Are Generation Y'ers more powerful than we realise?

These Generation Y'ers  - also known as the Thumb Generation and the Net Generation - have more power than people realise......and they know it. Part of the differences between X & Y generations is down to the inbuilt attitude they have to life, and the type of care free approach they have. They are not interested in buying houses ( they can't afford to anyway), they want to experience life and enjoy themselves - and trying to recruit them will be a challenge!

But there is a very forward thinking individual that has seen the vision to harness the power of the Generation Y'ers - it is the US Democratic Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama. In a great article by Bea Fields she has shown how Barack Obama has blatantly targeted this generation to win votes in his battle with Hilary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination, and it seems that the creativity and foresight he ( or his team!) has shown it to be a successful strategy so far in the race for the White House.

Can you imagine the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, using YouTube to deliberately deliver his message to the people? or keeping a website continually updated every hour with the latest news? or attending an Usher concert instead of political event? Well of course the answer to all three is 'absolutely not', as you probably guessed!!  But if one of the (potentially) most important leaders of the world has seen the power of the Y Generation, why is it that so many companies are just not paying attention? Why are they dragging their heals when it comes to things like corporate social networks and blogs? They will be the first to complain when they are losing the talent to their competitors!!

Comments

[Bea Fields]

Andy,

Great post. Yes...I agree. If someone like Obama is getting results, then why wouldn't others use this same approach. The Millennials are our future, and we need to get with the program!

Thanks for your thoughts.

Bea