’ve already become highly adapted to these evolutions and advances within our daily environments. Though there might be a few arguable similarities, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that there are clear differences in the way members of Gen-Y have grown up and are continuing to grow up.

The Last 5 Years or So…

The world we see today is drastically different from that of even just 5 years ago. Well, let me rephrase that. The Millennial’s world is drastically different. How could it not be? Many aspects of daily Millennial life have never been daily aspects of life before. From how Millennials interact with media, to their social media life, understanding how they value brands, and understanding their personal extension and fascination with mobile devices, it’s absolutely amazing to see that all this has happened over the last 5 years or so.

But once we take a step forward, these worldly changes themselves are already in the midst of change. Mobile devices are moving away from cell and feature phones to a world of smart phones, pads and tablets. I’ve already read and seen dialogue for “super phones” amongst current smart phone makers.

Social media fatigue and our constant want for communication has pushed our notions of “sharing” to notions of “connecting”. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll continue to share but we’ll be more concerned about connecting and communicating.

And how could we almost forget about how much more strategy is necessary for marketing to Millennials, instances of un-sponsored Millennials seemingly promoting brands by themselves, more Gen-Y involvement in product and brand success, and how they’re shifting the retail environment.

With the world changing around them, the Millennials have reacted and adapted. And they will continue to constantly react and adapt. But will you be able to match them?

Sharing, Connecting and… Absorbing?

There is no denying Millennials go online and frequent social networking sites. 78% of those aged 18-34 use social media. Equally mobile habits have also increased greatly. And rather than going into this, I implore you view this list of Millennial facts, which provide great online, social and mobile insights. Along with this, there is a series of continuing and growing statistical insights that shed light into this generation.

Millennials are avid YouTubers. While 13-17 year-olds represent 21%, 18-34 year-olds represent 36% of YouTube’s viewing audience, combining for a total of 57%. Of which, they had a significant viewing impact to the over 5.7 billion videos were streamed in the US just this past June.

Further, live streaming video has grown a significant 600% over the last year, with YouTube and Hulu increasing 68% and 75% respectively. And though live streaming itself still represents a small audience compared to others, a year-over-year gain such as this shouldn’t be overlooked. Equally, live streaming sites are 72% more likely to deliver to 18-34 males, who also represent about 30% of the total live streaming video audience.

Additionally, online video shouldn’t be mistaken for traditional TV and video content. With that being said, 41% of 18-34 year-olds watch live TV. With DVDs representing 15%, DVR at 12% and streaming video, via Netflix type sites, is at 7%. With 29% of those aged under 25 watching all or most of their TV on the web.

While all this is occurring, a full 15% of teens aged 12-17 and 18% of those aged 18-24 send over 200 text messages a day, which is about 6000 a month. Not to mention, the amount of emails, social media messages and the BlackBerry BBM use that might be occurring, amongst other forms of communication. And though 200 texts seems excessive, 29% of those same teens send over 100 text messages a day.

Call all this what you like. Sharing, connecting, or viewing, it can’t be denied Millennials are absorbing everything in their path. We have the executive decision to choose what we like. 5 to 10 years ago many of these numbers and aspects didn’t exist. And though they may have been using all this in some form then, the distinguishing fact here is that even though traditional outlets may have decreased they haven’t decreased to such a extent that everything else has been replaced with some new alternative. Rather, many of those levels still remain high while Millennials absorption of new-age technologies have been compounded on top.

Millennial Absorption

In the midst of writing my last blog post, I came across a Millennial theory that “rather than a sense of forward expansion, we’re seeing re-absorption and re-emergence of times past.” The impact of Millennial absorption is due the fact that Millennials are staying up to pace with everything that is being offered to them. As a result, Millennials themselves have reverted to absorbing many other aspects of what is currently available to them.

Even then new isn’t necessarily good enough. It’s the reason many of us watch classic sitcoms and re-runs. Or we simply watch an older DVD. Or spend our time online. Or download something. Or text. Or combine it all in one form or another. We do more while doing more. We are everywhere but we can’t be found. I can imagine how marketers, advertisers and brands must feel. At any given time, we can be online, watching TV and/or using our smart phones but you can’t reach us. Frustrating, isn’t it? There has been no greater time than now to have and execute the abilities of control and choice.

