00:00 - Yin starts us off - introductions all round
00:36 - The tumbleweed crosses the alamo
01:17 - What do we expect of brands if they are involved in social media?
01:28 - Brian’s expectations are low, he just wants someone to talk to him
03:06 - If brands decide to be online, then they owe it to the customer to interact with them
04:10 - The minimum expectation is at least and acknowledgement or a reply, even if the concern or question isn’t immediately answered.
05:23 - Maybe sometimes brands shouldn’t be on social media?
06:12 - Yin suggests there’s a difference between big brands and smaller brands in terms of the scale of reaching out and interacting with customers
07:01 - Yinqi says with the resources that big brands have, she feels they should experiment more
07:29 - Brian mentions the flip side, which is that big brands have more to lose in terms of reputation online, despite the relative ease to get involved
09:17 - Brian clanks his beer bottle against the table leg for effect, before saying that brands don’t own brands, customers own brands
10:53 - Daryl brings up the local example of Starhub on Twitter and whether it opens up the opportunity to solve minor issues
11:54 - Brian brings up the reverse of that to announce anticipation of minor issues in advance so that at least consumers know
13:08 - Kris says one to one relationships aren’t always possible, especially with many consumers
16:13 - The issue really is about being painfully aware that your actions online (if you choose to be online) is broadcast to everyone
16:54 - The customer is now empowered to keep brands in check
20:59 - Yin wonders why brands still repeat mistakes, despite many opportunities for them to learn
22:04 - The tools are of equal access to everyone, it’s how your choose to wield the tools
22:24 - Brian says “nerfed”
22:56 - Daryl has the expectation (realistic or not) that brands should know the general “rules” of the platform they choose to engage consumers in
23:58 - What about companes’ expectations of consumers?
26:41 - Maybe companies need to make it clear what to expect from their online engagements
27:00 - Brian tells his Zappos story as an example of positive engagement
29:20 - Yin calls for feedback and questions and more interaction!
If you’d like us to talk about anything and hear Gen Y’s perspective, leave a comment and we’ll definitely record it if it’s within our collective sphere of knowledge.
This is a quick overview of Day One of Youth Connect! which I had the privilege of attending and being a panelist at today, and I had a really good time.
For the first time in a long time, I could listen to people who actually knew their stuff go up there and tell us about their social media efforts, demonstrate some form of ROI, and hold up under scrutiny. I admit I was all ready to roll my eyes in cynicism when a speaker went up and said he was well-versed in digital marketing with an advertising agency, but then he actually knew what he was talking about. Very different from some speakers who just talk a lot, but don’t really say anything.
So my highlight was really speaking at the youth panel with four other people from the other universities, and I have to give Graham Perkins (@grayperks)props for really revving up the crowd even though it was the last session of the day. It was by far the most interactive session I’ve had the chance to speak at, and I think the smaller size of the conference helped people get used to one another and ask questions.
One thing that I “feel” intuitively at this conference, is that people understand more about social media than they did a year ago. The types of questions I had to answer a year ago and the types of questions I had to answer today, were quite different, and basic knowledge of what Facebook is, what Twitter is, what iPhones can do, can be pretty much be assumed, which makes a lot of difference when you’re trying to answer questions without leaving anyone behind.
As always, my favourite topic of newspapers came up again (which I will blog about soon), and I did have to answer one question about the effectiveness of advertising, and whether youth actually notice them. The room gave a slightly audible gasp when I told them Gen Y is pretty much trained to “ignore” interruptive marketing and advertising, but I think it’s not an exaggeration to say that.
When one other attendee asked if anyone of the five of us saw a physical ad (print, tv, outdoor) and went online to do research on that product or service based on the ad, the answer was a resounding no. So there you have it.
Lots of other stuff I want to talk about, a few great case studies that I really enjoyed listening to, I hope to blog them soon. It’s going to be Youth Connect! Week on the blog this week, but I think you’ll enjoy reading about it.
I will say this about the organisers: It’s not a big event, but I think they brought in great speakers. Companies who paid money to attend this (especially in this recession), should be very satisfied with the value they got out of it.
If you’ve been following me on Twitter or Plurk, you may have gathered hints about a podcast coming your way.
Well, it’s here! It’s called Genny (pronounced Jenny - you have Krisandro to thank for the name) and the deal behind the podcast is that we decided to just get a handful of people from Generation Y in Singapore, and just really talk about what’s going on. Sometimes it’ll be about social media, sometimes it won’t be.
