“Brand ambushing” is seen as a way to cut through the clutter of advertising and shock consumers, and the practice has been used by other brands like Domino’s, which tracked down naysayers and had them taste their new and improved pizza. It works because it’s unusual, it creates a scene, and it really is surprising.

As “brand ambushing” becomes more popular, it’s beginning to show Gen Y that the brands are listening to us. We just want to be heard. Gen Y uses a number of different channels just to have a voice; we tweet, text, blog, IM, comment, and “Like” things on Facebook because we expect someone to listen. Wheat Thins listened; they saw a message that could be easily ignored, but they actually did something about it. When a company does respond, it says “we hear you, loud and clear!” It gives validation to our comments and proves that there are actual people behind the brands we buy. This responsiveness creates a personal connection between the brand and the consumer. As we learned from the response to the recent Old Spice social media campaign, we love when brands talk back to us.

Andy Warhol’s theory has never been more true: our generation wants fame. Because of YouTube, we all have a chance at our 15 minutes (or seconds) of fame. We want to stand out. Getting famous is easier than ever because of social media, and we’re ready for our time in the spotlight. Brands that use an ambushing technique tend to do it for advertising or publicity, which means that for a limited period of time, the person getting ambushed is famous, which resonates with our generation. Right now, the video of the Wheat Thins being delivered to Hancock has over 480,000 views.

Another positive aspect of ambushing is simple: free stuff. Getting something for free is guaranteed to appeal to Gen Y; a lot of us are coming out of college with huge amounts of debt during a recession and an awful job market. With a 17.8% unemployment rate for those of us aged 20-24 as of June 2010, any handout sounds stupendous. The benefit of giving away a few boxes of Wheat Thins (all the attention and brand awareness) far outweighs the cost.

Of course, being ambushed by a brand is a little creepy and has a “Big Brother” feel to it. Brand ambushing can seem invasive, and we feel like our privacy is being compromised. It is a little scary; Wheat Thins found out exactly where this woman lived using social media and the internet (and had some help from her Facebook friends). It’s a little unnerving, but I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker.

We’re accustomed to having less privacy. We still care, but I think we’ve grown used to being out in the open.  We’re the generation that lets the internet know where we are just for fun, on Foursquare, and our use of social media is making our lives much more transparent.

I think the good outweighs the bad in “brand ambushing,” and it’s a great way to reach our generation because it is in-your-face, it cuts through the clutter, it lets us know that we’re being heard, and we get to be famous for just a little bit. So the next time you see a Wheat Thins truck pulling into your driveway, don’t be angry or afraid. Just be hungry!

Given the impressions of Libertarians in the media, it’s no wonder that many people are left confused as to what we actually stand for.

Libertarians are generally aligned towards the center of the political spectrum, and thus irritate the vocal leaders of the bipolar political majority in the United States. We’ll work together with Democrats to cut the outrageous military spending, and rally with Republicans to protect the rights of gun owners and the Second Amendment.

But we don’t even agree with each other most of the time. The only core beliefs and principles that bind Libertarians together are the preservation of personal freedoms and the recognition that government solutions to society’s woes are rarely efficient (if at all effective). The stance of not expanding government to a size where politicians and corporations can abuse their power has left us with very few allies in the media and political arenas.

The video above illustrates how there is a wide variety of opinions on the various “stalemate” culture issues. As you’ll note, the main thing these people have in common is that they interpret personal freedoms first and foremost. Furthermore, another trend you will find in Libertarians, perfectly illustrated in the video, is that we are well-spoken, clear on what we’re trying to say, yet remain polite to opposing views. So if we can disagree on so many different issues, and have no official party stances on those issues, what exactly makes a Libertarian a Libertarian?

“We seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others,” says the official Libertarian Party website.

We agree that the original framing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is where we should return to, rather than whittle away. It’s within the Bill of Rights that the hot Libertarian beliefs are contained: freedom of expression (and press), freedom of self defense (gun owners’ rights), and that it’s the responsibilities of states to handle issues that weren’t specifically delegated to the federal government (even in the time of the colonies, it was recognized that there were no one-size-fits-all solutions).

A Libertarian will almost always oppose the Federal Reserve, government-run monopolies, welfare systems, and the exponentially expanding federal debt, as well as government intervention in economic markets. We (safely) assume that both power and money corrupt, so in order to prevent corruption at the highest levels, we must limit both as much as possible. Have I mentioned why mainstream politicians hate us?

