I can remember visiting my aunt’s or grandmother’s house afterschool to find them watching shows like General Hospital or All My Children. It began with them scheduling the recording through a VHS and at the turn of the century it shifted towards the use of a DVR. Overtime however, I began to see them watching these soap operas less and less. And as they watched their soaps less and less, so did the rest of the world. Something had changed. Yes, more women were leaving home for the workforce, yes, there was this new craze on television called reality TV that also had an impact in the decline of soap operas but these were simply partners in crime to the true killer. The guilty party goes by the name of Facebook.

When Facebook first launched it was positioned as a social network for students. To enforce this, anyone who wanted to use Facebook needed a university email or they could not access the site. This lasted a few years until Facebook went mainstream and opened up to the masses. You see, as the world turns, businesses need to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves and this is exactly what Facebook did. As a result, their decision to open their network to cities and towns around the world changed the way people interacted, young and old alike. This move has been crucial to their success as Facebook is now the largest social network with over 800 million users.

There still tends to be a belief however, that Facebook is a site made up of the young and restless. When in fact, more grandmothers and mothers are adding their children and grandkids to Facebook everyday. Recent studies show that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women over the age of 55. That’s right; Facebook is no longer just a site for the kids to talk to one another and plan weekend activities. Supporting this is the fact that Facebook has recently become the number one site for gaming online. To top it all off, studies show that the average user playing Farmville or other games on Facebook are 43-year-old women.

So why are the soaps dying? Well, if the key demographic for soap operas is a woman above the age of 40 these numbers give us a brief insight into where they’ve shifted their attention. They are spending more time on Facebook looking at their friend’s photos and playing games than they are watching soaps. I mean, why would you watch a fake drama on television when you can watch a real one unravel on your computer? It’s kind of like voyeurism to some degree.

For many, Facebook has become the new soap opera. Whether you’re watching old friends live their lives hundreds of miles away or watching your own young ones grow up. The same story lines that you could have found in a soap opera plus interaction can be found in the lives of the people within your network. You’re able to watch people get married, catch up with their lives, and see their children grow up. All of these things that we’re once solely attributed to the likes of General Hospital and All My Children are no more.

At the end of it all, the perception of reality is what made soap operas compelling and successful. They allowed the viewers to connect with their cast on a daily basis and form make-believe relationships and connections. Today however, the soap opera is dying. What was once Bold and Beautiful is now dull and dreary in comparison to true social interaction. After 50 plus years it would be an understatement to say that the soap operas had a good run.

Let’s see if Facebook has the ability to keep on with it’s dominance.

Cultural Tourism isn’t new. Tourism on its own is one of the worlds largest industries. And some studies will even say that it’s in comparison the world’s largest employer. Tourism touches all walks of life – ranging from the wealthiest individuals sitting in a air conditioned bus driving through a safari to the single-mother of four selling wooden crafts at a market. It’s an industry that truly impacts all of us. But what’s special about cultural tourism and what’s exciting about cultural tourism is the connection. The human connection.

It’s why we travel. To feel connected for one moment to something new. To something different – to view a life that’s not so similar to our own. To experience a culture in a way that touches our hearts and our souls. This connection is something that drives us. We all crave it – some more so than others. It’s embedded within our social DNA to crave connection – We’re social by nature. We all want to be connected to something. Whether it’s a connection to the place our ancestors came from or a connection to a place our friends have recommended. These connections are subtle yet powerful enough to influence our travel decisions.  These connections are not limited to travel and can also be attributed to products, service and the businesses offering them.

But how does the web fit into this idea of a cultural tourism connection? How does something online – something so impersonal fit into the mix? Well you see it all ties back to the human connection. Here are two websites that are truly changing the way we travel while also showcasing a shift in human behavior.

