FreshNetworks Blog

There’s been a lot of talk about Generation Y recently. Indeed our sister company, FreshMinds Talent, published a report in conjunction with Management Today about how Generation Y differs from Generation X in the workplace. And today I was interested to read a post from ReadWriteWeb about Why Gen Y is going to change the web.

They cite five reasons why Gen Y’ers are different from Baby Boomers or Gen X’ers:

1. They’re plugged in - Gen Y’ers grew up around computers and are more used to them than anybody else. They can multi-task and will happily surf the web whilst watching TV.
2. TV isn’t king - They don’t watch TV as obsessively as those that came before them. They’re unlikely to be rushing home to catch the latest episode of a hit programme. For them, it’s often just ‘background noise’.
3. They don’t care about your ad; they care about what their friend thinks - recent research from Forrester suggests that people are much more likely to trust the advice of somebody they know than any other influence when buying a product. It’s why word of mouth and advocacy are so important, especially for the lucrative Gen Y’ers.
4. Work isn’t their whole world - Work is no longer their identity, in fact they are more likely to define the place they work than work is to define them. This is a shift we also see with brands - rather than consumers being defined by the brand, brands are defined by who buys them. They’re also not likely to follow instructions blindly, they’re not known as Generation Why for nothing.
5. They’re socially conscious -Gen Y’ers care about the world. They keep up to date with the environment, politics and social causes. Overall they think they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Gen Y grew up with the web and so what they want from the web, and how they use it, will define how it develops in the future. This is a generation that is socially conscious and socially networked. They are more likely to watch TV online or on YouTube than on traditional broadcast channels. They expect their work environment to mirror the kind of tools they use in their personal life. And they want access to be mobile; really mobile.

Ignoring Gen Y is something that we cannot afford to do. They are the driving force behind the changes in the way we use the web, the way we market products and the way we engage with consumers. Powerful stuff!

I promise this is my last Twitter post for a while (well maybe!)

Today was the second day of the first Test between England and New Zealand. And I was able to follow the entire match on Twitter. I remember summers where people illicitly listened to cricket on the radio in the office or where the network stalled as everybody tried to watch it on demand. But now there’s no need. If you follow Test Match Special on Twitter, then updates are sent to your feed in real time.

I love the way that people are experimenting with Twitter at the moment (see earlier post on how Twitter spread news of the Earthquake in China). It’s always struck me that too often people embrace new technology by trying to use the same content they had previously, just conveying it in a different medium. Something like using Twitter alongside the radio coverage of the match is ideal and a real innovation. Rather than just broadcasting the radio feed online, use a medium that is designed for short messages that are regularly updated. Also if you get it right, as the BBC did today, you can adopt a more personal tone on Twitter and engage consumers in a more intimate way.

The broadcasting industry is going to face a few significant challenges in the future with the growth of on-demand services and of multi-channel TV. Real innovation in the way they connect with viewers is going to be critical for survival. Today the BBC did just that.