In a nutshell…

• Co-writing an article with Jake Pearce on the future of banking (or even of money itself!), especially as it pertains to Generation C.
• Developing the brand philosophy of iJump with help from 7degree. Incredibly challenging, yet also incredibly valuable.
• Reading We Think, by Charles Leadbeater, which in turn is introducing me to a lot of other books (many available free online) such as Yochai Benkler’s The Wealth of Networks and Erich von Hippel’s Democratising Innovation.
• Ruminating on the concepts of value, agility, relationships and experience.
• And I went for a wee swing in Taihape! (I tell you what, a near-death experience is good for you every once in a while!)

Hi, I’m Simon Young, a social media consultant, entrepreneur and writer and speaker on the topics of marketing, innovation and management.

I specialise in helping business people see the changes that are happening in our world – changes like Generation C and Social Media.

What do you want to do?

You can:

• Check out #sy social media consultancy,
• Read iJump, the social media blog and community I cofounded in 2007
• Read my blog (updated about once a day), or follow me on Twitter
• Read my magazine articles
• Check out the Looksy project I cofounded in 2006
• Connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook

I look forward to meeting you!

Image by MediaStorm via Flickr

Jake and I got together before his world trip last month, and talked about Generation C, Generation I, and I think we even mention Generation Z.

What’s up with all these generations? And why do some Wikipedia editors not see Generation C as being significant enough to warrant its own page?

Perhaps most importantly, what’s the difference between Gen C and all these other generations? You might find out in this podcast…

 Standard Podcast [12:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (357)

…and my time is fairly unstructured.

So… if you’d like to catch up with me, I’d love to talk with you over a cup of Wellington’s famous coffee (well, actually I’m more of a hot chocolate drinker).

Why would you want to catch up with me (if you don’t already know me)? Here are a few possible reasons:

• we could talk about how social media can help you or your company
• we could talk about your high-tech idea or product, and whether it might be something of interest for iJumpTV.
• we could talk about the future of journalism, media, entertainment, video, marketing and Generation C.

I love meeting people, so just the fact that you’re reading this blog makes you worth meeting.

How do you get hold of me? Text me or call me on

021 192 0016

What have I been up to? Woah, baby. What haven’t I been up to! It all started last weekend.

• I got a Nokia N95 cellphone, which has a fantastic still and video camera built-in. All the cool social media kids like Loic LeMeur and Robert Scoble are using them. Naturally, I had to share my joy. Much discussion ensued!
• I participated in a Flash Mob – a conga dance in a shopping mall. Videos here – and my video thoughts on implications for marketing here. And the angry response of the security guard just accelerated my inevitable slide towards Marxism. Kind of.
• I chaired the first Brightstar Interactive Marketing Summit on Monday. My notes. It was great to meet some old friends and synthesise some great marketing thinking from practitioners, publishers and agency types alike.
• On Tuesday I attended the launch of Nielsen’s Buzzmetrics service in New Zealand. I’ll soon be writing a post about this for iJump, but in the meantime here’s Jake’s take on it, which I very much agree with. However I do think Nielsen were actually wise to take a … well, traditional (I’m trying not to say ‘boring’) approach becauset the culture of business is so conservative. They don’t want to scare away the money. Er, people.
• On Thursday I was very blessed and privileged to attend a celebration party for Looksy.org, and meet some of the people who have been participating in Looksy’s weekly TV show on Alt TV, filming interviews to find out “what your world is like”, and supporting us in other ways. Very exciting to see something grow organically! We also made the world’s biggest collaborative cocktail, which included bemusing ingredients like lavender and tobasco sauce. Could have powered a car on it, and the exhaust would smell like bananas. That’s what Looksy’s about – leaving the world a better place than you found it.
• I also got to speak at the Marketing Association’s Certificate of eMarketing course, which is always great to hear the real life marketing concerns of students.
• I’ve been privileged to work with the pilot project of A Bigger Voice, an exciting US-based startup that’s helping people harness their remarkable wisdom and grow a business through community. Some great synergies with iJump there.

Finally, I was very relieved to buy some jeans that actually fit me last weekend. That may seem a trivial thing, but I’ve been wearing baggy jeans for months after losing some weight. It’s great to wear clothes that fit you.

On a similar note, I’ve been discovering my strengths through StrengthsFinder 2.0. I’m working on reducing the areas that play to my weaknesses, and focusing on the areas that play to my strengths. It’ll take a while, but I know I’m on my way. It’s exciting.

For the record, my top 5 strengths are:

Strategic

Connector

Intellection

Learner

Empathy

Coming up soon:

• Speaking engagements in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in August and September.
• Interesting developments in the businesses.
• Out now – an article on branding in the current NZMarketing Magazine.

Jake Pearce and I get together again to discuss the impact Generation C is having on … the music industry. And keep an eye on newsstands later this month for a special update on Generation C in Idealog magazine.

Meantime, enjoy the podcast!

 Generation C changes the world, part deux [36:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (627)

I’ve been in cahoots with Generation C expert Jake Pearce for about a year now, on projects like Looksy.org. It’s long past time to launch our first podcast: Generation C changes the world.

This was recorded in the TRN studios in Auckland City, way back at the end of November. Through the wonders of (ahem) summerholidays…(ahem) … we now bring you this, the first Generation C podcast.

You’ll hear how Generation C is the first generation in the world that’s actually growing, because it’s a psychographic, not a demographic. You’ll also hear about the disruptive effect Gen C are having on industries like music and entertainment – and it won’t stop there.

Hold on. You’re in for a wild ride.

 Generation C changes the world - Part 1 [33:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (614)

I write songs and play the keyboard and guitar. In fact, before freelance writing, I was involved in freelance jingle composition.

My musical influences range from the Beatles to Bach and Beethoven to electronic composers like Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre. I love variety.

Here are a few tracks for your listening pleasure:

Generations 3

The Journey Home

Wunda Safari

City at Night

Pursuit

I’m the founder of SimonYoungWriters and cofounder of iJump and Looksy.org.

SimonYoungWriters is a group of freelance writers from diverse backgrounds. We connect writers and organisations so those organisations can get their message across clearly, and in a way that makes sense on an emotional as well as an intellectual level.

iJump helps organisations and people jump into what we call the “social media playground” – social networking, blogging, podcasting and virtual worlds. Marie and I help people see these things as the tools they are, not just as distractions.

Looksy.org is the world’s first consumer-generated documentary, about (and by) a whole generation – Generation C. I joined forces with Jake Pearce and Ilai Amir to build a bridge of understanding between Generation C, and the businesses smart enough to listen.

How did I get this way?

I love business – which would surprise you if you knew me at a younger age. I grew up with my head in the clouds, writing, reading, drawing cartoons – anything but paying attention to the serious subjects like maths and accounting.

When I did set up my first business in 1999, I unleashed a latent passion for business. Puzzled, I looked into my family history and realised that my mother and both her sisters had been self-employed at some stage, though not entrepreneurs in the traditional money-making sense. Instead, their entrepreneurship was about creating things.

Auntie Ros and Uncle Brian made honey and sold fruit in the orchard, enabling them to enjoy a rural lifestyle. Auntie Jill and Uncle Russ made art – you should see the stuff Russ made with anvil and hammer. And mum made clothes and arranged flowers. None of it earth-shattering stuff, but stuff that made you want to break the mould, to do things differently.

Business also enables you to learn more than you ever would in a “day job”. Most of my career has been motivated by the desire to learn how things work, or more importantly, how people work.

One of my secret goals when I began in business was to give advice to people on pursuing their own dreams. I don’t know if I’m much of a role model, but feel free to ask me a question about your dream.