The first is Airbnb.com. This site allows people to list their homes, apartments, cottages and spare bedrooms on a site similar to kijiji or craigs list where travelers can purchase a night, weekly or month stay. The guest or traveler then has an opportunity to meet their host and if lucky even receive local expertise, flavor and knowledge along with local insigh. Since it’s inception there have been more than 2 million nights purchased through the Airbnb and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Here’s a nifty little infographic they released after celebrated their 1,000,000th booking.

So what does Airbnb have to do with Cultural Tourism? For me, two things:

1. Disruption is happening in the Tourism Industry.
2. Cultural Tourism is alive and well.

When I speak of disruption – I’m referring to more than just AirBnB and instead referring to an industry wide shift. I’m talking about the evolution and development of websites like like AirBnB, Jetsetter,  Groupon, Foursquare and TripIt – Just to name a few. You see, all of these sites present opportunities along with certain threats to tourism operators and stakeholders. I mean, we look at the Groupon business model and they are often found driving businesses value into the floor by taking scary margins. Often times they are found bringing coupon hunters into the doors of these businesses rather than customers who could potentially become repeat business. While it’s great for the consumer – The economics simply don’t work for most businesses. Yet trust me, some kid is sitting in their basement with a laptop coming up with a way that both sides can win in this market. Disruption is here and it’s going to continue for many years to come.

Just a few months ago I spoke with a hotel operator who told me he didn’t want to deal with the digital world. He wanted to stay loyal to his traditional efforts and focus on just running his hotel. In a more professional way, I told him he had no choice. Whether he ignores digital or embraces it – The world around him and his hotel is indifferent. We are all living in a digital world. And this operator quickly believed me when I showed him some of the reviews on Trip Advisor that were left by his customers. When he saw people saying their hotel had poor service yet beautiful rooms.  He wanted to intervene. He wanted to improve his business and figure out how he could connect with these customers. In that moment, he realized that people were talking about his business and he had no control over it. He realized that he couldn’t control the message but by simply responding he had an opportunity to influence it. The light bulb went off.

The entire concept of AirBnB is built around developing a cultural experience for travelers. In this model you could potentially spend your day with a local – eating local food – enjoying local activities – receiving local advice leading to you drink a local wine before falling asleep in a locals bed. Now sure, with the right moves on the dance floor the last part could happen almost anywhere.But what’s special about all of this is the connection the traveler will have with the destination when they depart.

Now, this may scare a lot of hotels and even tour guides. But recognize that this is the world we live in. A site called crowd surfing has a similar concept except you sleep on a locals couch for free. I mean, if that’s not enjoying a truly cultural experience – I don’t know what is. You’re living right in the heart of the destination with the locals. And these are the cultural experiences that more and more people are craving. The opportunity to tell a local about their grandfather who was brought up just down the street from them or a friend who spent their summers here with her dad.  These cultural experiences are powerful. So powerful that they need to be shared…

And that’s where site #2 comes in….Facebook. Have any of you heard of it? I would assume so.

Clearly Facebook is the king of Social Networks. But lets stop for a second. Let’s break those two words apart. Social – Network. We break that apart and the key here that we need to focus on is social. It’s the key in this topic because as I said earlier, humans are social by nature. We need crave a social connection.

Let’s think about the process for a second. You’re in a country that you’re unfamiliar with but see something spectacular. You enjoy it for a second and then without even realizing the impact of what you are about to do – You snap a picture. Then you share that picture with your 348 friends on Facebook and they too get to experience what you just did. Maybe not in the same way – But they’ve felt it…A connection to you and from you a connection to that place. And that’s the power of Facebook in Cultural Tourism.

A social connection is why conferences, social events and excursions still sell. We attend them to enjoy a social setting that empowers us to find knowledge, insights and a human connection that could forever influence our future. The power of the web really lies in the ability to further promote destinations while also creating a more user friendly experience while there in the flesh. The web gives us an opportunity to travel and never be alone. To always be connected and to always have an opportunity to truly experience the culture of a destination.

Last year the digital pin-board site launched attracting millions of users to end 2011 as one of the Top 10 most visited sites online. While many marketers and digital natives looked at Google+ as the next-big thing for 2012, I’m taking a stand in saying that Pinterest will rule the web in 2012.