While I may have given the impression that Libertarians are only portrayed negatively in the media, there are actually a number of positive icons to be found. In fact, you probably have watched (and enjoyed) many a Libertarian artist. One could say that humor and biting satire is yet another common thread of Libertarianism, such as Trey Parker’s Emmy-winning joke on how the Federal Reserve helps our economy or Penn & Teller’s cultural docu-series, Bullshit!

Youth disenchantment with the government is growing. Millennials came out in droves in the last presidential election, but have since reverted to their old habits – such as not voting. Many blame a inability to connect with either in the two-party system. Well, take heart, because the Libertarian party is the third largest in this country and a recent Pew research survey said that young people have a generally positive association with the word “libertarian,” though many are uncertain about what exactly the word means.

It’s next to impossible to concisely convey the beliefs of a party that holds the principals of economics and the Bill of Rights above other considerations. With the rise of social media, many Libertarian organizations, news sites, and other groups are growing (it also helps that mainstream politicians have been providing failure after failure to assist in recruitment).

We may lack the support of high-profile politicians, the companies that own them, or the media; yet according to George Will, a Libertarian’s greatest ally is “arithmetic.” The numbers on the balance sheets don’t lie, and our government is spending our generation specifically into a hole that is nearly impossible to get out of. All these social programs that are going to rely on our generation’s money will ultimately fail before we even get to use any of them.

The party is ending, Gen Y, and we’re being left with the tab. Educate yourself and get involved!

Cartoon by Andy Singer

Then I stumbled upon BPGlobalPR, a Twitter handle posing as British Petroleum to put down the company in a truly witty manner. With tweets like “If you fall off your horse, get back on. If your horse explodes and leaks oil everywhere, try to sell that oil. #bpcares,” @BPGlobalPR attracted thousands of followers instantly.

And then, on Facebook, options to “like” groups such as  “Boycott BP,” “1,000,000 Strong to Boycott BP,” or “R.I.P. Spongebob, who died in an oil spill cause [sic] of BP,” popped up within a few hours of news of the spill.

Gen Y is a protesting generation. We are opinionated and we demand change. Almost eerily similar to the Baby Boomers (they call us Echo Boomers for a reason), we are ready to fight – but not always by using picket signs or sit-ins. With social media and new technologies tightly woven into the fabric of our day-to-day lives, we’ve started to use them as tools for protest.

And the result of tweeting out what we oppose or “liking” a group connected to a current controversy, Gen Y comes together in the millions. With a few characters and the click of the mouse, we unite for a common purpose. It is our large numbers – and the unprecedented ability to easily connect them – that give us more power to influence change than ever before.

The power of the click is undeniable, but the intent behind it might be. Yes, Gen Y is passionate. But, what if we’re clicking away to support this, that, and the other because it means that we don’t actually have to stand up to what we’re against in person? Along with joining groups to put a stop to the world’s many injustices, we also join groups like “Things magically appear when your mom looks for them” or “I hate when you pour a bowl of cereal and there’s no milk.” So yes, Gen Y comes together in protest, but also to acknowledge that they too use their cell phone to see in the dark.

New groups like these flood our home pages and become more and more ridiculous. This brings me to question the difference between drive and following a fad. Perhaps your 15-year-old neighbor you’re now friends with on Facebook is not informed on the BP controversy and is just pressing “like” to seem older or more sophisticated? But I would argue, Gen Y is actively protesting and working towards a brighter tomorrow.

Whatever your take is on how Gen Y protests, we can agree that Gen-Y is causing a stir in cyberspace. For example, when BP discovered the twitter group “BPGlobalPR” they contacted Twitter and demanded for the handle to be deleted. Instead, the handle was required to make it clear in their “bio” section that it was not actually affiliated with British Petroleum. So, of course, they concocted this: “We are not associated with Beyond Petroleum, the company that has been destroying the Gulf of Mexico for 81 days.” And now they’re selling t-shirts, too.

But the oil spill is not the only buzz-worthy story on the newsfeed. When Conan O’Brien was removed as the host for The Tonight Show, there was an uproar and profile pictures sprouted all over the world, appropriately captioned as “I’m with Coco.” And although Conan didn’t get his spot back and had to leave NBC, at least he knew that Gen Y was behind him (and this may have influenced his decision to go to TBS, over another network).

