Can Xers Or Boomers Be Experts On Youth?
Posted by anastasia on 08-03-2009
On Friday, I had a little blogger back and forth with a younger youth marketing consultant who took issue with my Beth Cooper post. He appears to have taken his post down, but a part of his critique of what I wrote was that my post sounded “Boomerish.” He was arguing that those of us who are not from the current generation have less credibility as experts on youth than those who are.
I’ve been meditating on this aspect of his argument over the weekend and thinking about what makes someone an “expert” in our new media landscape? In a way, he is right that those of us who are Xers or Boomers in the youth media/marketing space do bring our own generational baggage to the table when we share our insights and opinions, and that it’s important to be transparent about where we’re coming from. It’s also crucial for those of us “old folks” in this space to constantly be checking in with youth, listening to them, looking at real research, etc. That said, I believe we bring a perspective that combines listening to youth with our own insight from having been through it already as well. I certainly can’t pretend to be a young person anymore though I might have a case of arrested development when it comes to my passion for all things teen.
I would also argue that just being young, doesn’t make one an expert on their entire generation, just as being African American doesn’t make you an expert on all African Americans. It does permit you to offer first-hand experiences and observations, something those of us who are not young can only divine from listening to you.
So what makes me an expert on youth? First I don’t pretend to know everything and am very okay with occasionally being wrong and admitting it. That said, I would say my work experience (Teen Voices, Oxygen/Trackers, Kibu and Current TV), interviewing youth for my book, Totally Wired, and running Ypulse (immersed in research/content about youth as well as working with a young managing editor and youth advisory board). I’ve always called myself an “accidental marketer or marketing expert” because my training/experience has been as a journalist/content producer. Any insights I have about marketing, come from what I’ve learned about youth marketing as the founder/editor of Ypulse vs. being a practitioner at a brand or agency.
As for being considered an expert by others (vs. just a self-proclaimed expert), producing original online content about youth five days a week and writing a book on the topic make you a natural source for journalists looking for expert quotes (and easy to find via Google). The more you’re quoted or interviewed, the more you become publicly known as an expert. In many ways, I believe that blogging/the internet has made this possible for many more potential “experts.” It’s also made it easier to put out the expert shingle without having to back it up.
I welcome your feedback on Ypulse and on me as an “expert” whether you think I am “right on” or sound completely out of touch (or “Boomerish”). That’s what the comments are for.
Categorized under: Youth Marketing
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
You’re among the most millenial boomers I know (are you really a boomer? Aren’t you more of a Gen Y? – ok, then the most millenial Gen Y I know. Now I must go back to explaining to my son why phones used to have cords.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Ha! I’m an Xer dude — please don’t age me any more (born 1971), but yes, I grew up with cords on phones, too ;-)
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Anastasia
When you and I met, we noted our similar backgrounds. People hire me to market new web services to tweens and teens.
I’m frequently told by younger consumers that I don’t “get it”, with the “it” always vaguely defined. It’s a visceral reaction you’ve stumbled upon… people don’t like to feel generalized or understood at a “meta level”. The comment of last resort is always a boomer abstract or “slur”. Xers are in a unique sandwich generation between two massive, self-absorbed generations, neither very aware of how they’re perceived or how they adopt and consume. God bless their lack of self-awareness… my work would be a lot more difficult if the youth suddenly understood how predictable they really are, how much they’re influenced by each other and their parents.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
“Can Xers Or Boomers Be Experts On Youth?”
Yes. They can also be experts on old people, toddlers, golfers, surfers and needlework enthusiasts if they study them close enough for a decent number of years.
It’s a discriminatory argument that is easily launched at youth communications people who have passed the big 3-0. But it makes no sense.
Unfortunately it’s quite prevalent though. I have had clients who have been disappointed because I haven’t skateboarded into initial meetings and high-fived them all, before delivering my pitch with intermittent beatbox breaks.
ps Can I have my site on your blogroll? It used to be there I think :)
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Thanks Aaron – I never thought about us being stuck in between. And Luke, your comment made me laugh. Not sure where your link went but I added it back tot he directory under Youth Marketing as well as the on the Youth Marketing and Campus channels.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:21 am
It’s definitely a mistake to argue that anyone can be or cannot be an expert on youth based on their age.