What’s most fascinating about all of this is the notion that all our sharing, connecting and viewing can actually be based on the premise of absorbing information. The Millennials have an uncanny ability to absorb. And much of what we do is done for the purpose of other individuals absorbing our information while we at same moment absorb what others have provided us. It’s a very cyclical and branched methodology. We do things to evoke a response, big or small. It’s the reason why we strategically share online. It’s the purpose behind everything we do. Why tweet? Why update Facebook? We all want people to see what we put up. Why bother otherwise? Why text if no one will text back?

But how much can we take? Like sponges, can we only absorb a certain amount of information? Will we ultimately over-flow and drown ourselves in content? Recent research shows our current lifestyle is changing our neurological processing patterns. So does that mean our minds will evenutally burn-out? Or continue to adapt and evolve? Call it a sense of higher sophistication, growing intelligence, need for attention, curiosity for the unknown or whatever else you like. One thing is for certain, as long as there is an urge, a need and a want for absorbing information, Millennials will continue to do what they do best. The question is, will you be able to keep up with them?

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A Day in the Life of a Millennial

Written on July 27, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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We all woke up today just as if it was any other day. Each with our own priorities and responsibilities to deal with. Each with our own schedules and to-do lists. Today is like any other day. Except, today’s events aren’t what they use to be. It’s not simply about waking up and going to work anymore. And it’s not about the usual relaxing, recreation and traditional understandings of what people previously did after work until they went to bed that night.

A Millennial’s Day Begins with Ring

What we do everyday isn’t what it use to be. And how we go about it is just as different. To say Millennials do things differently has turned into a cliché. But the reality is, we do do-things differently. From the moment we wake up to how we go about our day, Millennials are introducing unprecedented trends into everyday life. And though the true implications are still unforeseen, they have created a fascinating day for each Millennial.

The day of a Millennial is always started by the abrupt ringing of our mobile phones – or the drastically growing number of smart phones. They have become our morning alarms. They have also taught us that it’s ok to message or even call anyone whenever you want, regardless if they’re sleeping or not. And lets not to forget the growing number of online notifications we all receive. With our phones on the nightstand and even in the bed with us, there is no doubt in my mind that a clear majority of Millennials are significantly effected by these characteristics within the first 30 minutes of each day.

But it doesn’t stop there. We take our mobile/smart phones everywhere with us – since we would be utterly lost without them. Mobile communications and technology has become the most personalized extension of our self’s. Even more personal than the brands we wear. Cancelling our voice, text and data plans would be the absolute last thing we would ever do. Even at our last resort, we would continue without paying our monthly bills until we could figure something out.

The Millennial Workplace

For each of us, we’re living life through our own connectivity. Every thing we do is now becoming more an aspect of life. That’s not to say that nothing was part of life before. But when we go to work, we bring the most personalized aspects of life with us to work. Whether it’s through texting, BBM, email or social networking, we are communicating to our friends. And all you bosses and company owners shouldn’t get scared, we don’t talk about work or give away the company secrets. We’re just continuing our relationships at any given moment.

And I can imagine the executives, supervisors, directors and anyone else in a “boss” position screaming unproductivity at the screen. The shocking reality is we actually are equally or even, more productive. This is due to the fact that our world’s are no longer separated. By allowing us to continue our relationships on an ongoing basis, we don’t have to wait until the end of the work-day to figure things out. Unless an individual is constantly texting and not finishing work, casual connectivity while completely assignments is harmless – you probably wouldn’t even know that it was going on.

Work is no longer the “9 to 5” agenda. And it’s not something we must do but something we do for a means to other ends. It’s our career and our passion. It’s not about working somewhere for 40 years until you retire. It’s about being good at what you do. For these reasons, work has gone beyond the “go to work and go home” idea. For Millennials, work is an all day thing. We’re always thinking about it. We’re always doing something we didn’t finish.

