Millennial Blog

I have come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a Millennial. I'm on the cusp, being almost too old to be included. Yet, my outgoing personality, my craving to learn and write constantly and my pathetic need to be connected at all times drops me in the category that consists of teens that IM while doing EVERYTHING; people that get hurt by walking and texting at the same time; people that check their Fantasy Leagues on their phones; and people that make plans using Facebook. Yep, I'm that person. And I love it.

A little while back, the Atlantic had an amazing article about the way technology changes the way we think called "Is Google making us stupid?". It's a pretty good article and it really made me realize how my thinking has been affected by technology. This was also the point that I realized that I was a Millennial, even if I was an "old" one.

The article addressed all kinds of stuff. It talked about Nietzsche. It talked about how Chinese characters make different parts of the brain work versus the alphabet. It talked about the invention of the clock and how we got to sleep, eat and all that by the clock, not by our natural senses. It talks about Taylor's industrial philosophy and what an algorithm is: the idea of living by precise directions. The author wraps it up with some ancient philosopher talk. It's a seamless article and the author gets creative with the 2001 reference and what Kubrick meant. I understand the movie more then ever. I thought the article was really well written. I loved it and the understanding it brought me. It wasn't strictly about Generation Y, but it definitely hit on a few Millennial points.

Hence, I have been a little more aware of literature about my alleged generation. Here's a couple of other things I picked up:

Millennial Voters - Washington Post
This is a review about the book Youth to Power by Keli Goff. The book looks at how the Millennial generation is changing the face of politics. Looks interesting.

Faces of the Future - CNN
Here's a slide show of twenty-somethings that are leading the charge in some of the biggest, baddest companies around. It gives all those folks my age looking for work hope.

Job-hopping Gen Yers aren't disloyal. They're smart. - CNN
This article covers how Gen Yers job hop because they don't trust the old routine of working for one employer and then being unceremoniously thrown to the curb. We're a wary bunch, the author says, and we're taking every opportunity we can. Gen Yers learned from the Baby Boomers and they're not sticking around to get screwed by the man. The Gig is a cool blog about Generation Y, so make sure to check out all the other posts, too.

Leading Generation Y - United State Army
This is a PDF of the Army's strategy to train the Millennials in the Armed Forces. It says in the conclusion that:

"The key focus of Army leaders at every level should be the mentoring and development of Generation Y. Understanding their values, appealing to their techno-savvy upbringing, providing feedback, adjusting the design of the training base, and attempting to balance work with life are all areas that leaders should focus on to help keep this new generation around for the fight."