Denise Shiffman’s Engage Daily Blog

About 18 months ago while I was in the middle of writing The Age of Engage, I took a break and picked up Wikinomics by Don Tapscott. There were so many parallels with the book I was writing I felt compelled to call Don and ask him to write the foreword to my book. (And he did!) I like the way Don thinks.

So when he sent me the manuscript to his latest book (I think his 12th), Grown Up Digital (a follow up to Growing Up Digital which he wrote 10 years ago), I put everything else on my nightstand aside and plowed through it. Here are my thoughts.

Businesses and marketers take note. There’s no way to ignore the Net Generation; they’re 81 million strong. (That’s bigger than the Boomer generation!) It’s time we get to know them, intimately. Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital gives you the opportunity to see how Net Geners (11-31 years old) think, act, learn, purchase, and relate. The book is packed with information, yet written in a casual, first person voice making it easy to read and enjoy.

All around us we’re seeing the impact of this intelligent, savvy, self-confident generation. They’re in our workplace, in our homes (if you’re a Boomer), and on the Web critiquing and customizing our products and services. Say what you will…they’re coddled by parents who hover and never miss a soccer game…but understand we are learning the ways of the social Web from them. And they are pushing the envelope of what is possible. They fully democratize information and access to it; they collaborate across geographical boundaries, and they are highly mobile and always connected.

While reading Grown Up Digital, I realized I have been a bit set in my traditional Boomer generation thinking (rather linear). More and more lately I get asked by Net Geners to create something with them or join them on a project they’ve started (rather than ask me a question or to consult). That’s how they think (rather non-linear). Today’s 30-year-old doesn’t think twice about your age or ethnicity or your years of experience. They simply reach out and instinctively look for ways to collaborate.

If you have Net Geners in your workplace, learn from this book how to manage and incent them. If you have them in your home, revel in their technical and social networking expertise. And if you market to them, deeply understand their motivations, desires, and demands for the products and services they purchase.

Check out the Grown Up Digital website too.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm and is filed under Marketing fundamentals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.