Gen Y Labs

Gen Y, Social Networking and Education

A recent article by Blair Makin published in the Financial Post reinforces the importance of social networking and connectivity to Gen Yers in all aspects of life.  According to the article, students at Ryerson University in Toronto got busted for running an online chemistry study group on Facebook.  Yes, they were studying, asking questions about homework.  We're talking about 140 students, all willingly trying to figure out chemistry.

According to the article:

Academic integrity was at stake,  [the administration] said, and any threat to it -- even in the form of online tools -- is a risk that must be addressed and rightfully preserved.

At the Digital Youth forum mentioned in yesterday's post, a question came up about education and how we can engage digital youth in learning through social media.  Educators, take note:  these kids were doing exactly what forum members hoped for.  They were using their digital know-how to exchange information, build a solid knowledge base, and help other students as well.  These university students used their noggins to solve problems with information and ideas exchange.  Isn't that what we want?

I doubt Facebook will be in the university's exam room.  But it will certainly be in the workplace for Gen Yers.  They will know how to source information, collaborate on ideas, and build and disseminate knowledge quickly and efficiently.  This generation's use of social networking tools fuels innovation and new thinking, rather than limiting their thoughts to outlines from textbooks. 

If our education system is going to stay relevant, educators will need to embrace new social networking tools as knowledge builders, not threats.  The world of information exchange is running at hyperspeed.  That we would want to handicap our youth -- and our future -- by restricting access to data, ideas and collaborative exchange is inconceivable.  Blair Makin states:

...It's not about giving up control, nor about compromising intellectual property or security. Rather, collaboration for Gen-Yers means enabling people to reach each other instantly and share information in the most suitable way. It overcomes the challenges of mobile workforces and eliminates geographic boundaries.

Connectivity is the new gold standard, especially for learning and innovation.  Let's embrace it, across all generations.

Digital kids as Adults - What will that look like?

WHO WILL DIGITAL KIDS BE WHEN THEY GROW UP?  This was one of the questions at yesterday's public forum on Digital Youth, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation and CommonSense Media, in association with Stanford University's School of Education. 

Let's start with who they are now and what their relationships look like.  danah boyd mentioned that kids crave social connection and value that above almost all.  They have "friends" through social networks even though "friends" aren't always friends. But they're likely friends of friends, or friends of friends' friends. Or interesting contacts.  The term refers to two conceptually different groups of relationships:  (1) Gen Y's social peers and related contacts maintained through social networking (she used the term "peer public")and (2) a potentially multi-generational kaleidoscope of interest-specific peers for interest-driven social networking.  Both provide social connectedness for youth.

The fascinating thing about Gen Y is that they participate in lots of social networks, and the breadth of participation expands as they grow older.  The make-up of each peer-public/community/group depends upon the specific connection at hand:  are they friends from school or town or church who use social networks to stay in touch; makers, creating robotics; young entrepreneurs sharing or selling online tools; anime specialists who translate and dub Japanese anime movies; or graduating high school seniors who are entering UCLA in Fall 2008? 

These kids have vastly broader worlds than their parents had at the same age.  This divide will become even more striking over time.  Their exposure to different people with unique skills and interests coming from different places around the world is awesome.  They have many subsets of "friends", some who participate in several "publics" and others who are community-specific.  Their lives are complex networks of relationships which shift and adapt according to their interests and needs.

As they grow older, their facility with networking will only increase, making a global world feel smaller and more accessible.  In fact, there is increasing evidence that Gen Yers are the first true globalists:  they think of the world as a whole rather than separated by geographic and political boundaries.  Their concerns over environmental, economic and social problems reflect this.  They see global issues as clearly as local ones.  Their sense of proximity is unique as well:  Playing Xbox with someone living in Australia or South Africa is no different than playing with someone in two doors down the street.  The Internet makes them locationally indifferent.  The interest lies in content, style, opinions, and relationships, not in where things or people are.

Digital kids talk a lot about bringing change to the world both now and as they transition into adulthood. They have global networks and rich, boundless information at their fingertips, ready to be put to use. They will want to effect change over and over again.  They're not looking for one accomplishment, but a sense of ongoing effectiveness and serial contributions to their world.  They want a marker in the roadway saying that their life means something...that they make a difference. 

