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Here Come the Millennials

At my last agency -- Eastwick Communications, where I joined full time in 2002 -- I used to joke that I was old enough to be the father of my staff.  Seemed strange to some folks, but it was true -- I would remind people that I am Puerto Rican, and many Puerto Ricans of my generation began breeding much, much younger.   In 2002, I was 44, and that was the year that my son Isaac was born.  That same year, my cousin Yvette (same age as me) had a granddaughter ... her third.   

Just so happens that Isaac belongs to a new generation recently dubbed as the "millennials," people born between the years 1982 and 2003 and who have been entering the professional workforce over the past five-six years.  They are, of course, the children of the people in my generation (and the one following).   So it's no longer even a question that I'm old enough to be father of my staff -- even a late-bloomer/baby boomer like me should expect to see our young-un's knocking down our doors. As far as I can tell, there are at least three millennials at The Conversation Group, and I am sure there will be many more, soon.   

But I gotta tell you, this generational shift feels great.  And as much as I loathe  big conceits (and "millennials" is a big one), I'm impressed with how this generation has been defined, most intelligently by Morley Winograd and Michael Hais in a new book that's getting a lot of press: 

--like many of their parents, millennials are idealistic.

--unlike many of their parents, the are less likely to become idealogues; they are doers and problem solvers, not dreamers.

--on the whole, they are progressive.  According to the authors, they are "the first generation in at least three or four in which there are more self-identified liberals than conservatives."

--they grew up on Macs and PCs, and they are the principal drivers of the collaborative Internet.   People from my generation may have  helped to invent the idea, but the millennials are the first to truly embrace its potential, en masse.

--they like to mix play with work, an observation Don Tapscott made in Wikinomics.  And who can blame them?  This generation is always working, on some level.

OK, big generalizations, but here's one more (my own):  they like playing music in the office.   It makes all the difference at a busy place like The Conversation Group.  Retails stores, coffee shops, and other "experience-based" businesses figured it out a long time ago.  I was wondering when the rest of the business world would catch up.  Must have been dreaming when it finally happened.

The Four-Hour Work Week

Tim Ferriss's new book launched this week and already it is #10 on Amazon. Gotta love the title -- I spend at least four hours a week just cleaning out my email inbox. Clearly, this is a book I need to read. But when will I find the time?

Congrats to Tim.

History -- The Next Big Thing?

Great article by Katie Hafner in today's New York Times about the big challenges historians and librarians face in digitizing historical records. Main issue? Expense. Consequence: our understanding of the past may forever be biased and skewed around the information that can be digitized.

"If researchers conclude that the only valuable records they need are those that are online they will be missing major parts of the story," said James J. Hastings, director of access programs at the National Archives. "And in some cases they will miss the story altogether."

Three things to think about:

*The social-media revolution has greatly extended our intellectual reach across various disciplines. I believe that it will also extend our reach backwards into history, and forward, into the future. The future is tough, but historical records are all around us. History may become the next big thing.

*Hafner notes that the expense of digitizing the past is overwhelming, even with the help of corporate benefactors like Google. But what if a group of organizations teamed up to recruit citizens around the globe to do their part? Only a few days ago, I complained about the naivete of citizen-based projects. But a project like this might work because the stakes are so high, and people might be motivated. There is civic -- not corporate -- value here. In the meantime, an enterprising technologist might want to think about teaming up with leaders in the OpenCourseWare and local-history movements.

*If ever something like this were to happen, it might open the doors to new kinds of digital intelligence. Think "H.I." -- historical intelligence, like "BI," business intelligence. A great, distributed database of historical text, sound and image would provide the foundation for applications that might help us not only to understand the past, but perhaps even peer into the future. As the old saw goes, "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana). But those who deeply understand the past may help point the way.

Matthew Hurst: A Picture of the Blogosphere

Read about it here.

Only thing that's missing: a "You Are Here" label.

Regis McKenna Podcast

Saw this coming -- Jennifer Jones interviews Regis McKenna. Also check out this Regis McKenna video.

Regis is one of the early innovators in tech marketing, and his approach to customer relationships is probably more relevant today than ever.

E.B. White at the Cineplex

At la familia Tanovitz-Rodriguez, we're reaching the end of our annual holiday break, and the highlight today was a father-and-son trip to the cineplex to see Charlotte's Web. I had forgotten that the author of this children's classic (and I am using the word classic carefully here) -- E.B. White -- is co-author of the writer's reference classic, The Elements of Style. Nice way to end a year in communications -- it's a story told with the beauty and simplicity that the wordsmith advocated throughout his career.

Can Shel Israel Cross the Chasm?

