Next Big Gen Y Thing...Chat Rooms!

Great article recently in the NYTimes identifying a new group from Silicon Valley who have developed technology that will allow for text based, live socialization. With names like Meebo and TokBox, these sites will allow it's users access to an immediate experience not seen since the days of AOL.

It brings to mind the "smart mobs" identified in Howard Rheingold's book by the same name; Tokyo high-school girls, who served (and still serve) as a bellwether for social media. Those same "mobs" that were identified late last year in extensive research from Pew. But the new "chat rooms" will be quicker and richer. And if Pew is right, young Gen Y women will rush to them.

Young & Free Program Has Gen Y Women At It's Hub

It's early yet, but don't be too surprised if the Young & Free program from Currency Marketing has "young women" to thank for it's success. Young & Free Alberta is the first identifiable example of a credit union totally committing to a Gen Y marketing program. And already, there is increasing anecdotal evidence that the program is taking on strong tones of Gen Y women.

Take for example the fact that the Y & F spokesperson is a spokeswoman; and her credentials match exactly the profile of what a Pew Research study recently described as a "super-communicator". That same study, called Teens and Social Media, also revealed strong evidence that young women (to be exact, teenage girls) are emerging as a powerful force in social media. That evidence was recently showcased in a recent New York Times article called Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain.

Back to the Y & F spokeswoman. Her name is Larissa Walkiw, and as I mentioned, she is a perfect example of what Pew is calling a "super-communicator" in that she is 19 years old and blogs, creates content for the web, produces video and has a huge network of friends and family. My guess is that it was that huge group of friends and family who's votes produced her win (the voting was not even close). Stay tuned for more on this real world example that Gen Y women might very well be the key to Gen Y everyone.

Gen Y Girls Are "Super-Communicators"

You're hearing a lot these days about the "super delegates". From all appearances, it seems that this group of well connected, highly influential delegates will be the determining factor in the choice of the next Presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. They are the "cream of the crop".

It would also appear that the social media revolution has its own select group of influencers; mostly older girls, who use a host of technology options for communicating with family and friends, including traditional land line phones, cell phones, texting, social network sites, instant messaging and email. This group, called "super-communicators", emerged from the Pew report titled Teens and Social Media. They represent 28% of the entire teen population and they are more likely to be older girls.

Women Led "Smart Mobs" Increasingly Define Social Media

Remember the groundbreaking book by Howard Rheingold way back in 2002 called Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution? In it, Rheingold described the exploding mobile culture in Japan, which according to his assertion, was driven in large measure by teenage girls texting their friends via their cell phones.

That same pattern seems to be occurring today in America via social media, and the latest Pew study validates the fact that groups of young girls, "smart mobs" if you will, are at the heart of the phenomenon.

Young Women Key To Reaching Gen Y

Don't take our word for it. Recent research from the often quoted Pew Internet & American Life Project points to the growing power of young women using social media. The report, titled Teens & Social Media, clearly identifies young girls as the driving force behind the creation and proliferation of blogs, graphics, photos and Web sites on the Internet. That information was showcased in an article in last months New York Times titled, Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain. The article went on to say that "as teenage bloggers nearly doubled from 2004 to 2006, almost all of the growth was because of the increased activities of girls".

Here are a few highlights from the report:

1. Girls continue to dominate the teen blogosphere (35% vs. 20%)
2. Girls eclipse boys in photo posting (54% to 40%)
3. Older girls create more content for websites than boys (32% vs. 22%)

We'll be taking a deeper dive into this and other research conducted by Pew in future posts. Needless to say, the research seems to strongly suggest that the future of social media could very well be heavily influenced by Gen Y women.