Gen Y is still too young for us to have solid evidence of what happens if their goals aren't met.  Reports vary on the resiliency of this group.  Their future success clearly hinges on their sense of efficacy to effect change through the networks they create. Many researchers posit that Gen Yers are stronger risk-takers than any generation before and bounce back well from failure.  Others believe that they've grown up in a world of inflated self-esteem, where "I'm good" is an empty mantra, not a result of proving oneself.  Obviously, the outlook for Digital Youth adulthood varies, depending upon which camp you believe.  I've seen a lot of evidence for the former.  For their sake, I hope it holds true.

Managing Millennials in the Workplace

Smart Money's Small Biz site just posted an article by Rachel Solomon on Learning to Manage Millennials.  The article integrates research found on our Small Business Labs sister site with other sources, culminating in four tips for successful millennial management:

(1)  Fully engage millennial workers

(2) Improve retention through incentives

(3) Meet regularly

(4) Be true to your culture.

Solomon's examples shed light on a number of issues our clients have raised in the past.  Nice article, and thanks for asking us to contribute.

GEN Y and the Power of Text Messages

Two articles brought my attention to the power of text messaging.  The first article, Text Generation Gap: U R 2 Old (JK) was released this morning in the NY Times and focuses on the frequency and agility of texting by Gen Yers. One of the phenomena raised is that teens text each other instead of just having a conversation, even though they're often right next to each other physically:

Cellphones, instant messaging, e-mail and the like have encouraged younger users to create their own inventive, quirky and very private written language. That has given them the opportunity to essentially hide in plain sight. They are more connected than ever, but also far more independent.

Texting is, in fact, used as a way to communicate around other people in the same room, excluding them from teens' conversations so that no explanations about conversation content are necessary.

The second article, the Wall Street Journal's  Malaysian Electoral Gains Offer Important Islamic Model,  mentions the powerful influence that the Internet and texting had on the recent election outcomes in Malaysia.  According to 2005 data reported by the UN, just over 50% of Malaysia's population is younger than 25.  Because landlines have historically taken longer to get installed, Malaysia is a strong adapter of cell phones,  Seeing people in the street working on several cell phones is not uncommon.  Yet, apparently, cell phones are being used for more than calls home to mom.  According to the article:

...the spread of uncensored new media, such as the Internet and cell-phone text messaging, helped opposition parties break the government's stranglehold on information flow, harnessing public anger over mounting inflation, widespread corruption and inept governance. Combined with rising resentment by ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities over long-standing affirmative-action policies designed to benefit the country's Muslim ethnic Malay majority, this anger coalesced into a perfect storm of protest against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government.

Clearly texting has become an important social and political tool.  Early adopters have been teens who now end up teaching their parents how to text.  As youth begins to take on social and political interests, we can expect increased transparency around the issues raised.  Youth, and adults mentored by their younger kin, will use real-time data transmission tools such as texting and the Internet to draw individual voices into more unified action, all the time "hiding in plain sight".  The Malaysia case is a quirky extension of our kids texting each other in the back seat of the minivan.

Gaming and College Options for Gen Y

The relevance of university education for digital gaming development is a point of ongoing debate.  Some traditional universities, such as USC and Georgia Tech, are now offering digital design majors as part of a standard 4-year college education.  Other schools, such as Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA and Full Sail in Orlando, FL teach specific development skills geared toward the gaming and digital arts without any requirements of Bio 101 or English Lit.  Which is the better way to go?

In an SF Chronicle article on Tough Competition in the Video-Gaming Jobs, Matthew Jeffrey, head of global talent for Redwood City's Electronic Arts, indicated he that prefers grads from the standard academic programs:

"I would strongly advise you to have a look at the quality of those courses," Jeffrey told a roomful of aspiring game developers. "The students - do they end up with a career in the game industry? More often than not the programs have not set up the students for success."

According to the article, some managers feel differently.  Susan Gold, chair of education for the International Game Developers Association, was quoted in the same article saying that:

"Game-focused programs give students some preparation for the industry that traditional computer science or art programs don't, notably the chance to work on teams and produce relevant portfolio materials."

Gen Yers interested in digital arts and gaming need to assess job opportunities and placement options from both types of programs.  Some Gen Yers will choose an alternate path and pursue gaming development through their own personal businesses and start-ups with friends.  The key is to figure out what skills you need and where you can get them.  Some key words in the quotes above were "teamwork" and "portfolio development".  It's not just how you develop your game, but how you work with others to enhance it and get it out to the market. 

More training resources are available than ever before for students interested in this area.  Educational institutions increasinly more amenable to having students customize their education programs.  It's up to Gen Y to work out their program interests and present them.  They may be pleasantly surprised at how colleges or specialty training institutes respond.