Shel Israel, a Hubbub friend and advisor, has a new outline for his upcoming book, Global Neighborhoods. I've counseled Shel to focus the book for the same market that reads the great business-qua-sociology tomes like The Tipping Point, The Wisdom of Crowds, and Freakonomics. Glad to see he is doing that. There are many good books on social media -- including Naked Conversations, Shel's first book, which he co-wrote with Robert Scoble -- but not one has crossed the chasm to the mass market. It's not an easy journey, but if anyone can do it, it's Shel. Will be fun to watch the project progress.

The crossing the chasm metaphor may sound forced here, but it is fitting. Shel studied at the "University of Regis McKenna," the same place that graduated Andy Cunningham, Jennifer Jones, Elaine Cummings (my former partner at Eastwick), and yes, Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm, which is perhaps the first PR book to ever cross the chasm (though, some might argue, Vance Packard's The Hidden Persuaders, crossed first).

I mention all these great PR folks to make a point -- the University of Regis McKenna is alive and kicking. Regis's legacy -- relationship marketing -- is more important today than during the heyday of his consultancy. And no one is kicking harder than Shel.

New York Times Year in Ideas (2006)

I've been following this special issue for several years, and this year's is by far the best. The Times scans the scientific, artistic and business worlds to find the best and brightest thinking. This year, it feels as though Malcolm Gladwell, James Surowiecki and the Freakonomics guys -- the great apologist/translators of social science for the masses -- gathered at the editorial table. Common threads: we're getting smarter about physical spaces, virtual spaces, and how we communicate in all spaces. Our favorite blurbs:

The Aerotropolis. Airports are becoming cities. Saw this one coming; how many times have you or a client wished you could have held the meeting at the airport?

Bicycle Helmets Put You at Risk. Why? A study suggests drivers assume helmet-clad riders know what they are doing (therefore drivers are less careful).

Cohabitation is Bad for Women's Health. Have often wondered about this. I remember hearing of a study (a while back) that concluded single women were the second happiest group among adults (married men are the happiest).

Digital Maoism. I have written about this -- a fine article by Jason Lanier that argues that the age of collaboration has given us the "hive mind."

The Eyes of Honesty. If you think you are being watched -- even if you are not -- you will behave more ethically.

The Hidden-Fee Economy. Nothing is free, and smart folks are getting hip to this. Marketers beware.

Homophily. We tend to like and trust "people like us." But we are better off when we stretch.

Jujitsu Advertising. How marketers are getting around TiVo: use another channel of communication to get people excited about watching the commercial. I believe that Beer Ape is a good example of the same principle.

The Myth of "the Southern Strategy." How a good story can distort the truth.

Negativity Friendships. Many people get together because of what or whom they dislike. See our recent note about the "Rachael Ray Sucks" community. Same principle.

Psychological Neotony. Your dad with the iPod may embarrass you, but his youthfulness may in fact be genuine. According to Bruce Charlton from Newcastle University (U.K.): "In a psychological sense, some contemporary individuals never actually become adults."

Speed-Reducing Art. People in cars will slow down to look at things.

Taxing Virtual Economies. Viirtual currency might be the next big thing, as I said last week. Makes sense that people are already thinking of ways to tax the new commerce.

Voting-Booth Feng Shui. Study suggests that "where you vote may significantly influence how you vote."

The YouTube Referee Indictment. A great example of peer adjudication -- the crowd can assemble to decide whether something is wrong or is right, and video makes it all so alarmingly easy. Marketers beware.

Christmas at Chris and Kristie's

Great time last night at holiday event # 2 -- a party at the home of Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells. Several fun conversations. Highlights:

*Spoke with political consultant Maureen E. Allen, who has fought more than one disappointing battle on behalf of the Democratic Party. We fantasized about the next presidential election.

*Met Dogster founder Ted Rheingold. Someone asked Ted if he'll be looking at other animal markets (e.g., horses, rabbits, lemurs). "We can sit five years on Dogster and not be done," says Ted. He's got a point. Niche is rich, and the Dogster site is howling (sister site Catster is mewing).

*Tom Foremski showed up around 10:00 and I spent a good ninety minutes with him. Always good talking to Tom, who's one of the funniest yet most real bloggers you are likely to meet. We spoke about several minor disruptions that are yet to come -- e.g., disruption to the wire-service market, disruption to the VNR market (if it hasn't happened already), and, of yes, to the PR market (one of his favorite topics). We also wondered if the Valley might be ready for a high-quality, independent video journalism enterprise. Doubt it could be formatted a la 60 Minutes -- we lack the attention span on the Web -- but I'm confident people would watch.