Social Media & Trophies

I had the opportunity to hear two speakers this past week discuss Social Media and marketing strategies. One of the speakers was a fellow Rotarian and local photographer. She is in her 40's, and she spoke about the "Echo Boomer" generation. This was a new term for me. She explained that an Echo Boomer is anyone born after 1977 and before 2000. Presumably these are the children of Baby Boomers.

I didn't even know that I am an Echo Boomer. She discussed ways Echo Boomers work: they want an experience in their work life, they don't want to be tied to their desk 9-5, and they are incredible multi-tasker's. In a room full of baby boomers (and beyond), I found their general attitude toward this Echo Boomer who couldn't bother to work 40 hours per week was "good luck."

I have to believe that students graduating from college in this economy are willing to put in any number hours per week so long as the job pays their cell phone bills. Speaking for myself, would I love a job that would allow me to "work out of pocket" most of the time? Sure, but that wouldn't be practical for most industries. Many of my sales have come to me just because I was in the office at the right time (meaning my scheduled time to be there -- 9am-5pm).

The other speaker I heard was Deidre Hughey of The Buzz Builder. If you haven't checked out her site, I highly recommend it. Deidre is an excellent speaker on social media and makes an excellent point about sites like Facebook and LinkedIN... if you aren't on there, your customers are and you are missing a chance to interact with them. Now it is almost the case that if you aren't on there, people may wonder -- where are you?

As an Echo Boomer, I find myself tied to these sites, and I feel indulged by them. The photographer made another comment about Echo Boomers. Evidently we are also referred to as the "Trophy Generation." The reason being that in our generation, everyone on the team got a trophy. I was in Little League, I am sure I didn't excel, and I don't necessarily remember the trophy. I do know that when I grew up there was a healthy emphasis on boosting your child's self esteem. Perhaps that is why our generation is blogging and posting their most private moments online. It is a way to get that trophy or instant gratification.