Gen Y as the Prematurely Affluent Generation

Parents are out shopping in force with their Gen Y kids, and they're loving it.  So are the Gen Yers.  They're convincing their parents to try trendier brands, making it easier to explain the need for those brands for themselves.   In return, the parents are nurturing an appetite for luxury goods that has never been so ravenous at such a young age.  An article in TIME Magazine's Global Millennials series states:

The millennials' appetite for luxury is good news for retailers because, as Harrison points out, "it wears off on the parents around them." One look at a college parking lot full of Audis, Saabs and BMWs demonstrates that this generation isn't waiting to "earn" its luxury products and services; it already feels entitled to them. "There's an expectation that they deserve luxury now—it's not something you wait for and earn," says James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, who is working on a survey of purchasing behavior of young women. "I call them the prematurely affluent generation."

The prematurely affluent generation might be the perpetually indebt generation, if parents don't teach money management skills. In a panel of Gen Y college students at the YPULSE College Mashup last month, most of the students indicated that they had significant credit card debt with no specific plan for paying it off.  Hope of  a high-paying job post-college was the most common solution presented.   However, another group conversation with employers of Gen Yers at the same conference indicated that Gen Yers are hopping jobs for even nominal salary increases because their salary expectations cannot be met. 

Sounds like some togetherness time around financial planning and budgeting might be a great activity before heading to the mall.  Otherwise, parents of Gen Yers should expect bill boomeranging:  The kids might not come back, but their bills will.

Millennials and the Jelly

Yesterday we had the pleasure of going to a Jelly. For those of you new to this concept, it's a casual drop-in work environment offering (1) a third-place for work;  (2) social interaction; and (3) a source of informal feedback on projects and ideas from people you may or may not know.  Jellies may be scheduled on a one-off basis, or they may have a regular schedule.  You'll find news about jellies with dates and locations on www.workatjelly.com and other coworking sites.

We talked with Jelly-ers, in this case Gen Yers, for about an hour on what they're doing. The hosts of this jelly are multipreneurs, juggling at least 3 businesses each, all of them well thought-out and with clear market potential.  None of the businesses have VC backing.  None of them required any real capital investment. Each multipreneur had at least one business venture that reflected interest in a social cause. The New Artisan Economy was alive and thriving at this Jelly.

What surprised me was that these millennials were working on both physical product and web businesses at the same time.  The co-host I spent most of my time with had figured out how to get an interesting product designed, built, distributed and sold in the marketplace, while also working on web-based service companies.  He and his colleagues were so open to opportunity and welcomed input, adjusting and refining their business concepts on a real-time basis.  A good reminder of how much information and input can be gained at meetups.

Interesting, and fun.  For you SF Bay folks, we walked along Folsom Street and found a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.  There was an organic wine store that sells sulfite-free, organic wines during the day and serves as a wine bar evenings.   Some new eateries are popping up.  It's worth an explore if you haven't been on Folsom lately.

Wish we'd had more time.  Many thanks to the Jelly hosts, Joe and Brian, for their warmth, enthusiasm and energy.  Good luck to both of you.

Gen Y goes Corporate

A lot is in the press about Gen Y in the workplace.  Much of it stems from conversations on the therapy couch as Boomers scratch their heads and try to figure out how to work with Gen Yers. 

There are a few sites out there that let us hear Gen Y's perspectives about work.  One of those sites, Newly Corporate, emphasizes info on young adults in the corporate workplace, written for and by...young adults!  Check it out and see what you think.  There's a lot of useful information for Gen Yers entering the workforce, and some interesting insights on the dynamics of work relationships and communication patterns as well.

Gen Y's Bounce

The book Bounce, by Barry Moltz, presents an interesting perspective on business failure. From his website:

Conventional business wisdom tells us that there is always something to learn from failure. Not true—sometimes it just stinks! Failure that offers no real learning value becomes a big jolt to the basic business belief system. Both success and failure are simply outcomes in the lifecycle of business where repetition is inevitable and overall process matters far more than any single event or outcome. Barry demonstrates that developing the resiliency to “bounce” through these cycles determines who ultimately will succeed. Using real life business examples, he shows that with true business confidence, we can face our fears, let go of shame and failures, use all our choices, be better risk-takers, and define our own brand of success.