That intern who wrote the report that went viral a few weeks ago for example. He may be from my generation, but I think he’s a twit that lacks in analytical ability.
I think part of the frustration by Gen Y is that so many young people are actively trying to explain to marketers what they want and get ignored. There’s a sense of “why are you listening to that other person when I don’t want that?” Which is understandable.
But you know, most young people aren’t going to figure that out until they have actually invested the time into studying their generation… at which point they’ll realize why interpretation is needed.
August 4th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Anastasia, I’ve never met you, but from your insight and analysis, I guess I always assumed you were a Gen Yer. To hear now that you’re not, just goes to prove my opinion that you don’t have to be in a particular generation to be an expert.
As for Luke, I nearly fell out of my chair when you said: “my work would be a lot more difficult if the youth suddenly understood how predictable they really are.”
And Kristen, love what you said regarding youth having to actually invest time to realize why interpretation is needed.
Great post and great comments!
August 7th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Anastasia,
I have read your article and have to say that “crowd sourcing” your credibility is a pretty embarrassing move in my eyes. You present yourself as being humble enough to distance your personal brand from the title of expert and you allow your dedicated (therefore slightly if not outright biased) followers to lend you credibility. Bea Fields did the same thing recently when she was confronted with the same questions.
Now, to respond to the issue of being young and naive, while age, like wine perhaps, bring about a new depth of purpose, the closest a Boomer and an Xer will EVER get to truly understanding Generation Y is in the form of a question, never an answer. As InsYght, my Consultancy, develops and continues to add clients and legitimacy to its reputation, any issue of OLD-WORLD thinking about what it means to be worthy of having an opinion will fall to the wayside.
It is my firm belief that Boomers and Xers that describe themselves as Generational Marketers, expert or not, are simply scientists, trying their best to figure out this crazy wonder that is Generation Y. But the funny thing is, Generation Y already has a voice, myself being one. I can speak for my Generation that we are fed up with Boomers and Xers telling us who we are, heck we have a hard enough time figuring it out ourselves.
So to everyone who gives their condolences to Anastasia, fine. Just understand that sitting idle on a sinking ship will only put at the bottom.
Bret Bernhoft
August 10th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Geesh. Like every gen at their youth doesn’t have a voice. Of course they do. But they are also inside it, surrounded by it and not always seeing “their now” within other contexts. No generation lives or operates within a vacuum. Bret Bernhoft’s insistence that only Millennials can talk about Millennials is a perfect illustration of a xenophopia that undercuts the societal complexities of generation, life stage and cross-generational influence.
Finally, accusing Anastasia of “crowd-sourcing her credibility” is just snarky.
August 18th, 2009 at 6:14 am
Great post to ponder. Considering how swiftly the audience changes I think it’s hard for anyone to be a youth expert — self-proclaimed or labeled by someone else.
I am very fond of the description that a dear friend and colleague in the youth marketing space calls herself and those who work at her firm: students of youth culture. I’ve adopted the phrase myself because I think it captures the spirit of a youth marketer’s mission.
I also think the most passionate “students of youth culture” are delighted by the notion that they never have to “graduate” to the level of expert. They’d rather be on a never-ending learning journey to understand youth because its inevitable shifts and changes satisfy and challenge even the most curious marketer. There’s always more to learn — and how’s that for job security?
August 24th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Great post and lots of food for thought.You provide a great resource and perspective. Interestingly, my writing partner, Dr. Kathy Cramer and I went through a similar soul searching in writing our most recent Asset-Based Thinking book, “Change The Way You See Everything – For Teens”. We decided to apply our knowledge,expertise and techniques through the lens and mindset of youth. In so doing, we took on the roles of learners, observers,motivators and advisers. We are well into our boomer years and we viewed our perspective and experiences as assets and resources for tweens and teens.(And the people that care for and about them) We believe we have learned as much as we are teaching and have come away from the experience as passionate advocates and supporters of the power, promise and potential of youth.
Keep the good work coming.
Hank Wasiak