The Lines Are Blurring…

The lines that once distinguished work and life are gone. This can be applied to students in the same regard with school. The fact is Millennials bring their life with them where ever we they go. Going to the gym, work, school, shopping and everything else we do has all become intertwined. We know about parties the minute the host had the thought. Meeting up with friends after work is already discussed by lunchtime. Plans are finalized through a few messages. All while keeping up to pace with work.

And although social networking has fuelled the idea of intertwining worlds, the explosion of mobile communications and technologies has taken it one-step further. Simply, you can control website content on corporate computers. But you can’t control who we talk and text to on our personal devices.

The way we see each day is less defined by the traditional understandings of our parents. Though our responsibilities remain the same, in the sense that we have to do them, the way we go about it has changed. Our day’s are about keeping up with our relationships and pursuing our passions. Don’t be fooled, we are serious about work. We just like to do it differently. And just as our day started off, it ends on the same note. One last email. One last text. One last Facebook check in. Charge our phones and reset the alarm. Until we do it all over again tomorrow.

Facebook Babies: A Generation Growing Up Online

Written on July 21, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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About two weeks ago, Mashable published an article based on a study by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research. The study points out the behavior of women on Facebook. And there’s more than a few interesting numbers to come out of this. 34% of women between the ages of 18-34 will check Facebook before doing anything else after they wake up; 21% will check it in the middle of the night; 79% are fine with putting up pictures of themselves kissing along with 42% putting up pictures of themselves intoxicated; and finally 39% consider themselves to be addicts.

Emerging Facebook Behavior

What’s interesting here is that 54% don’t trust Facebook with their private information and a clear majority of 89% say they would never put up anything they wouldn’t want their parents to see. It’s fascinating that the study points out behaviours on both sides of the spectrum. At one side, these women are clearly into the Facebook scene. However, in that same breath, they want to be private, to some degree, about what they share.

As we’ve all seen, Facebook privacy has become a serious issue. Governments have even rallied to oppose some of Facebook’s action. With all that being said, I’ve seen a growing trend on Facebook. And it’s one that has got me dumbfounded. One with more serious implications than any us can possibly comprehend – considering it’s never happened before. This trend is the emergence of Facebook Babies.

And I’m not talking about children being conceived because of Facebook or people starting their relationships on Facebook. That’s another story in itself. What I’m pointing out here is the drastic increase of individuals – and from my own observations, young Gen-X and older Gen-Y mothers – putting up pictures of their newborns on Facebook. If you’re experiencing deja-vu and flashbacks of Jim Carrey’s “The Truman Show” you’re not be alone.

Growing Up Online

Although “The Truman Show” is a movie based on chronicling the life of a man, which was made to be a reality-based TV show within the movie, these Facebook Babies will in essence experience the same thing. If these patterns hold true, these children will have their entire lives recorded on Facebook for the world to see. Can you even imagine your parents sharing everything about you growing up to people beyond those that were always around you? It’s mind-blowing to even think of the thought.

What’s even more interesting is that this goes back to my article of understanding the growing difference between sharing and connecting. I argue that the earlier half of the Millennials will be prone to sharing information online, more particularly those born in the early 1980s to early 1990s. When you take it one step further, these Facebook Babies are from parents, especially mothers, that are born in and around this time. As a result, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an entire generation literally grow-up online. Based on my numbers from my previous article, the study linked at the beginning and through observation, Facebook Babies will represent a generation starting in the years of 2008-2010 and one that might last to 2020-2024. Maybe even beyond.

Facebook Babies: A Generation of Firsts

We will watch an entire generation of firsts. First birthdays, first steps, first days of school and so on. Though privacy is a legitimate and serious issue, we’ve all lightly brushed that aside for what we presume to be a fair trade-off for use. The irony here is that the majority of us – Millennials and Gen-Y – would never want anything to do with our parents online, yet we are putting pictures up of our own young children. Not only is this ironic, the ramifications to this trend could be extremely severe. Something we’ll face only after it happens.

