I had a great conversation last night with Matthew O. Brimer of Go Cross Campus . These guys are amazing, and they are bringing a new online social game to colleges and universities across the country. The game has caught my eye, as it teaches a wide variety of leadership and strategic skills (just by playing the game!)  If you have not read the article in the New York Times from earlier in the year, you can read it here:  Storming the Campuses.

If you are interested in your college or university participating, contact Matthew O. Brimer at matt@gocrosscampus.com

About Matthew O. Brimer

Matthew O. Brimer is a sociology and economics major at Yale University. Brimer is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of GoCrossCampus (GXC), a massively multiplayer team-based social gaming platform. Brimer currently serves at Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer of Yale Entrepreneurial Society, and has coordinated marketing efforts for Apple Inc., Osborne Recruitment in Ireland, and several on-campus student organizations. Brimer has also helped lead past startups, including an antique furniture procurement, auction and distribution business; an online audio time capsule community; and a centralized database for archiving transitional justice and human rights documents from around the world.

 

 Matthew O Brimer [30:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I must be asked this question several times a day. Even by some of the best marketers in the business. My answer is always the same ‘talk to Gen Y,’ they don’t bite. And remember the way you learned about products and services is not the way they learn about products and services. So, don’t ask me what is the right type of TV commercial to run? Or what the right direct mail campaign is? Direct mail? The young whipper snappers I work with don’t write checks, don’t receive bank statements. They ‘do it online.’ But don’t take my word for it. Just ask them. Don’t look at them or treat them like they are from another planet.When we wrote our book, we went right to the source and ask Gen Y how they like to be communicated with.  To be honest, I hate when I see blogs and online articles that say the best way to market to Gen Y is to have cool and hip products. Those were words I used in high school and I am an old guy. But then again, what do I know. I did a Google Search on ‘Cool and Gen Y’ and ended up with over 600,000 results. Note, however, when I ask a Gen  Yer what type of product they like the words ‘cool and hip’ never come up. So there seems to be a disconnect here, eh? 

My son, Jack, won the N.C. Amateur yesterday, and I want to say “Congratulations Jack. You have worked for a long time to make this happen!” He showed true leadership, and we are very excited for him.

Read the full article in the Raleigh News and Observer

Great story of inspiration about how Gen Y is changing our world.

NASA Gen Y Presentation Inspires Canadian Space Exploration

“Forget stories about tension and misunderstandings. Y’s and Boomers are finding that they enjoy spending time together—and learning from each other.”

Read the full article here on Business Week. 

I had someone ask me yesterday what I thought about the Miley Cyrus situation (like I am some expert on pop culture). But…I have to admit that I do follow pop culture closely, because it always offers insight into what some of the greater concerns are for Generation Y (and to me, it’s just fun to follow). While I know our pop tarts are not a true representation of “regular life”, their lives are blown up enough for us to learn a few things from them.

To be honest, as a parent who has had my ups and downs, I have to say that we will all never know the full story of what really went on during the photo shoot, nor would I ever want to pass judgment on the situation . When I look at the slideshow of the photo shoot, it appears to me that Miley and her family were very present and in control of the situation. And…the photos with the sheet show Miley at least wearing jeans underneath. It is also quite well known that Annie Liebowitz does not play it safe as a photographer, and she is a well-respected photographer. The Cirus family is smart…they’ve been doing this a long time, and my hunch is they knew a lot going into this, so I really have more questions than answers.

I would just leave this one question to all Gen Y’s to consider “If your actions, photos, facebook comments or e-mail conversations end up on the front of the newspaper (or in this case Vanity Fair), will you be okay with it?” Also…just know that our Gen Y’s brains are not fully developed until age 21, so even though our kids say they don’t want direction or advice from their parents, they will be grateful later on that you cared enough to step in and guide them along the way. As I always tell my kids who are all Gen Y’s…”I’m  a pain, because I love you. Would you rather I not say anything, because I don’t care about you?” They always say “No…I guess I would rather you care.”

Jacci Schiff is an amazing Gen Y leader.  She hit the streets two weeks ago in Washington D.C. for Y Talk Radio to ask a few Gen Y’s about their views on the state of the economy.  Really insightful interview. Download the interview here.

Jacci is a pro with interview style podcasts and pulled this great snippet together in less than a week.  So, check out what she is up to.  And…if you are interested in having a professionally done audio interview like this one, contact Jacci through the Schiff Report.

The podcast below includes the above linked interview and a few other thoughts from Jacci about Gen Y and the state of the economy from a recent interview on Y Talk.  Thanks Jacci for all you are doing!

 

 Y Talk Economy [35:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

An article appeared on the AP yesterday about Yoani Sanchez who is the author for the Blog Generacion Y in Cuba.  The site, which grabs 1 million visitors daily, offers visitors uncensored views about the Cuban government.  Yoani is actually a Gen X (she was born in 1975), and the blog is named Generacion Y after people whose names begin in Y, but this story is an interesting one and worth checking out.  Sanchez does offer insights into teen life in Cuba as well as some great rants.  The English translation version is here. 

Some fresh faces…Gen Y’s who are making a significant mark on the biz world…Just expect more of this to come!

Congratulations!

Faces of the Future 

It was a glorious day yesterday. Trevor Immelman, age 28, walked home with a green jacket on his back.

And here come the young superstars! Congratulations Trevor. You were amazing!

Millennial Leaders