While I have never used Pinterest beyond browsing, I’m one of it’s biggest fans. Simply visit the site for a few minutes and you’ll quickly realize that I’m not the target market which is directly related to why I’m not an active user. That said, I haven’t gone 48 hours without hearing sisters, aunts, cousins, and female friends/colleagues chatting about what they’ve pinned on their Pinterest board.

Taking a page out of Gilt Groupes book, you will need an invite to gain access to the site. Pinterest users virtually “pin” products and items they find around the web to their own personal pin boards. The current user base have used Pinterest as a way to collect recipes, DIY links and share their own style inspirations with friends. There is no doubt that this site is a social beast, users can browse friends’ pins and boards, follow specific users and re-pin their favorite items.

Pinterest has cracked a question that men have asked for years: What do Women Want? Well based on the numbers it’s clear that they want Pinterest. A social networking site that allows them to share their interests in a dynamic/visually appealing way. The idea of bookmarking isn’t anything new. This website is simply an innovative spin on sites like Reddit and Digg. The key difference however is that (1) Women love the beautiful design (2) The opportunities to add pins with ease appeals to vanity and (3) their target market wants to share invites with their friends (Great Viral Loop).

More than that, Pinterest has found what many believe is a significant shift in not only the consumption curve but also in purchasing behavior. It’s a shift in consumers moving away from the idea of using search and instead looking towards a new process of discovery. Semil Shah describes it like this in his recent Tech Crunch article: The Rise of Pinterest and the Shift from Search to Discovery:

The shift that is happening is from search to discovery. Everyone talks about this shift, but what does it mean?

As we make a decision online to purchase something, we are trained to go to Google (or Amazon), type in the keyword, and sort through results to make a transaction. In return for that sorting, Google makes a lot of money, but in order for it to work, we individuals have to signal our intent: “Black Nike running shoes.”

But, how did I decide to even want these running shoes?

While Google makes money at the bottom of this decision funnel, the top of the funnel is where “discovery” happens. It’s much wider at the top of the funnel, and hard to pin down where the thoughts originate. A site like Pinterest could help bring some of that discovery online. Say that I’m in the market for new shoes, but instead of researching them myself, I elect to browse the boards of some friends on Pinterest who I already know are dedicated runners? I could find a pair of sneakers on a friend’s Pinterest board and have reasonable confidence that this pair would suit me, too. In this manner, I may elect to buy the shoes right after seeing my friend’s board on Pinterest and get to a transaction much quicker. If Pinterest can bypass intent-based search on just even a small fraction of online transactions, it will be a huge success.

I couldn’t agree more. The “shift” is coming and I feel as if Pinterest is leading the way specifically in the female market. While I don’t see Pinterest being the next Google Killer – I do see it gaining traction as this type of site will rise as another way for users to find inspiration around what they’re looking to purchase.

Take a look for a second at the traditional path to purchase online:

Pinterest skips awareness completely and drives users immediately to interest (no surprise there). The opportunity for Pinterest is directly related to making the discovery process for users simple and social by nature. They are constantly met with a simple user interface that is topped off with beautiful design where their interests are displayed throughout the entire page. They are able to share links, images and quotes similar to Twitter but placing more emphasis on the images rather than the text.

I asked a simple question on Twitter about Pinterest and the fans of this site came out in masses. The first clear trend that kept coming up was the use of Pinterest for inspiration and ideas. The second was the passion people had for this site – Some stated they had an addiction while others expressed they were in love. Here are some of the responses:

Love it! Find great ideas for anything you can think off. Made cookies, clothes & decorations. Perfect if you have kids.
— Sara Newman (@saranewman) December 26, 2011

LOVE it – it’s really useful when I need to fire up inspiration for projects. Helps me get out of my mental box when stuck.
— Jen Clinehens (@JenClinehens) December 26, 2011