Gen Yers are better at "bouncing" from failure than any other generation doing business.  They don't perceive risk as a "do-or-die" phenomenon. Risk is more like a scenario to Gen Yers. They dive in and try something. If they fail, they shake it off and try again, just like they learned to do in their scenario-based video games.  Boomers see failure as a very personal experience and often need to re-invent themselves before stepping back into the playing arena.  Gen Yers see a re-start button and go for the game another time, knowing that the course of play needs to be altered.

This is yet one more approach to entrepreneurship that the rest of the world can learn from Gen Yers.

The book Bounce, by Barry Moltz, presents an interesting perspective on business failure. From his website:

Conventional business wisdom tells us that there is always something to learn from failure. Not true—sometimes it just stinks! Failure that offers no real learning value becomes a big jolt to the basic business belief system. Both success and failure are simply outcomes in the lifecycle of business where repetition is inevitable and overall process matters far more than any single event or outcome. Barry demonstrates that developing the resiliency to “bounce” through these cycles determines who ultimately will succeed. Using real life business examples, he shows that with true business confidence, we can face our fears, let go of shame and failures, use all our choices, be better risk-takers, and define our own brand of success.

Gen Yers are better at "bouncing" from failure than any other generation doing business.  They don't perceive risk as a "do-or-die" phenomenon. Risk is more like a scenario to Gen Yers. They dive in and try something. If they fail, they shake it off and try again, just like they learned to do in their scenario-based video games.  Boomers see failure as a very personal experience and often need to re-invent themselves before stepping back into the playing arena.  Gen Yers see a re-start button and go for the game another time, knowing that the course of play needs to be altered.

This is yet one more approach to entrepreneurship that the rest of the world can learn from Gen Yers.

Gen Y in the New Artisan Economy

The third and final installment of the Intuit Future of Small Business Report was released yesterday.  This research was a collaborative effort between Emergent Research (this blog's parent), Intuit and the Institute for the Future. 

Called The New Artisan Economy , the report identifies a growing barbell-shaped economy with large global players at one end and lots of small "artisan" businesses actively weighing in to balance at the other end. On central stage in the report are artisan businesses:

"The next ten years will see a re-emergence of artisans as an economic force.

Like their medieval predecessors in pre-industrial Europe and Asia, these next-generation artisans will ply their trade outside the walls of big business, making a living with their craftsmanship and knowledge. But there also will be marked differences. In many cases, brains will replace brawn; software and technology will replace hard labor and raw materials, like iron. Yet in many respects, the result will be the same as it was centuries ago: artisans will craft not only their goods, but shape the economy with an effect reaching far beyond their neighborhoods, even their nations."

"...The coming decade will see continuing economic transformation and the emergence of a new artisan economy. Many of the new artisans will be small and personal businesses — merchant-craftsmen and women producing one of a kind or limited runs of specialty goods for an increasingly large pool of customers seeking unique, customized, or niche products. These businesses will attract and retain craftspeople, artists, and engineers looking for the opportunity to build and create new products and markets."

Key message here:  Knowledge capital is the critical resource of the 21st century.  Using new technology, the internet and and increasingly accessible global market infrastructure, individuals (and small businesses) can compete effectively in the international marketplace.

These knowledge artisans will be responsible for much of the economy's innovation since they are more agile at identifying and meeting market needs.  More and more, they will use on-demand production to fulfill consumers' desire for unique, customized products.  Their business operations will shift toward variable-costing, which lowers the start-up hurdle and reduces risk of the start-up. These personal and small businesses will partner with larger companies to provide faster turn-around on innovation.  They will also use well-established, large-company channels to market and distribute goods.  In some cases they will compete; in others, they cooperate.  But the playing field will be open and more level.

Last but not least, the New Artisan Economy will be global.  Those artisans linked globally through social networking will have an advantage in the marketplace.  Those who have transnational cultural "know-how" will have an edge as well.  With over two-thirds of US small business exporters selling to only one country, the sky is the limit in terms of tapping growth in additional markets.

What does this mean for Gen Y?  Gen Yers are innovators.  They are risk-takers.  They are entrepreneurial.  And, they're born globalists.  They will see opportunity and create new market niches that have yet to be conceived.  They will innovate on-demand production solutions to fill that new market demand. Their market strategy will be global in nature, optimizing the potential of their business.  Their innate comfort with social-networking and cultural diversity will make going global intuitive for this generation.

If you're a Gen Yer with a business (or thoughts of one), now is the time to think globally and act on your ideas.  More than any other generation, you've got the technical skills, the global social networks, and the gumption to succeed in the New Artisan Economy.