Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.

Reviewing the Pew Research Center Report "The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change." (I know I don't need to tell you that the Millennials are 18-28 year olds.) As this audience represents the vast majority of the people I "talk" to and about every day at Loopt, as well as at other companies, it's worth drilling down on what makes this generation tick.

This is a generation of adults that are confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change. They are less religious, more racially diverse, and on track to become the most educated generation in American history.

Here are some identifiers:

• 8 in 10 sleep with their cell phones by their bed.
  
• Nearly two-thirds admit to texting while driving.
  
• Three-quarters have a profile on a social networking site.
• One-in-five have posted a video of themselves online.
• Four-in-ten have a tattoo -- about half have two to five, and 18% have six or more. (70% say their tattoos are hidden beneath their clothing.
  
• One-in-four have piercings in a place other than their ear lobe
• Most have placed privacy boundaries on their social media profiles.
• 37% are unemployed, or out of the workforce; but 90% say they have enough money or that they will eventually meet their long term goals.
• Two-thirds are cautious about dealing with other people -- is the "war on terror" and other fear-mongering making this generation just less trustworthy and more cynical about their fellow human beings?
• One in four say they don't belong to a religious affiliation, but that doesn't mean they don't "believe" -- just as many pray as their elders did in their youth.
• Six-in-ten are raised by both parents.
• One-in-five are married.
• One-in-eight were 'boomeranged' back into their parents' homes due to economic circumstances.

These stats are interesting. They represent facts. You are either married. Or not. Tattoo'd. Or not. But what's even more interesting to me is their self-perception. When this generation were asked what makes their generation unique, they answered:

1. Technology use (24%)
   
2. Music/pop culture (11%)
   
3. Liberal/tolerant (7%)
   
4. Smarter (6%)
   
5. Clothes (5%)

You can read the report to see how other generations perceive themselves. Also fascinating.

The whole report provides validation for what I see every day. That the Millennial generation is the one that leads the rest of us into new forms of behavior and new technology use. From Facebook to Texting to Chatroulette. Older generations who ignore what Millennials are doing, especially in the technology arena, do so at their peril. Accept, learn, and embrace. Some of it is crazy. All of it is truly fascinating.

Tracking buzz with Viralheat

I'm a little bit loving Viralheat right now.

Viralheat will search the online world for mentions keywords, phrases, and brand names you choose. I'm fairly new to it, but I like the way it gives me charts so I can see the up and down moves in search terms so I see directly buzz increasing after a particular campaign.

My favorite part? The price! I'm just trying it out on the $9/month package right now. I'll move that up if it works out. But seriously. Most startups can't even consider the hundreds of dollars a month for fabulous stuff like Radian6. I wish I could. Honestly do. But it's not realistic.

Developing a social media strategy

Millions of bytes of information already exist out there covering how to approach building a social media strategy. Few come with the street cred of Charlene Li and Jeremiah Owyang.

Check out this excellent article "Developing a Social Strategy." Step through the slides. Key takeaways:

• First listen and learn
• Engage, but focus on sharing and watching
• Look at ways to support your customers and help them solve their problems
• Engage your customers in your innovation -- what are their ideas?
• Start small, focusing on one business goal where social media can have an impact -- and gauge success by how well you reached the business goal
  
• Practice and preach openness -- this takes courage!

Their follow on "Understand Your Customers' Social Behaviors" is also worth a look. Their report focuses on how it's important to conduct research to identify the social behaviors of your customers before you do anything. For example, identify:

• Where customers are online (use surveys, brand monitoring)
• Who customers trust (surveys)
• Who customers influence (surveys, brand monitoring)
• How customers use social tools in the context of your products

Once you understand, the plan can be built.