@thecoolestcool I use pinterest and I love it – I always get inspiration for decorating my home
— Lindsey Reeder (@reederreads) December 26, 2011

At this stage, the key to Pinterests ongoing success will be directly related to its ability to identify and develop a sustainable business model. I believe we will see Pinterest evolve into a new age affiliate marketing hub where businesses will pay Pinterest based on the facilitation of the product discovery and sale. Not only that, I feel we will begin to see “Pin This” buttons across a variety of sites like Amazon.com, Etsy and Fab.com as they will see an increase in relevant traffic from Pinterest in comparison to other social networks like Twitter and Facebook. In doing so, Pinterest may implement its own version of Open Graph to really take-off and become a leader in bookmarking.

Now, keep in mind these are all assumptions and predictions. I have my eye on Pinterest moving into 2012 and you should too. The model of this site will evolve and consumer behavior will do just the same.

Like I said before, us men have asked the question for years: What Do Women Want?

I think we’re slowly getting closer to what seems to be the answer.

Generation Y is called by many, the Facebook Generation. Well, I’m on a professional mission to get more of my generation on social networks like Twitter and Linkedin as well. While I recognize that Facebook presents my generation with connectivity and entertainment – There needs to be a recognition of the potential found on twitter and linkedin. I often find myself asking Gen-Y’ers if they have heard of Linkedin and the common response is: “Yeah, I have been meaning to set up an account for that.”

The time to set up an account is now. It’s time for us to start taking control over our lives and careers. Linkedin presents a great opportunity to connect with people in business and further build your personal brand. Not only that, it gives you another channel to further take your online relationships to the next level.

Below is a great infographic that I think Gen Y and everyone can learn from:

Once in a while you just need a motivational quote from a business great to get you inspired. I’ve compiled a list of twenty great business quotes for you to remember, recite and reuse.Have any more that you’ve found online that you like? Feel free to share them in the comments section. And if you want to re-post this list of quotes to your site, by all means, do it up! Just please be kind and link back to link back to 30 Great Business Quotes

“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it!” – Jonathan Winters
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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
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“Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.” – Peter Drucker
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“Have the end in mind and every day make sure your working towards it” – Ryan Allis
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“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” – Ralph Nader
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“Paying attention to simple little things that most men neglect makes a few men rich.” – Henry Ford
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“Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn
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“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill
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“Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.” – Anonymous
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“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.” – Unknown
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“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” - John Wayne
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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle
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“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” - Maya Angelou

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“Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things” – David Ogilvy
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“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
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“Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.” - Robert T. Kiyosaki
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“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” – Zig Ziglar
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“Creative without strategy is called art. Creative with strategy is called advertising.” – Jeff  I. Richards
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“Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.” – Baltasa
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“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” – Napoleon Hill
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“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
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“If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large” - Jeff Bezos
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“Poor people have big TV. Rich people have big library.” – Jim Rohn
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So you want to be a better adman do ya? Well, I don’t blame ya.

It’s a competitive and sometimes cut throat industry that requires people to push themselves to the limit. I’ve been in the advertising game for a little under two years now and after working and chatting with some of the brightest in the city, I’ve definitely learned a thing or to about what it takes to succeed. A few of these items might come as second nature to you others may not, either way, I’m sure something in this list will benefit your career.

Note: Being an “Adman” has nothing to do with gender. However, it has everything to do with being able kick ass and take names in the communications industry.