This social media support movement is not specific to the U.S. In fact, social media protests dominated Iran’s 2009 elections as young people across the world banded together against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“Tehran’s authoritarian leaders clearly were caught off-guard. They had managed to take down the telephone system opposition supporters used for texting, but for some reason were slow to  eliminate other social media. As open defiance of the election results broke out, citizen journalists used new media to spread the word. And the whole Web was watching,” wrote The Washington Times.

Media outlets started calling the event Iran’s Twitter Revolution. And although some say that the entire uproar was “exaggerated,” it still received a huge response from Iran’s government, which proves that governments of all nations are reading what we put out there via the Internet. And by blocking certain social networking sites, like Iran did after the Twitter Revolution, says that they fear the voice of Gen Y.

And maybe they should fear us, the way the government feared the Boomers. Because of groups like Anonymous, Gen Y has taken online protesting to a whole new level. Through the usual social networking platforms and discussion forums like 4chan, Anonymous creates online protests like  Project Chanology (a protest against Scientology). But they also have been deemed responsible for declaring May 20, 2009 as “YouTube Porn Day,” when they allegedly embedded family friendly videos with porn in protest against governments that don’t favor net neutrality.

Some refer to Anonymous as “domestic terrorists,” but “terrorism” (in my opinion) is a term that is overused and non-specific at this point. So despite criticisms, Anonymous is simply using their right to protest. They just cause a slightly larger stir. Groups like Anonymous is make Gen Y seem unstoppable, which makes me wonder if it is possible for Gen Y to actually “save the world” through online activism?

We are the generation of the social network, and that means “connection” in the broadest sense of the word. Gen Y updates together, tweets together, and stands up together when the occasion calls for it. We’re not just telling our friends what we think. We’re announcing our views to the world.

Photos by scragz (top) and karen90631 (bottom)

Image Credit: caveman_92223 via Flickr

Paul Parkin, a founding partner of SALT Branding in San Francisco, had an interview with MediaPost’s Sarah Mahoney about Gen Y and brands earlier this month. Ultimately, he says, members of Gen Y trust channels more than brands. “They may not be loyal to any brand of shoes or department store, but they are loyal to the Internet channel, and brands like Zappos.com and Amazon.”

In short, I agree with Parkin. As a member of Gen Y, I am not the most loyal and often distrust brands. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t buy into brands or have brands that I am loyal to.

Yes, it’ true. Millennials do trust some brands, but these days, they seem few and far between. The companies that we do invest in are ones that communicate with us  and not at us. Not to mention that those brands often have a message or meaning beyond the products they sell.

One important topic that Parkin touches on in his interview is that we are much less loyal than previous generations. We “grew up in an age when there was always a new site emerging that was better than the old one.” With events like the BP Oil Spill and the Toyota recall, how is it possible for us to trust brands and companies that seem constantly shrouded in secrecy?

If a brand wants the trust of Millennials, it needs to be transparent and create a community for us to gather. Brands that do this successfully are the ones we are most “loyal” to like Zappos. Their CEO has a Twitter account and they also have a customer service account. As a result, you know you can always have your voice heard when your shoes don’t fit or you need help with the site.

Parkin cited also brands like Pepsi and Virgin as companies that are able to interact successfully with Millennials via mobile and social media. But when you really think about it, how many brands are able to use social media effectively to communicate with members of this generation? Most marketing professionals are still trying to figure out the best ways to use the social media world. It has had such an impact that the entire industry is changing. However, most companies still aren’t embracing this idea, and as a result, are being left behind.

For Gen Y, it’s all about the community we create with our friends, family, classmates, and even brands. According to one Time magazine article, for members of Gen Y, the lines between work and home are blurred. No matter where we are, we want to spend our time in a “meaningful and useful” way. We want to know what other people think about products we want to try versus what the companies claim these products can do. Then, and only then, by this process of evaluation, can we figure out which brands we trust.

I’ve always wondered, though, where  distrust comes from? An article in BusinessWeek said, “years of intense marketing efforts aimed directly [at Gen Y] have taught this group to assume the worst about companies trying to coax them into buying something.” Frankly, they’re right. After being bombarded by advertising and other marketing our entire lives, we are jaded and often ignore brands. At this point, we can spot a disingenuous advertisement from miles away.

Parkin summed up Millennials perfectly by saying we are “much more into ‘we,’ in the sense of collaboration. [We] want to interact with companies, and with each other.”

Gen Y lifestyles have been impacted by more than just tech and apparel brands, though. Restaurants have begun to use social media to connect with diners, and many other food establishments are following suit.

