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1. Participate!
This is more than just getting a Facebook account (and get one already,
what are you waiting for!?). Get a few social networking accounts – my
favorites – Facebook, Plaxo, Flickr and YouTube. And then, start using
them. Don’t use them for business – use them for communicating with
people you care about. That’s what your kids are doing and it’s fun!
Post some photos. Shoot a video (and I challenge you to add music!).
Comment on other’s profiles, videos or photos and then see what happens.
You might even have fun. (For a complete list of sites in your
geography,
see this!) FRESH LINK:
this cool graphic just in from SXSW on Zuckerberg's talk about
Facebook!
2. Follow the trends.
TrendCentral publishes a “daily trend” they will send right to your
email. While the author admits these may not be lasting trends, but they
are small windows into the social changes that are happening rapidly and
are typically driven by the youth market. You can decide if they are
worth pursuing but at a minimum, reading the daily update will make you
more interesting at cocktail parties and might give you a few ideas on
that new product you are working on.
3. Get in their head.
Anastasia Goodstein has built a career around networking. Her blog,
YPulse, is served
daily (again to your email if you like) and contains links to what’s new
for youth. From what young people are doing and thinking to breaking
research and controversy, the YPulse newsletter has it all letting you
pick and choose the topics that interest you. This is US focused but she
does include stories that have global relevance.
4. Stop talking on your mobile phone.
Well, you don’t really have to stop talking, but you do need to use your
phone differently. Teens are using their phones to text, browse, play,
watch and listen (to music!). It’s time you try it. Text your teen.
Download a game or some music. Surf the net (to visit your social
networking site – see number one above). Today’s youth use their phones
as a personal communication device to help them stay in touch with the
things they care about. Immediate gratification is essential for them
including knowing “what’s new” the moment it happens.
FRESH LINK from NYTimes on texting!)
5. Play.
If you can, buy a Wii. If you can’t, get online and play a game –
World of Warcraft is incredibly popular. Drop into Second Life. Buy
a Webkinz. Today’s youth have friends from all over the world – many of
them made while playing a game. You meet someone online and then you end
up adding them to Facebook. Even tweens make friends on Webkinz or Club
Penguin. It really is a small world and gaming is helping shrink the
planet.
Do you
have other great ideas? I want to hear about them. This is an exciting
time for anyone in marketing or product development. Staying in touch
will only make our ideas better. And if you go to Facebook –
“poke me!”
Originally Published March 2008
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Five
Ways to Stay in Touch with Today's Youth