1. Don’t try to be the next Ogilvy or Bogusky. Create your own legacy.
2. Make mistakes that matter.
3. Grammar and spell check are sexy.
4. Don’t steal ideas. Modify and improve them.
5. 95% of the things you worry about, are not what you should be worrying about.
6. Don’t get too attached to an idea.
7. Learn how to sell.
8. Call BS when you see BS.
9. Force yourself to get in front of crowds and present.
10. Embrace the idea of being the Bad Guy.
11. Don’t press send if you’re angry.
12. Stop bragging about a campaign you did six months ago. Your worth is your current work.
13. Try something new everyday. It doesn’t need to be related to work.
14. Avoid conversations about sex, religion, politics and fight club.
15. The only time rule #16 can be ignored is when coming up with an idea.
16. Watch the movie Boiler Room and recite the best speeches.
17. Watch the TV Show Mad Men and recite the best pitches.
18. Learn from those mistakes you made during tip 3.
19. Learn from those who are also making mistakes.
20. Think like Michael Jordan and always be a team player.
21. You start to lose every client the moment they sign a contract. Keep them close.
22. Start a blog, tumblr or twitter account. Create & Tell your own story.
23. Keep your social networks respectable. Do the Grandma Test.
24. There’s no such thing as a 4 hour work week. Trust me.
25. Stay well connected within and outside of the industry.
26. Be nice to people but don’t hold it in forever. You’ll die.
27. Live everyday like you’re Ari Gold.
28. Understand the art of negotiation.
29. Make some personal standards and try to stick to them.
30. Bring an agenda to your meetings.
31. After a meeting with a client send them an email discussing what you already discussed.
32. A Healthy Adman is a Wealthy Adman.
33. Is this project important? Yes? If that’s the case, over-do it.
34. Compliment people over and over again.
35. Stick to what you love and know. If you’re a digital strategist, stop trying to be an Art Director.
36. Know when to shut off the internet and being productive.
37. Ask as many questions as you can possibly think of.
38. Keep your brain fresh. Just because you graduated doesn’t mean your brain is done growing.
39. Start your mornings earlier than anyone else in the office.
40. Drink more water than you usually do.
41. Don’t take your laptop to bed with you to do work. Keep the bed and your work separate.
42. Find a mentor in the industry you can talk too.
43. Find a confidant within the company who you can trust.
44. Dont open your inbox as soon as You’ve Got Mail.
45. Never forget how you got where you are. Hard work.
46. Embrace Risk.
47. Don’t mope at the office.
48. Don’t share your personal life with the whole world. Not everyone wants to hear it.
49. Don’t rely on your colleagues. Rely on yourself.
50. Practice your presentations over and over and over again.
51. Take your lunch.
52. Delegate work if you have the ability to do so.
53. Be friends with the intern.
54. Read stuff that will make you look good if you died reading it.
55. Always have a moleskin and a sharpie in your desk.
56. Don’t play with a colleagues heart. If you’re not interested, don’t flirt.
57. Be confident not arrogant.
58. Only speak when it will benefit others or yourself – Avoid pointless conversation.
59. Out read everyone around you. It will do wonders for you.
60. Work hard to perfect the art of first impressions.
61. Sweat the details like you’re sitting in a sauna.
62. Avoid negative people like the plague. They are contagious.
63. Don’t write a status update on Facebook about your boss or colleague – Say it to their face.

Brands that want to be relevant to someone in Generation Y needs to take a long look in the mirror. Many brands have tried, many brands have failed. Some have failed to such a degree that if they were to ever show their face in a Generation Y setting they just might get laughed out of the building. That said, not all brands have to suffer and be deemed un-cool. All it takes a deeper understanding of what makes Gen-Y tick and a balance of cool topped off with an appreciation of their values.

To ensure that your brand doesn’t suffer from a horrible and humiliating experience when attempting to connect with Generation Y. I’ve put together a list of rules that you should follow if you don’t want to be “That Brand”.

Rule #1: Don’t Facebook for the sake of Facebooking

Ever since the movie, the social network, brands have become more and more obsessed with the idea of Facebook. Yes, we enjoy social networking and yes, Facebook just so happens to be the number one network in the world. That said, please don’t put a guy on Facebook in your commercial just to make your brand seem more relevant. It’s tired. Played out and unoriginal. Show us why we want to use YOUR product, not reiterate that Facebook is everywhere we look.

Facebook can be a great tool to connect with us as we spend more time on this site than any other on the web. If you’re looking to build a deeper relationship with us and turn us into fan-boy’s this is where you could start. That said, when you enter this space you need to understand how we use the channel. We use it to connect with our friends – Brands are not our primary reason for being there. If you post too often, you’ll be removed – If you share content that isn’t relevant, you’ll be removed.