First, let me introduce the people in this podcast:
GennY Episode 1 Team
Krisandro, myself, Dorothy, Yin and Yinqi make up the people behind this episode, but it’s a revolving team and the voices will change from time to time, depending on who’s available to record the show. (Big thanks to Ingrid for putting together the graphic!)
As our first episode goes, this is pretty raw because we just sat in a room and talked into a laptop (Anyone wants to sponsor us proper podcast equipment?), but I hope you enjoy it anyway. It can only get better.
The show notes:
00:00 - Krisandro starts us off - introductions all round
00:53 - The topic: How is Gen Y different in the work force?
01:28 - Will Gen Y mindset change during the recession?
02:26 - Gen Y has no qualms with changing jobs, even in a recession
03:39 - Perhaps Gen Y feels there isn’t enough recognition at work
05:08 - Did the media influence Gen Y’s outlook on life?
07:56 - How is Gen Y different outside the workspace in peer-to-peer interactions?
09:57 - How does online interaction affect offline interaction?
10:51 - Krisandro claims he’s 19
11:01 - Are there different norms that apply online and offline?
11:58 - Maybe it’s easier for us to verify if people are weirdos online
15:10 - Blooper!
Please check out the podcast here and give us your feedback! If you’d like us to cover a certain topic, just drop a message in the comments. Thanks for your support!
I’ve been volunteering at my secondary school scout troop with a few of my friends since 2005 and among “management”, we’re the most junior, the rest being school teachers. The difficulty that plagued us forever was that we were very scattered. Some were in school (and within that group, different schools), some teachers, some working adults. As a result, with the exception of physical meetings, it was very hard for us to share information that required decisions to be made.
The one singular thing that got on my nerves the most, was how documents (and meeting minutes in particular) were continuously sent via email. Some people had multiple email addresses, when the documents were updated people frequently referred to different versions thus creating a lot of confusion.
Thus in April, 2008, our wiki was born, primarily to deal with the issues of documents. A file dump, if you will.
I had to sell the idea upwards, but luckily there was little to no resistance to it. The problem though, only one other person and myself were actually using it.
Fast forward to 2009 and now we have a full-blown “Project E” (that stands for electronic) team, with the mission to fully digitise everything within the unit where possible. It’s a great feeling to see the team (most of whom are 18 or 19) embracing the tools and really realising that it is a hugely beneficial alternative to anything we’ve used before.
So we’re having proper meetings now to work out the kinks. How should the pages be used? Are we going to develop a template for our “project” pages?
And the biggest question of all: How do we get everyone - not just the Project E team - to really use this as an organisational tool?
It’s interesting to see how the wiki has developed from a file dump to an actual tool. Just having one practical usage has led to further exploration and incremental usage.
I’m going to keep blogging about this story as it progresses. Right now we’re trying to get everyone from the Gen Y segment on it, next stop, the “older” segment (aka the teachers). I can’t wait to see if it will happen.
One very valid rebuttal from the comments (and indeed, one that Diane Tucker alludes to in her post) is that mainstream newspapers need to be around to publish news online in the first place, in order for us to be pointed to them. Additionally, the advantage of the papers is the depth and analysis that can theoretically be reaped, which can offset the speed of online news.
All good in theory, but I still have an issue. Yesterday there were two people who were talking about how they were interviewed by mainstream media, and how what they said were either taken out of context or edited in such a way that their original points weren’t made in the original manner.
First of all, let me say, I get it. That’s their job. No one wants to read about a “fine and dandy” newspaper piece. If that’s the tone of the article, somehow it’s in the journalists’ interest to try their best to switch things around and make it more “newsworthy”.
But here’s the thing: As more and more of these instances happen, and more and more of the people interviewed use the internet as their “channel” to get their side of the story out, how much beating will journalists (and by extension, newspapers) credibility take?
How long will it be before all of us being interviewed bring along a Flip cam to record the entire interview, and then repost that online as raw footage to capture the essence of what was said, and use it as a comparative study with the shadow of that essence that journalists twist it into? It is already so easy to create original content and post it up online, and can only get easier as technology improves. Will this have to be the new way of “fact checking” the media?
How many of us, who will be communicating with the media in five, ten, fifteen years, will have unpleasant instances with journalists, combined with the rise of digital media and distribution (yes, it will happen), and begin to avoid the journalists whenever possible?
