Note from Anastasia: This is the first post from a member of the new Ypulse Youth Advisory Board. Congrats to YAB member Megan Reid for coming up with this feature idea and kicking it off.

The Last Five Things

Most non-Gen Y-ers know about the major tools teens are using online: MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, blogging, streaming TV and movies, downloading music. They could probably even identify what a wall post or tweet is, and name a popular gaming site. But even with all the statistics on how teens and tweens are using media and networking, things change so quickly that at times, it can even be hard for digital natives to keep up with trends (note the outcry over Facebook’s recent redesign, for example). For youth media and marketing pros, this can get pretty disastrous: How do you know how to reach teens online if you only know WHAT they’re using, but not HOW they’re using it?

With that in mind, we’ll be supplying a more detailed, specific, up-to-date look at how Gen Y is using the internet and other media with “The Last Five Things.” It’s not meant to be all-inclusive by any means and is written so that even if you're not on Facebook, you get it. It's basically a reminder of the range of ways we’re staying connected.

The first topic? Facebook.

THE HIGH SCHOOLER

Name: Hilary
Age: 16
Current Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

The Last Five Things…I did on Facebook

1. Made an public album for my school's yearbook called "Spirit Week," and tagged all of the photos
2. Became a fan* of "Gilmore Girls"
3. Messaged my big sister at college
4. Gave my friends "plants" with the “Greenbook” application**: they donate money to cut down on CO2 emissions
5. Facebook chatted with my friend Erik

THE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Name: Pamela
Age: 19
Current Location: Goes to school in Norton, Massachusetts, but currently studying abroad in Siena, Italy

The Last Five Things…I did on Facebook
1. Read two of my friends’ wall-to-wall***
2. Read my messages – only one, but I’m part of a thread that has about twelve people responding.
3. Wrote a message back
4. Looked through my own pictures
5. Checked the newsfeed****

First name: Karen
Age: 21
Current Location: Morgantown, West Virginia

The Last Five Things…I did on Facebook

1. Wrote on my friend Kayla's wall to tell her Happy Birthday.
2. Added this really hilarious guy who is running for homecoming king as a friend.
3. Changed my profile picture to a new one of me and my boyfriend.
4. Accepted a friend request from a guy I went to high school with.
5. Updated my status: "Karen isn't giving up on the Mountaineers."

THE RECENT GRADUATES

First name: Tom
Age: 20
Current Location: Sydney, Australia

The Last Five Things…I did on Facebook

1. Checked my inbox & replied to messages
2. Had a look at a grammar test: The ‘Their/There/They're” application. Didn't add or complete
3. Checked who had added new photos.. Look at a friend overseas.
4. Updated my status: "Tom is up.. and should be packing for Dubai"
5. Deleted some event invites

Name: Travis
Age: 22
Current Location: Boston, Massachusetts

The Last Five Things…I did on Facebook

1. Looked through tagged photos of a friend to see a few pictures from graduation last year
2. Navigated to a friend's Wall to find a link to a magazine story (online) that I had thought was amusing
3. Visited a friend's profile to check his cell phone number
4. Looked through my photo albums and tagged photos (of myself) to find a possible new profile photo
5. Searched for Facebook groups against the federal financial bailout

*A lot of brands, from the Sex and the City movie, to the New York Times, to John Mayer, to Ypulse keep “fan pages” on Facebook, with offical updates and fan boards. When you join, a small icon is added to your profile.
**Applications are usually independenly-developed platforms you can use on Facebook. People join them, and they include games, quizzes, polls and music imbedding. “Bumper Sticker” and “Compare Your Friends” are two popular examples
*** Lets you track the back-and-forth wall conversations of two people.
**** Updates you on what all of your friends have done on Facebook- status updates, pictures posted, groups joined, etc.

About Megan (Meg) Reid
Megan is a college student, freelancer and hardcore bookworm. She began writing fashion articles for her hometown newspaper at age 15, and her work has since appeared in publications like Boston magazine, Mountain Living and CosmoGirl. Meg also loves theatre and the arts, and when she's not sending postcards, devouring YA novels, or reading up on 19th-century cultural studies, she's probably dragging someone along on a late-night ice cream/Starbucks run. Meg has lived in three (soon to be four) countries and five states, though she currently resides in Arizona.

Categorized under: Collegians, Web, Youth Advisory Board

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