Generation Y 2.0

A number of leading analysts and writers are forecasting their view on the impact that a downturn may have on Generation Y. Some day that this will have a sobering effect on these carefree individuals. Many say that it is Generation X or other generations that may suffer most but with the carefree spending habits of the Y, are we about to see who really is the going to make it through a ‘survival of the fittest’ ?

According to a National Survey of Young Australians ,  the Generation Y are likely to be taking the credit crunch pretty hard due to their dependence on credit cards and spending patterns.  But for a group of students interviewed by The Observer newspaper in Birmingham, UK where affluence is potentially at a stretch, who were asked what the credit crunch meant to them, many were heard to reply “not much”.

There are also reports, such as that by the  UK Association of Graduate Recruiters that despite the gloomy outlook on the job market, they would still consider moving jobs to improve their work-life balance.  Complaints about managers pushing GenY employees into longer hours have also been increasing in recent months.

But all is not lost as author Ron Alsop believes that Generation Y will knuckle down and grab the perceived safer jobs in public and not-for-profit sectors and hold back on starting their own businesses.  Or will they?

The upside? With an increasing number of retiring baby boombers, there are still skill shortages. Our GenY are often still mortgage and family free, making them potentially mobile.  Creativity, teamwork and social networking never became more important and these guys have such talents in spades.

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Two analysts from Forrester Research, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, have an interesting blog called “Groundswell, Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies”, with an associated book.

What is a groundswell? Technically by definition it is:

1.  
   A sudden social gathering of force, as of public opinion, or
   A broad deep undulation of the ocean, often caused by a distant storm

In this case, it is all about the wave of rapidly growing use of social technologies such as YouTube, Facebook, podcasts, wikis, blogs, and other online communities, etc. This ‘social evolution’ is more important, more profound than the technology evolutions we have seen in the past; the 2.0 society seems to be progressing faster than we’ve seen with Web 2.0 itself.

In line with the growth of online technology, the core of the authors’ work in Groundswell is the analysis of a comprehensive North American study of their customers’ social technology adoption behabviours. This resulted in the creation of a ‘Social Technographics Ladder’, classifying the level of adoption from the ‘inactives’ who remain untouched by this social revolution through to a scale of ‘actives’:

The Inactives – Those who don’t participate in any kind of online social activity
The Spectators – Who digest websites, blogs, forums, videos and/or podcasts
The Joiners – They surf and have a profile or two on social networking sites
The Collectors – Are picking up RSS feeds, tagging and booking/voting for web pages
The Critics – Typically contribute to forums, comment on blogs, and edit material on wikis
The Creators – Publish their own blogs and websites, and paste their videos or materials to sites such as Technorati or YouTube

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Generation Y will be found at the centre of Online Educa Berlin 2008 in December, the biggest and 14th International Conference on e-learning in the private, education and pubic sectors. 

The conference opens on 4th December with a plenary session by keynote speaker Michael ‘the explainer’ Wesh, a cultural anthropologist and specialist in the effects of new media on human interaction. His works on ‘digital enthnography’ have been seen around the world, regularly on YouTube. Wesch took over from Norbert Boltz, professor at the Technical University of Berlin, where he holds a chair in media sciences. He is known in Germany for one of the most important studies and trends review about the web generation.

Right from the opening of the conference, Generation Y will be presented as the principal theme of the discussions with examples from universities, colleges and training schools. Contributions will be provided from Belgium, Canada, UK, South Africa and Spain.

To find out more see Online Educa 2008

Members of this generation seek their parents’ input on key decisions and especially about a new job. As a recruiter you need to anticipate this, accept parental involvement as a given, and make the most of it.

Like it or not, parents are an inevitable part of the process of recruiting members of Generation Y. Most members of this generation seek their parents’ input on key decisions; virtually no Y will accept an offer of employment without first calling home to discuss the pros and cons with his or her parents. You should anticipate this, accept parental involvement as a given, and make the most of it.

Your goal should be to make sure that when that Y calls home, he or she hears three magic words: “Good choice, honey.” Your company needs to have a “parent-approved” employer brand.

To read more on Business Week