How many journalists will continue to, for the sake of a “story”, mold their “angle” at the expense of a good, professional relationship with the person at the other end of the interview?
How long before this we see a “blacklist” of journalists guilty of consistently shaping a story to suit their angle, and use that as a warning system to other communication professionals a la Chris Anderson’s PR blacklist?
Of course, I don’t write this post saying everyone in journalism acts this way. As with every profession, there will be the irresponsible and the responsible. Fortunately (or unfortunately, for journalists), that industry is one that is under scrutiny right now, and such acts are not as easy to get away with.
I’ve had great newspaper articles in which I was quoted as a source, and I would not hesitate to help when such a relationship is built on trust, but the more I hear about people being disappointed about how journalists have twisted their words, the more I feel wary about journalists I don’t know.
It’s not about control of the message anymore. In a few years, when it’ll be easy enough to set up a [Company X] channel, it might not even be about reach anymore. The temptation of bypassing mainstream media channels can only grow, and how responsibly or irresponsibly the mainstream media “gatekeepers” act, may well be a determining factor on how big or small that temptation is.
As a graduating student, it’s hard to go by a day without someone asking “have you found a job?” or talking to a fellow graduating student about job prospects, job hunting efforts or the like. On Monday, it hit me that I have officially eight weeks (or two months) to go, before I hit my last day of school in SMU.
I don’t know how big deal getting a first job is for most people, but it’s a huge deal for me. I’ve had friends who got a job early after graduation, or even before graduation, but find themselves in another job after a year. Some will say that’s experience, I see it as a waste of time. Call me the typical Gen Y-er, but if you’re not waking up happy to go to work every morning, why are you going to work?
As much as I’m eager to get a job and not be unemployed for moths on end, I feel it has to be the right one. Or as right as possible, given the current economic climate.
I can’t speak for the rest of my friends, but I have different expectations when it comes to work. Many of my cohort think about money, I think about fit. Many think about how fast they can get to the next pay bracket, I think about culture. Perhaps it’s idealistic, but I figure it’s better to think about these things now and aim for them, rather than “wake up” figuratively after three or five years, realising that you weren’t working for what you wanted all along.
So what are my options? Knowing my passions and skill sets, and graduating with a business degree majoring in marketing and communications (specifically, digital media) I see myself doing one of five things:
1) Working in media
It could be a TV station, radio station, record label or publication. If it deals with media, I’m for it. If it deals with digital media, music and/or youth, all the better. I did two stints at MTV Asia and at least specific to those experiences, I think it would be something I would really enjoy. Granted, people with business degrees don’t usually end up with such fields, but in this day and age, I think it’s a plus to have someone from business school who can understand the value of delivering results/ROI over artistry. Additionally, many of these traditional media channels need to adapt to digital, an avenue I could potentially add value to.
2) Working in a company interested in a social media strategy
This is a no brainer considering the content of my blog. Admittedly, I would go into this with no “real” experience as measured by conventional businesses. But I’d wager I could bring more to a social media strategy than a Gen X-er who doesn’t get what social media, community and conversation is about. The difficulty here, besides the thorny “experience” issue, is finding the “fit” with a company that is genuinely interested in embracing a social media strategy for the long run, and working in one that is truly going to bring about change, as opposed to doing it because digital is the new TV.
3) Working in PR
Another semi-no brainer. It is after all my major and I did have a very short stint at Waggener Edstrom doing digital PR. Difficulty here is similar to #2. Working in PR should be a fairly straightforward thing. Working in an agency that is truly embracing digital and not doing it for the sake of doing it, will be difficult.
4) Teaching
Teaching used to be a “long term” end goal of mine. Given the conditions, maybe I’d go into it earlier than I thought. Youth is a passion and I’ve been helping out back in SJI for four years. I know the fantastic feeling it is to bring boys from secondary one to secondary four, and the pride I took in the journey is immense. The tradeoff? Transferring back to the corporate world may not be easy.
5) Starting something myself
You may have read about Claudia’s new company, 24seven in the papers yesterday. I think doing something like that requires a lot of guts and a lot of sacrifice. I’m convinced there’s a market who wants the stuff people like Claudia and myself can provide. I just wonder if it’s big enough, and how long it would take to pay itself off.
What about you graduating students? What do you want to do? What’s more important to you in life right now? Just finding any job with the hopes of switching once the economy picks up? Or trying to find that elusive “right” one?