Boloco, a New England-based burrito chain, has distinguished itself from the numerous other burrito places out there by sharing its green initiatives with customers and playing an active role throughout the Boston community.

The Boloco team has attended local TweetUp events and supports a number of the area’s colleges and universities through food donations and other efforts. They have continued the conversation by inviting customers to share their experiences on Twitter, and even offer perks for the Foursquare mayors of their restaurants.

Not far behind from Boloco’s social media success is Saus, a new Belgian street food restaurant concept, complete with waffles, frites, and dipping sauces. A sauce naming contest on the company’s Facebook page has added to the excitement, and although the restaurant’s grand opening date is still some time away, followers are constantly tweeting and adding new voices to the mix of anticipation.

The Saus blog has given anxious, future customers a peek into the daily lives of Saus’s founders, first time restaurant owners who have willingly shared the tribulations that go along with opening a restaurant in Boston. According to Renee Eliah, one of Saus’s team members, the opening date will hopefully be at the end of June, pending permit issues and completing work on the ventilation system.

The social media tactics Saus has implemented are unique from what other restaurants have done because they are using these new platforms to share their journey and discuss what it takes to open a restaurant in a not-so-great economy. Not many restaurants can claim to have won over an audience before they’ve tasted the food, but Saus has done just that.

Pinkberry, the frozen yogurt phenomenon, has also made its social media presence known by offering Foursquare users 10% off in select stores when they check-in. The more check-ins they accumulate, the more points they receive toward special events. The hub even promotes half-off frozen treats to customers who bring in their receipts from the day before. Pinkberry is arguably the name that started the frozen yogurt craze, so it’s no surprise that this lifestyle brand is doing so well on the social media front.

Another restaurant that’s been in the news recently for social media integration is AJ Bombers, a Milwaukee burger joint, whose owner, Joe Sorge, utilizes Foursquare to up his customer base. Sorge increased daily sales by 110% by using a Foursquare Swarm Badge and promoted a swarm event via Twitter and Facebook.

“Joe paid attention to his customers to learn more about them, discovered their growing interest in Foursquare, then did his research about how he could take advantage of the new trend,” wrote Pamela Seiple on HubSpot.com.  “The result was a carefully and successfully implemented promotion that afforded him new customers and additional buzz.”

Our generation lives on expression and social media, so it’s refreshing to see restaurants catering to our favorite form of communication. As more of them continue to use social media as a primary method for customer interaction, Gen Y customers are likely to talk right back and help spread the news about a new eatery or promotion by word of mouth. In fact, it may be just a matter of time before restaurant brands have a little blue check mark and “Verified Account” on their Twitter profiles.

Photo credit: Saus

According to Steve Garfield, founder of Boston Media Makers, the process of applying for jobs is changing and Millennials are willing to change with it. “You can say Google is your resume because [future employers] are going to just type in your name and find out what comes up. And whatever comes up is what you’re saying about yourself or what other people are saying about you.”

Thanks to the Internet, our resumes are out there for everyone to see. But social media has made sure that our personalities are out there as well. Facebook has been an outlet for me since high school, and before that I was Myspacing. And let’s not forget the (really embarrassing) days of blogging our feelings on Livejournal. But Twitter is turning social media into professional media and it’s revolutionizing our online personalities. Twitter is, simply put, your voice. It is the shortest form of blogging out there and within those 140 characters, it’s easy to get to know what a person is like without reading between the lines of their “about me” or music tastes. There’s no room to fake who you are, and with every update, you let your followers into your day to day life.

John Pepper, the co-founder and CEO of Bolocco, Tweets all the time and thinks it’s a great tool for the job market. “I can think of a number of people who I immediately knew who they were when I met them in person because of their personalities online and in social media. And you either get a sense of if you like someone or don’t, or that you respect what they say or you find them interesting or not.”

And if our online personas interest future employers, we could find ourselves working at our dream job. I recently visited The Hub Spot where marketing manager Rebecca Corliss gave me insight into Inbound Marketing and described how she scored a job at the most popular place to work in Boston. She auctioned off a music video on Twitter that gained a lot of buzz and next thing she knew, Corliss was being asked about it in job interviews. The Hub Spot hired her for her experience, but also for the creativity she showed on the web.