Rule #2: We Party. Yes. We Party.

We’re not a generation that believes in working our whole lives just to grow old and have a few years on a beach in the Dominican. We recognize that we’re at a stage in our life where it’s crucial to live life to the fullest as our bodies will never be in the shape they are now again. Sure technology could change this but at the moment, the one that we live in, we’re embracing the idea of working hard and playing hard. If you want to be cool, make it easier for us to party or send us somewhere to do so. The beer companies have caught on, hence the increase in promotions giving us a chance to go somewhere cool and party with our friends.

If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of why we enjoy partying and why we don’t see it as a time waster just listen to our University Anthem: I love college. Sure, the type of partying may change but we most certainly see the ROI in Partying whether it’s professional or personal.

Rule #3: We like to think we’re individuals.

No one in this world is exactly like me. No one in this world is similar to me. A few people like a couple things I like but at the end of the day, I’m an original. Well, at least that’s what the majority of us think even if it’s not necessarily the truth. In fact, you can probably divvy up the majority of Generation Y into a few neat little baskets of psychographics and demographics. However, no matter how you look at it, in the perception of a Generation Y’er were are the celebrities in our own life. Call it ego. Call it entitlement. Whatever you call it just understand that we believe we’re important.

The world of Facebook and Twitter don’t make it any easier. The idea that now our entire lives are being placed in the public eye is new way to grow up. In many ways, our Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts represent who we are in the eyes of our circles. If you know anyone who sucks at Facebook, I’m sure your opinion will consciously or subconsciously be altered because of it.

Rule #4: Tell us a story that will give us the chills

We run high on emotion and tend to wear our emotions on our sleeves. If you can show us a story that is not only compelling but also remarkable; you will have us at hello. Your brand as a whole should tell us a story. A story that allows us to create a dream of what it’s like to use your product or service. A story that tells us why we want you and what kind of impact your brand can have on our lives.

Rule #5: Music is our Weakness

If you can’t speak to us in words, photos or text. Speak to us through music. Music touches our soul in a way that cannot be described through simple text. It’s powerful and the right song can quickly transform your brands essence from something mediocre to something that will speak to us in ways dialogue cannot imitate or replicate. If you’re looking for a bit more insight into the type of music that this group enjoys, check out the site 8tracks.com. It has a wide range of everything from Hip Hop and Jazz to Classical and Indie. If that tells you anything, it should tell you that when it comes to music it’s still different strokes for different folks.

Rule #6: Never Underestimate the Power of our Friends

When Burger King launched the Friend Sacrifice campaign they didn’t have a clue what they were getting into. When it comes to Facebook, we only defriend people who are (1) Spamming our stream (2) Are no longer friends or even acquaintances or (3) Ex-Girlfriends/Boyfriends. If you think that your brand can get in between us and our friends, we’ve got news for you. It doesn’t work like that. We’re more connected than the generations before us and believe that we can stay connected for the rest of our lives. Our friendships are like currency, you have a lot of nickels and only a few loonies. No matter how great your brand is, if you damage or lose my money – I just may end up going to another bank.

This isn’t something I’m proud to admit but on a day filled with early meetings and late flights I stumbled into McDonalds for a quick bite twice in 20 hours. Each time ordering a delicious yet greasy meal that would have the ability to take one week off of my life. Now, I made some ridiculous excuse like – It’s the cost of being a hustler but now looking back…I wish I got something a bit healthier. Whether that was from McDonalds or not is indifferent – I should’ve gone healthy.

The first time I go to the global giant I order myself a nice Angus Burger meal and to spice things up I even get it up-sized. Now, I’m not a big fan of sugar diabetes so I didn’t actually drink the extra large sprite that happen to come with my meal. Then something special happened. Something intriguing caught my eye as memories of my childhood came flashing back to me. You see, it just so happens that was apparently one of my favourite times of the year – Monopoly @ McDonalds! No, I’ve never won but I can remember as a child getting Park Place or Boardwalk and keeping those little fingers crossed that one day I’d peal back the sticker and find the other city.