Just about a month ago, I got an email from Ryan Paugh, community manager at Brazen Careerist to join their community. It was a great personalised message, telling me how painless it would be to sign up, and that it would be a great place to meet other Gen Y bloggers and that I could always go to him if I had any questions. A great welcoming email.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I saw fellow bloggers Meg Roberts and Corvida Raven and figured it should be pretty cool.
After creating my profile, I submitted a load of stuff and had problems with getting my info saved, so I decided to leave it. Within a couple of days I got an email from Dan Healy letting me know I should update my rss feed so that I could pipe my recent activity to Brazen. So I did. Soon after, I got a blog post featured on the site. Although I’ve been caught up in exams and traveling after that, Brazen has been high on my Google Reader priorities and I try to comment and participate as much as I can.
Why am I blogging about this? Firstly, to share a new connection to a community that I have discovered (or rather, discovered me), which I enjoy very much and more importantly, to tell you why this matters.
One of the links I shared a couple of weeks ago was how to establish a community’s culture, with points like communicating with members, recognising positive contribution as heavily weighted actions that work. If you read my experience with Brazen, you can be sure that these elements were definitely part of it.
If you’re a company hearing lots about this “community” buzzword, learn something from this case study. Community does not equate to sending people mails saying “hi my site is the coolest ever, come join it”. And leaving the site to rot after getting 20,000 people to join it doesn’t make it a success either. If you can’t come to terms with this and aren’t going to be bothered to spend the effort, Don’t bother.
Do you have similar case studies and/or experiences to share? Are you on Brazen Careerist too? Drop me a comment!
Traveling week means just enough time for a quick round of links
Millennials
My dad sent me this article from Business Week titled “The Millennials Invade the Business Schools“, in a follow-up piece, Queen’s University (where I was attending until recently) was ranked #1 for international business schools, but the point here is really how Gen Y is hitting the business schools and the workforce:
members of this so-called Millennial Generation have been praised and derided in equal measure—for their tech knowhow and idealism, their unrealistic career expectations, and their doting “helicopter” parents, who hover over their kids obsessively
I think that’s really interesting stuff. Will schools react to us well enough? I already feel like my home school doesn’t.
I picked up an article from Read Write Web in my feeds talking about how education is evolving, and basically that the availability of data on the internet suggests that we may not even need to memorise things for education like we used to.
To some, this might suggest that Gen Y might be getting lazy, but to me, it’s freeing up the brain to really work on other issues that can’t be as easily solved with a Google search.
One thing I never understood in my freshman year, was why I had to memorise how to create a balance sheet, when I wasn’t even an accounting student. Even if I was an accounting student, I refuse to believe that graduates leave school, get a job at an accounting firm, and sit down to create balance sheets without referring to anything because they memorised it in freshman year.
What I find more challenging, and relevant, is asking my how things apply. Or I might have all this data, but what does it mean? How do students analyse a situation from different angles and begin to think critically about issues.
Perhaps there will be some professions where memory work is still the key, but for the rest of us, probably not so.
More importantly, in response to this issue: are our educators ready to face the new wave of students who have mountains of information at their fingertips?
Tonight wrapped up my Film 240 class here at Queen’s University called “Media & Popular Culture”. One question asked was “Do you use RSS?” and the poll came to about 15% saying yes (which is not far off from the recent 11% RSS adoption rate that was researched). [No, I didn't count hands raised. The poll was done using electronic clickers so the percentages are shown instantaneously on screen.]
If these are the numbers for the more functional and popular tools, I’m expecting the figures for other avenues of web2.0 in education (wikis, social bookmarking, blogs, document collaboration) to be much lower.
So my questions tonight to you are:
1) Do you think these numbers are generally reflective, or should they be higher or lower?
2) If you don’t know about these tools, do you wish someone would teach you how to use them?
3) If you do know about these tools and discovered about them yourself, do you wish someone had introduced you to them earlier?
4) What aspects of education would you be most keen to utilise social media tools?
5) Do you even think such Web2.0 tools have a place in education?
6) If you’ve heard of tools like RSS, Twitter, Wikis, etc, what’s stopping you from using them?
I really, really wanna hear from you, so help me out. If you already know the tools, pass this post on to someone who doesn’t, and ask them to answer the questions!
On a personal note, if you’d like to collaborate with me on an SMU project similar to the one Hack College did, drop me a line!
