Mind The Generation Gap

[by Sunni] At last week’s SMC Dallas meeting, we discussed social networking and politics (attendees included Tony Wright, Jake McKee, Lauren Vargas, Blaine Collins, and Blake Poutra). I thought it would be worth elaborating on some of my comments, especially since I know Todd would find this interesting (and worth some mockery: anyone want the over/under on how long it will take him to post a smart-ass comment?).

For starters, here’s some background:

• In elementary school, when I begged my parents for an Atari, they went out and bought a Commodore 64 with a cassette deck. This was my introduction to computers.
• My college computer was a Powerbook 165c.
• I started using email on a daily basis in 1994, usually to communicate with professors about assignments.
• I also started instant messaging in 1994, using the "finger" and "talk" commands through Telnet. I'm sure this sounds pathetic, but let's take this in context -- our campus had a wired computer in almost every dorm room. The quicker you learned the "finger" command, the easier it was to slack off while writing that 20-page research paper on gender roles in Roald Dahl's short stories...
• By 1997 I was citing web sources in my thesis paper.
• I have lived in three states in the past 10 years, and I keep in touch with my family through e-mail and instant messenger (my mother and father have taken to IM like fish to water).

What should the above facts tell you about me? Well, aside from the fact that I may or may not lean toward the nerdly side, it should tell you that my familiarity with computers and networking in general predisposed me (before I was even aware it existed) toward a career in the internet industry. Here are more tidbits:

• My main form of communication with loved ones is electronic, which could explain a somewhat unusual familiarity with social networking sites (considering I graduated from college close to 10 years ago). I share photos with my family over Google and Flickr, and I would love to set up a JotSpot when/if that tool comes back.
• Because I'm keeping up with three different regions for news information, I also rely heavily on the Internet as my news source. I use Google News Alerts to keep up with specific subjects, then tune to local news sites for quick snapshots of info. I also watch local news stories on the web sites for those specific news stations. My first stop of the day, however, is news.google.com, which gives me quick hits from all over the world. The amount of news I consume on a daily basis can be staggering.
• While I’m more Generation Y than Generation Wired, I represent the cusp of what’s to come.

As a result of having spent the majority of my adult life firmly entrenched in learning, researching and collecting news and information on the internet, I find that I am fairly disassociated from any sense of locality. My connection to my current city of residence is tenuous at best, even with the solid network of friends I've managed to build (It doesn't help that I do not plan on living in Dallas for the rest of my life). I have voted in local elections, but hardly with any regularity, and rarely do I fill in more than a couple of lines on any given ballot. This is not lethargy on my part -- I take the time to get to the voting location, I take the time to read up on the major issues -- and it's not quite apathy. I DO care, but because of my submersion in the world of internet news, my understanding of politics and issues is heavily slanted toward a national scale. If it's not covered by NPR, The Daily Show, or my favorite local blog, I won't know about it.

And here, finally, is the point of this post: I'm going to be following this year's Dallas mayoral race very closely for the first time in, oh, ever to watch this guy. Dubbed the "MySpace Candidate" by Esquire, Zac Crain has wholeheartedly embraced the social networking approach to politics (great article from Cardiff J-School here). While this is a common method in national races (see Barack Obama's site, which Blake nicely calls to task for being a clunky copycat), this is a pretty rare tactic for a local race. While Zac may be young, inexperienced, and a former music critic (gasp!), he has accomplished a feat rare among his associates: He has managed to find me where I live online and has put his message in front of me in a manner that is befitting of the medium -- succinct, well-written, and with a snazzy logo. Zac uses the Internet as a tool, not just for disseminating information, but for finding and connecting with his constituents in an effective manner. In the coming new age of politicking, visiting the ice cream socials to sit with the families at the picnic tables and shtump about values ain't gonna work. Candidates have to find the new "neighborhood" gatherings -- and those are moving to the Internet. Show me a candidate that is comfortable in that forum, and I'll show you the "youth vote."

Do I think Zac will win? Not sure just yet. My instinct says "no," but that doesn't mean his race won't be important. If it gets me -- and others like me -- interested in the future of this city that I have chosen to live in for the time-being, then he's won a pretty big battle.

Comments

[JenCarole]

Great article and you didn't even mention Zac has a screaming web site. Beautiful design. If he communicates as clearly as he appears to - he might be worth considering.

You just begin to introduce the other problem. So many of us are "global" or at least quasi-global and you are right, it's hard to tune in locally. If I didn't have a kid, I don't think I would! My world exists miles away from where I live even though I sit in my home office all day long. The company headquarters is in France and time is no longer relevant. So being an active, community-minded citizen is now a different kind of breed.

Thank you for making me think!

[Blaine Collins]

Thanks for filling us in on the background Sunni. And thanks for reminding us all of the "finger" command. :)

I wrote a post spinning off of your post, but apparently the trackback function at my blog host is not working properly. I linked to the post in the comment url.

The jest is that, despite many differences, we share the sense of not being particularly associated with locality. That leads me to think that it may be less about our generation/age and more about how individual's are wired. Some people appear to be more prone to using social media, no matter their age.