Unfortunately, we really won’t know the ramifications of any of this until time passes and these children grow up. In my opinion, this is a situation that is beyond serious and something that shouldn’t be taken lightly at all. No one really knows what this can lead to. It’s one thing to have photo albums in our house. However, it’s a completely different world and experience to be sharing those photo-albums with everyone else. Am I overstating the simple and harmless act of picture sharing? Possibly. Though, to some degree we already have serious issues with sharing pictures of children.

Like I stated above, imagine if your parents did this to you. After all, these Facebook Babies don’t know any better than to smile at the camera when you say “cheese.” They at least deserve the slightest protection and a safe environment. These Facebook Babies will always be smiling. Let’s not give them something to frown about when they grow up and realize what’s going on.

Breaking Down Millennials: From Sharing To Connecting

Written on July 13, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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Last Friday, Mashable published an article based on a Pew Research report. The report itself suggests that 67% of experts believe Millennials – also know as Generation Y and Gen-Y – will continue to share information through social networking as they age through the year 2020. And although I agree with the experts to an extent, I can’t help but dig deeper and challenge the experts on both sides of the argument.

Breaking Down The Millennials

What I really have to challenge here is our understanding of the Millennials. Defining an entire generation by a series of characteristics was far simpler before than it is now. The time in which the Millennials grew up with is the most fluid, transforming and continually changing period in history. At a population larger than the Baby Boomers, the Millennials are fascinating because every few years their is some powerful and impacting sense of change.

This got me thinking. It got me thinking that Millennials in fact can be broken down into sub generations. The breakdown itself represents a transition that is occurring within the generation. It’s a transition from sharing to connecting. Although both actions are often combined in understanding, it would be a mistake not to understand that the lines are extremely blurred here.

When attempting to define something, there’s no better place to start than with a dictionary. Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines to “share” as the following:

Share (verb) – To partake of, use, experience, occupy, or enjoy with others; to have in common; to tell (as thoughts, feelings, or experience) to others.

And defines to “connect” as:

Connect (verb) – to join or fasten together usually by something intervening; to place or establish a relationship.

There is a distinct difference between the two, especially in the way it has been applied to everything “social”. Though the creators of social-platforms might have had a different understanding, Millennials grew into a social world where we understood its use to be the result of relationships we’ve already built and have, even by the smallest degree. We were already connected before the fact. We are now simply building on those connections.

Most of what we’ve been accustomed to with social networking – which often referred to as social media – is the notion of building on existing relationships. A clear majority of the people that became our “friends” on Facebook were people we already knew and met in one way for another. We were just extending ourselves by sharing to people we already knew. It wasn’t a matter of connecting. It was a matter of sharing.

Social Media and Networking Fatigue

What’s intriguing here is that any one person will only share so much. Not only do you start to care-less about constantly sharing, it loses it appeal and people start to care-less about what you have to share. It seems to be an emerging trend with the younger half of Millennials, and it’s starting with those aged 13-17. These teens are experiencing Facebook “fatigue”, with one in five teens no longer visiting the website or using it less. Equally, of the 78% who created an account only 69% still use it.

The Facebook teen abandon rate is at 9%. While two-thirds of teens report decreased use in the last 6 months and of those, almost half, 45% say the reason for decreased use is based on “lost interest” or quite simple, that “it’s boring”. Other social networks are experiencing much higher abandonment rates. 41% of teens are still using their MySpace profile but 22% have turned away from it. While others like YouTube have a 64% user rate and Twitter stands at 20%. However, they’re both experiencing 15% abandonment. Why are young Millennials turning away from social media in numbers?

The so-called “fatigue” experienced here is the lost value in what social networking has meant to the first half of Millennials, which is something that is completely different to the latter half. I also think there is one characteristic that is often overlooked when discussing social networking. And it’s something that I believe has a profound effect to why the first half of Millennials ran with all things “social”. But it’s something that has the second half of Millennials heading into a different direction.

Our Changing Social-Self

This change of direction is highly attributed to the use, availability and extended unlimited-plans that mobile phone users now have as opposed to what they were 10 years ago. As of September 2009 83% of 17 year-olds owned a mobile phone. Equally, 71% of 17 year-olds were found to talk daily on their mobile phones. Along with 83% of 13-17 year-olds who used text messaging.