So I peal back the slip on my drink and I win a free small fries along with a Railroad. The excitement was awesome but it quickly went away when I realized I was running late for my meeting. Anyways, I rushed to my meeting did “meeting like things” and then went off to enjoy my day doing some more work. Shortly after I found myself rushing through another airport looking to grab a quick bite I went back to McDonalds. However, instead of being a pig and upsizing, I stuck with the regular fries and went on my way. Well…Didn’t Ronald McDonald have a surprise for me.

NO MONOPOLY PIECES!!

Apparently, if you want monopoly pieces in 2011 you’ve gotta upsize those fries to a large ( A large fries in the USA is like an extra large fries in Canada; so in my mind – I got a large anyways). Did I go back and return them for a larger size? Of course not. Instead, I started to miss home and thought about walking into a Tim Hortons during the roll up the rim promotion and ordering a cup of coffee. Whether my coffee was medium, large or extra large – I can always count on a rim worth rolling. McDonalds, take a tip from Tim Hortons – Because until you do, I’m going to Subway.

Baby Boomers have been the most attractive market as consumers for the last 20 years. Their over consumption and excessive disposable income has made them a marketer and business owners dream. Sadly though, the times of Baby Boomers being the kings and queens of marketing are simply coming to an end. There is a new generation in town who is spending more and slowly becoming the largest and most attractive consumer market in the world. This is the group of consumers born between 1978 and 1992 also known as Generation Y.

As a marketer and a Generation Y’er myself, I often wonder how much power this generation truly has. Generation Y makes up over 100 million people in North America. This group of consumers is the largest generation since the baby-boomers, undeniably defined by the numbers – the social and economic impact cannot be underestimated. The following are a few key insights to keep in mind when developing marketing strategies to tap into this market.

Narcissism Ain’t Easy

Generation Y isn’t the only name for this group of individuals. We’ve also been labelled Generation Me due to research showing that our generation is more narcissistic than prior generations. By definition, A narcissistic person generally has a high opinion of his or her competence and innate superiority to others, regardless of whether that opinion is validated by outsiders or any actual achievements. Narcissism has some correlation to self esteem, which should be no surprise, since Gen Y — the Boomer’s kids, born between about 1978 and 1992 — have been bathed in self-worth since they were infants.

While the importance of “personal branding” has always been important for people in their twenties and early thirties – Their lives have never been so largely on display. Today, Facebook makes it easy for friends and family members to stay up to date with each others lives and see how far they’ve come. Many years ago, the idea of catching up with someone after High School wouldn’t happen until the 10 year reunion. Now, people can keep track of their former classmates relationships, careers and overall character behind the screen of Macbook. This notion of openness has increased the pressure that this generation has to do well and as a result they have become more individualistic than any generation before.

Generation Y is Impatient

In a world where technology has always been at the ends of our finger tips we’ve quickly developed a need for speed. This is important for any marketer developing a social media campaign or even a business owner with a customer service program. If this generation contacts your business with a complaint or request – we expect a response with 24 hours max.  Some will call it needy, others will call it a feeling of entitlement – We call it a demand for quality service.  If you’re not willing to step up and meet the demand, don’t worry – your competitor will.

Generation Y Loves New & Shiny

Technology is our friend. In fact, technology is more like an older sibling who we adore. It’s something we embrace and get excited about as we see technology as a way to change the world for better. As much as we love the idea of innovation and new things however, we’re not big fans of people changing our current technology. Don’t get me wrong, we’re more than happy to learn about the changes and will learn how to use them quickly but happiness isn’t necessarily the emotion we’d associate with the change.

