#21 Mini Series – how to influence Generation C “1″
October 30, 2009 by Jake Pearce
After a wee delay, I’m back. I’ve been overseas and then got sick, so I’m very sorry I haven’t been blogging regularly – however it’s back to normal now!
So, today I begin a ‘mini series’ of VLOGS talking about Digital Influencers.
Why? Well, Generation C is a psychographic, ageless generation which is typified by a love of the digital media (whether that is full on internet involvement or just texting) and a desire for control in the digital environment. And to discover how to engage Generation C, digital natives, we must understand how to identify Digital Influencers to help achieve that engagement.
To begin this exploration I sum up Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point’ which showed that you don’t need many people to grow a movement/influence lots of people.
Check out the video - less than 4 minutes…
In summary there are 3 types of people necessary to spread the word on any particular matter per Malcolm Gladwell:
- Mavens: these people know loads of stuff about areas they are interested in and really enjoy passing on information e.g. where to find the cheapest deal on a car, whether the new release from Microsoft is any good. Then Mavens pass on information to…
- Connectors: they are people who are socially very networked and can be famous, and/or thought leaders and/or just very well connected in a wide range of spheres. And Connectors know…
- Sales people: these are very persuasive people who are great at passing on information in a highly engaging way that ignites action in the people they tell.
While this is a very powerful overview of how the few engage the many, it misses something vital which we will be exploring.
Namely, that Connectors have huge networks and usually don’t see/connect with all those people in their huge networks regularly. So how do we get the word out to people more regularly that Connectors can? Who do we need to influence Generation C – digital natives more immediately/immediately?
We’ll start to look at that next week J
Do you have a system to find Maven’s, Connectors and Sales people? If not, why not? What tools do you need and do you want some help 
#16 Why Generational stereotypes are incorrect
July 21, 2009 by Jake Pearce
This week I’m looking at why generational stereotypes are incorrect.
Generational studies usually focus on a demographic or age based analysis and define each generation by what they do.
For example when thinking about the Boomer generation, they talk about their activities – music, protests, hippy movement etc.
The key is that they are missing the point – to understand a generation the key is to look at the motivation that defines them. After all we are human beings not human doings
For Boomers it’s all about freedom or being free and they demonstrate this by the music, hippy movement, political protests that their generation are noted for.
So Generation C isall about Control and show this by wanting to have the power to choose how to define their environment, be heard and share with other people in the digital world.
The video is 3 mins 48 seconds. Hope you find it useful.
How do you think generations should be defined?
#13 What does the “C” stand for in Generation C
June 26, 2009 by Jake Pearce
It’s time to clear up the confusion about what the “C” in Generation C stands for:
Some very learned people from Digital Hive, Saatchi and Saatchi and more have come up with their thoughts on defining the “C”.
This video is 3 mins 30 secs long and deals with:
- Various views on what the “C” stands for
- The impact of defining a generation based on what they do rather than what motivates them
- What I believe the “C” stands for and why
What do you think the “C” stands for?
#1 Welcome to my dedicated Generation C blog
October 7, 2008 by Jake Pearce
Hi!
Please allow me to introduce myself. You can then assess whether this blog is for you! My name is Jake Pearce. Since I was a kid I’ve been obsessed by the future and figuring it out. It drove my mother nuts and I’ve been lucky enough to turn this obsession into a a career. I love it. I am a breakthrough strategist and people come to me for lateral marketing solutions, innovation and trend knowledge.
My full credentials are here (be careful what you read 
) – http://www.jakepearce.com/who/
I think we are on the edge of a revolution in how human society works in many ways – and a key one is how people are grouped in generations. Most people are clear about Boomers and Generation X. Beyond that – it starts getting fuzzy .
GenC (digital natives) is the first generation in history that is actively growing – and doesn’t rely on birth/having stuff in common but attitude. It is a psychographic not a demographic generation; it’s a choice. In the future people will have multiple generational identities – like immigrants in a new country.
In my opinion this will create a revolution in marketing because the notion of national and generational identity will have changed forever. This issue, it seems to me, is going largely unnoticed. Marketing works because we use age as a means to access common marketing needs and experience. Yet generation dual, triple and quadruple identity is about to happen – making targeting in marketing harder than ever. (And much more interesting).
The issue is as big as ‘new marketing’. We need to understand GenC better – this blog is an attempt to gather debate and opionion on this to help us all make sense of the world. GenC is an attitude and crosses over into existing demographic Generations. There is Boomer/C , Silent/C, X/C (me), Y/C , Z/C and C/C. We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s going to be contentious, challenging and good fun. Let’s C.
Watch out for the next posting which will be a response to Jaffe Juice #111 ‘talking about my generation’ http://www.acrossthesound.net/