Gen-Y: Underrepresented?
September 1st, 2009
0The twenty somethings are taking over the world! Ahh!
… or not. But maybe the blogosphere. It’s no question that we have a long way to go, but we’ve already come a long way as well.
When I first started my blog, one of the first networks I joined was Twenty Something Bloggers. When I started we had 1-200 bloggers and maybe half were regularly active. That was nearly three years ago. Today 20SB is approaching 8,000 members. The network has grown in number as well as community. (Just because there’s a lot of people doesn’t mean we’re automatically a community.) I like to think that the events like Blog Swaps, Vlog days and Blog Carnivals have helped shape our community. And of course, the meetups.
After attending a number of blogger-related conferences, I noticed a lack of twenty-something representation or even acknowledgment. Why are we still under-represented in these blogger and social media circles? Our generation wields $150 billion in buying power (Info from 20SB blog). And let’s not forget peer influence. I am much more likely to purchase something after hearing it from my friend than a salesperson. I didn’t buy my Mac because Apple told me to. I did it because a number of my blogger friends were raving about theirs.
The point of all this is to help create awareness and get some Gen-Y focused panels included at some of the bigger events. There are a lot of twenty somethings on the Border Stylo team and I love being a part of it. We also know that many of our followers and supporters are Gen-Yers. So even if you don’t plan on attending SxSW, take a few minutes to register and vote on the panels. We get a bad reputation for being apathetic or unfocused, and that may be true in some cases, but so many start-ups, businesses, charities, etc. wouldn’t be around today if it weren’t for the motivated, innovative and awesome twenty somethings behind them.
These are just a couple selected, but there are many more for you to choose from.
Under 30? Underrepresented: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/4536
Young Entrepreneurs Making it Big in the Media: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/2672
With vs. For: Why Gen Y Wants to Work “With” You, Not “For” You: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/5055
Voting ends on September 4!
Have other ideas? What would you like to see more of at these conferences/conventions? Leave your suggestions in the comments.
Tagged with: bloggers, Conferences/Conventions
Related Posts
Author
Jennifer Beese
Jennifer is the Community Manager. When she’s not blogging or tweeting you can usually find her practicing stand-up comedy in front of her bathroom mirror.
0 Comments Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Allowed Tags
_emphasis_
*strong*
??citation??
-deleted text-
+inserted text+
^superscript^
~subscript~
@code@
Add code using a GIST
gist: gistid
Your comment preview
Reply to comment