The Generation Y Brand

In the Digital Journalism course, students were asked to respond to a New York Times Op-Ed about Generation Y being a generation that is entrepreneurial and readily brands itself as a result. Here are a few student responses (crafted to be short, as the average reader on the Internet spends 1.5 seconds looking at a headline or link before deciding to click away!)

Nick Mattingly

I believe “Millennials” are a very creative, technology driven and business minded generation. Not afraid to just do it. Although, sometimes we do put our loyalty in brand names like Apple, Microsoft, Sony, etc. it is no surprise because those companies have been working hard and spending millions on marketing to gain brand loyalty.

It comes with no surprise that we can consider ourselves as a brand. I am constantly on the streets with my camera. I can’t tell you how many times I wished I had a business card to hand out to people who ask where they can find my work. This process can make someone feel a bit branded but in reality it is just a way of getting exposure and sharing creative work.We are a generation with a large network and we use it to make connections and gain information. Our ‘do it yourself’ mentality spills over into almost all aspects of business. Out of 5 of my closest friends from high school, 4 of them have started their own business. On top of that, 3 of those friends took it upon themselves to also become airplane pilots. When our generation has aspirations to be something more it is only a matter of time before we seize our goals.

There are many things about a 9-5 day job that are quite limiting and monotonous. I don’t believe that writing a business plan is our answer to self-expression and creativity. We have been raised to believe that if you do something you love you will never work a day in your life. So writing a business plan is an attempt to involve our interests with our daily lives. Because the more you love the work you do the less it feels like work. With this newfound entrepreneurial spirit and our vast network of connected people it makes sense to have a do-it-yourself mentality.

 

Stefania Herrera

Young, compassionate, smart, narcissists, tech-savvy, unique and individual, we are Generation Y.  Like everything in life, there are always two sides of the coin. In our generation you still find traits of the Gen-Xers, that the idea of adulthood being a series of steps: attend university, get a well-paid job (even if you dislike it), marry, have children, retire, die. This mentality continues to be a trait in our generation. One word to describe our generation would be the phrase “selling ourselves.”

Throughout the past two decades there hasn’t been one specific event for us to dwell on (like for Baby Boomers, the second World War and all its post-struggle.) On the contrary, there are way too many. So what exactly are we selling ? Our ideas and passion. This generation can be characterized by attempting to be better than others, and the way to do this is sell our unique ideas of how to change all the wrongs in the world. We do not go to university simply to get a degree and then just be part of a multi-millionaire corporation (of course some still do), but to acquire the skills to portray/promote our ideas. Very often starting a small business will provide not only the funds on how to spread whatever our beliefs are, but the vehicle to do so.

Despite big corporate business, we complain about the government and we are constantly bombarded with so much information that we feel the need to go out there and express everything we feel inside. We don’t complain, we do. Globalization has impacted us greatly. Unlike previous generations, with the advances in communication and networking, we are able to access all kinds of information. We see the world, we know the world, and this allows us to create (and promote) our own unique identity and ideas.

Many look down upon our generation. We’ve been called spoiled, self-centered and the idea of us being “branded” is viewed as if materialism was our sole passion. This is wrong. We are a brand; every young Gen-Yer is its own unique brand, ready to be out in the market selling, our voice and our beliefs for the betterment of our world and future.

 

Thanks for reading! -Dara Colwell, instructor