Feel Over-Educated and Under-Paid

The truth is, this generation is the most educated generation since the beginning of time. The reality of life however, is that a college education is no longer something only available for the elite and is becoming the norm. According to a recent study, 64% of women and 60% of men go to college after graduating high school and 85% of these individuals attend full-time. With this increase in enrollment however, many generation Y’ers are not linking this to the simple concept of supply and demand and are shocked that they cannot find a job after graduation.

The lack of job availability for this generation can be attributed to a variety of different factors but more and more generation Y’ers are pointing fingers at the Baby Boomers. This generation thought that the Baby Boomers would begin leaving their jobs earlier opening up doors of opportunities for them. This would in turn, give our generation a faster track to better jobs unlike Generation X who have been stuck behind the Boom for their entire lives.

Generation Y is Skeptical & Curious

While we understand the concept of paying your dues – we also understand that the economy is in the toilet. The combination of these two understandings have resulted in our generation doing things that give us a reputation of being disloyal to the organizations we work for. The reality is however, we just don’t trust that the system is going to be able to take care of us for the rest of our lives. Thus, we have taken a different approach than the generations before us where our loyalty is not based on the future but instead based on the present. Call it short-term thinking but in a world where instability is something we’ve grown up around – It’s clear that our outlook is going to be tainted.

This skepticism is also found when Generation Y is being met with promotions and advertisements. They are less likely to trust an ad then any other generation before them and more likely to take their friends word as gold. This piece of information demonstrates and shows why websites such as Foursquare and Yelp have become so successful and popular with this demographic. We’re looking for the truth and we don’t believe what your organization is going to tell us – What we do believe however, are those who experience your product or service and tell us what they think.

Sleeping is weird yet awesome. I’ve been doing some thinking about the whole idea of sleeping and dreams over the last few months and the entire idea could be covered on the X-Files. Sleeping is one of the most alien-esque things that we as humans do. Now, I thought I was alone in this thinking this way until I came across this quote from George Carlin that confirms I’m not alone in thinking that we’re a weird species.

“People say, “I’m going to sleep now,” as if it were nothing. But it’s really a bizarre activity. “For the next several hours, while the sun is gone, I’m going to become unconscious, temporarily losing command over everything I know and understand. When the sun returns, I will resume my life.” If you didn’t know what sleep was, and you had only seen it in a science fiction movie, you would think it was weird and tell all your friends about the movie you’d seen. “They had these people, you know? And they would walk around all day and be okay? And then, once a day, usually after dark, they would lie down on these special platforms and become unconscious. They would stop functioning almost completely, except deep in their minds they would have adventures and experiences that were completely impossible in real life. As they lay there, completely vulnerable to their enemies, their only movements were to occasionally shift from one position to another; or, if one of the ‘mind adventures’ got too real, they would sit up and scream and be glad they weren’t unconscious anymore. Then they would drink a lot of coffee.” So, next time you see someone sleeping, make believe you’re in a science fiction movie. And whisper, “The creature is regenerating itself.” – George Carlin

That however was not where my idea of sleep being odd ended. I needed some logic behind the idea of dreaming. To me, the whole concept of being placed into another world while sleeping didn’t make sense. While there isn’t a definite answer into what dreaming is all about – I went to Quora and came across an answer that is good enough to hold me over for tonight…The question:

What is the evolutionary purpose of dreaming?

One theory that hasn’t been mentioned here (but was explained on PBS NOVA) is that dreams serve to play out scenarios so that we may be better prepared when they occur in reality.

It’s well documented that sleep maintains and even enhances memories, from declarative to procedural, verbal to spatial. It’s been shown that mice visually replay running through a maze they’ve been trained on. They’re consolidating and practicing the neural connections from when they were awake.

So why is mental rehearsal of the past evolutionarily important? It allows us to reinforce what we’ve learned while also playing out actions and events that may happen next. We can act on those events without consequence and see their results.

To sum it up: Dreaming is kinda like training in the Enterprise’s Holodeck.

Answer from: Jimmy Chion

So where am I going with this post?

Bed. I’m clearly over tired.