Generation 4.0 Working @ the Intersection of People and Technology

Erin LogsdonConsultant, Digital Solutions

NELINET, Inc.

What is a generation?• All the people living at the same time or

of approximately the same age.

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=525742850&size=mhttp://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2028762948&size=m

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=361142443&size=o

4 Generations

• Traditionalists– 1925-1942

• Baby Boomers– 1943-1960

• Generation X– 1961-1981

• Generation Y– 1982-2002 http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=35724835&size=m

Traditionalists

Communication Boomer & Gen X Traditionalists

• Honor the chain of command

• Offer them job security

• Value their experience

• Appreciate their dedication

Source: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/WL/00045.html

Baby Boomers

Generation X

Communication Boomer --> Generation X

• Get to the point

• Use e-mail

• Give them space

• Get over the notion of dues paying

• Lighten up

Source: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/WL/00045.html

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=581816877&size=m

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=474399662&size=m

&

What do they want?

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=19861632&size=l

Generation Y

Communication Boomer & Gen X Gen Y

• Challenge them

• Ask them their opinion

• Find them a mentor

• Provide timely feedback

Source: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/WL/00045.html

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=131488403&size=m

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=431708434&size=m

What do they want?

http://www.us.randstad.com/2008WorldofWork.pdf

Librarians by Age

http://www.ala.org/ala/ors/reports/membership_younger.pdf

Where did they go?

Technology View• Anything that is in the world when you were

born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural way the world works.

• Anything that is invented between the time when you are 15 to 35 is new, revolutionary, and exciting, and you can possibly get a career in it.

• Anything invented after you are 35 is against the natural order of things.

» Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Online over time

COMMUNICATION

How can I reach you?• Phone• Web• Email• IM• Text Messaging• Twitter• RSS• Print• In Person• Facebook/MySpace

Email is Email is Dead! Dead! Long Live Long Live Email!Email!

OMG!

In the fourth quarter of 2007, American cellphone subscribers for the first time sent text messages more than they phoned, according to Nielsen Mobile. Since then, the average subscriber’s volume of text messages has shot upward by 64 percent, while the average number of calls has dropped slightly.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/technology/29drill.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&pa rtner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1222650007- Xrmxs+XS6Lh4rxM9s9uCMQ&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Instant Messaging

1.7 billion1.7 billion Instant Messages sent across AOL's messaging networks (AIM and ICQ) each day, during the quarter ended June 30, 2007 http://corp.aol.com/whoweare/facts.shtml

Source: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/myspace.com+facebook.com/?metric=uv

Facebook had

44 million+44 million+unique visitors in October 2008

Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds, Executive Summary

Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds

Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds, Executive Summary

Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds

Integration

Quiz Time!

Which generation is the largest user of public libraries?

Generation Y!

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/report_display.asp

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/Pew_UI_LibrariesReport.pdf

The IMLS National Study on the Use of Libraries, Museums and the Internet

http://interconnectionsreport.org/

Image Source: Cayusa

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=327122302&size=m

Contact Info:Erin Logsdonlogsdon@nelinet.net508.597.1946

Additional Info:http://del.icio.us/taxonomylady/generations

Questions?