The big discrepancy here is that the first half of Millennials weren’t that big on having existing relationships through the mobile phone environment. It wasn’t an option. The mobile world didn’t exist at any affordable rate then. It was far cheaper and less expensive to keep these existing relationships over ICQ. Then MSN. Then Friendster, MySpace and ultimately Facebook. If we were to use Strauss and Howe’s generational terminology, Gen-Y starts in 1982 and ends 2001. ICQ started in 1996 and Facebook in 2004. That puts the oldest of Gen-Y at 14 years in 1996 and 22 years in 2004. Keep these dates in mind for later.

The question now is to find the years where these Transitional Millennials are born. Based on the mobile phone ages above and those experiencing extensive “fatigue”, it would look like there is a generational breaking point with those born somewhere in the early years of the 1990s. The same demographic in which we see 12-17 year-olds spending the second least amount of time online at 11 and a half hours per month in comparison to those aged 25-34 that spend 31 hours and 37 minutes on average, with time online only increasing by age. The 11 and under age group have the lowest user rates.

Now lets take a look at some interesting and random user stats:

Average user: Facebook – 38 years-old. Twitter – 39 years-old. 64% of Twitter and 61% of Facebook user’s are 35 years or older.
ICQ – first popular instant messaging platform. 80% of its users being between the ages of 13-29 – or those born between 1981 and 1997.
12-17 year-olds have increased mobile phone ownership rates by 19%-33% over the years of 2004-2008. While texting has increased 566% between 2007-2009.
Of those aged between 18 to those 65 and over, the 18-29 age group represent the highest percentage at 44% in taking steps to limit online information in 2009.
Teen activities on social networking sites between 2006-2009: Sending group messages has declined 11%. Posting comments to a friend’s blog has declined 24%. And sending private messages has declined 16%.

Conclusion… Emergence of Transitional Millennials

Now after exposing the information above, I have to re-examine why 67% experts believe the following:

By 2020, members of Generation Y (today’s ‘digital natives’) will continue to be ambient broadcasters who disclose a great deal of personal information in order to stay connected and take advantage of social, economic, and political opportunities. Even as they mature, have families, and take on more significant responsibilities, their enthusiasm for widespread information sharing will carry forward.

I, in fact, don’t even think it’s a matter of “sharing” for all the “members of Generation Y”. Sharing seems to be an aspect of those born between 1982 and the magical year of 1992. Based on the numbers and years above, 1992 appears to be the year where those born then and after don’t share as much as they will connect and stayed connected. For Millennials born between 1992 and 2001, sharing will take a backseat to connecting, being connected and always being in a constant state of connection.

Like I stated at the beginning, I agree with the experts to the extent that we will stay connected. But we will not be focused on being “ambient broadcasters” with an “enthusiasm for widespread information sharing”. As mobile phones and the emerging use of smart phones continue to increase, I wouldn’t be shocked to see further social networking “fatigue” and increased numbers in abandonment rates. A percentage of this will be through natural attrition and loss of the customer. But with such a large number of online users, which still has impressive by any means, a small percentage swing can literally mean millions of users. Those that are non-users will simply be absorbed into some other form of connecting element.

Further, as younger individuals are the ones that actually care most about their online privacy, use the internet the least, represent a minority of Facebook and Twitter users and are declining in certain social activities, the later half of of Millennials will in fact look at social networking and react to it differently. These Millennials will use texting, apps, BBM and mobile/smart phone abilities to curb what the first half of Millennials could only accomplish in the online world.

The second half of these Millennials, which I’m dubbing the Transitional Millennials, will be connecting to each other in the classroom, the car and anywhere else where they have the opportunity to use their mobile abilities. Sharing will happen through the virtue of connecting. And unless social networking sites reinvent themselves, these Transitional Millennials won’t in fact need to rely on an online sharing presence. They will be connected to everyone that they perceive as important at a younger age. And grow with those connections over time. Telling everyone the same old thing is starting to get boring. At least when we BBM, text or call someone we get some kind of response.