Companies are also seeking out Millennials by holding contests to “win a job” and we rise to the challenge. Constantly, I see my friends trying to win opportunities to go to the Tony Awards, the Oscars, or to seek other job ventures like becoming the next Nike field reporter or a getting three-month fellowship at Ogilvy. These companies know that as Millennials, we can easily market ourselves through our social media networking communities because we have an extensive amount of resources. We “friend,” “follow,” and “add” each other to such an extent that the world has become smaller and opportunity has no limitations.

Now employers will search for us. They’ll find our resume website, interview us through our Tweets, and then we’ll be hired, pay our own rent, and finally get that puppy we’ve been dreaming of. Millennials don’t have to worry about the job market because it’s only a click away. But this doesn’t mean you don’t need to get yourself out there. You can’t expect jobs to find you via your Facebook page. One way to get ahead is to buy your name and get started on what Steve Garfield suggested, putting what you want out on the Internet, instead of waiting for someone else to do it.

And Millennials, if you’re already Tweeting away, great. If not, jump on the bandwagon. Soon enough, the CEO, editor, or founder of where you want work will be following your Tweets. So rest easy, Gen Y. Opportunity isn’t just knocking at your door, it’s in your inbox.

Read another TNGG perspective: Job Search, 2.0

Photo by @thewtb

Once upon a time in school, I remember being taught that all arguments needed to be supported by facts.  Now, I spend a considerable amount of time reading on the web. Much of the content I consume is created by Gen Y, and there’s a visible trend in that content.  You no longer need to craft a careful argument to have an opinion.

A generation ago, Boomers also had opinions.  However, the lack of an easy publishing platform meant that they couldn’t broadcast those opinions to the world.  Now, with web access being ubiquitous in the developed world, every time Gen Y has an opinion on something, it makes sure it’s published for the world, or at least its closest friends, to see.

Opinions, however, are like a drug.  The more you express them, the more of them you have, and the greater your need to express those too.  As such, Gen Y has created a mindset that it must have an opinion on everything from a political debate, to the quality of the pie at the new pizza place down the street.

High levels of education facilitate this fact. In my opinion, university education is rarely about cramming your head full of  facts, instead it’s about creating points of view and crafting arguments.  Thus, we have a generation trained to create arguments, and have opinions.  The problem comes outside of the classroom, where the need to do the hard part of arguing – supporting the argument with facts – disappears and it becomes easier, and addictive, to simply state one’s opinion.

The explosion of broadcasting tools is a great example of this.  Young people have flocked to blogging to express all of the opinions in their heads in written form, or if not writing, then video blogging.  And if those two forms of expressing opinion are too onerous, there’s always updating Facebook or Twitter statuses with one’s up-to-the-minute opinion of everything and anything.

While being opinionated is important, it’s also scary to think of a whole generation of opinionators.  News becomes nothing more than a mass of editorials from people who may or may not be qualified to write them.  This is an important distinction, because while everyone has the right to an opinion, it does not mean that all opinions are created equal. Some people’s opinions on a topic are worth more than others’ because of their backgrounds and their knowledge of the facts. Often, we confuse opinion with expertise, and anyone with enough knowledge to formulate an opinion — in other words, anyone with enough knowledge to formulate a sentence — deems themselves an expert.

Education and the web are both wonderful things that have given Gen Y tremendous advantages.  However, they’ve both also facilitated one of the most obnoxious traits of our generation.  We can’t not have an opinion on any matter, and frankly, it’s exhausting.  Some matters are not worth having opinions on.  Others may well be worthy of opinions, but that doesn’t mean that everyone needs to have one.  I think Gen Y could do with a little more indifference from time to time.

Then again, that’s just one guy’s opinion.

Photo by Obie Fernandez

As seen in my last post, social media is an integral part of my life, like many Gen Y’ers. However, I think that social media may be ruining a crucial part of our lives – dating. A surprising statement for someone that shares her life with strangers 24/7, but raise your hand if you’ve ever thought about taking your ex off your “friends” list before thinking about deleting them from your phone? [You can put your hand down now]

I know that being single and in your 20’s is perfectly normal. According to Pew Research only 21% of us are married, leaving 79% of us divorced, separated, in a relationship, or just – single. In fact, Adweek recently printed “The Power of One”, a must-read article that talks about the power of singles and their spending behavior, which is mostly being ignored by marketers. Okay, so now I no longer feel alone or ignored in my singledom – but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped in my epic journey to find a mate, that is until Facebook got in my way.

I was lucky enough to escape through most of college with a normal dating life sans Facebook, as it was founded in 2004. But now that I think about it, I can’t really remember dating without knowing everyone’s every move, thought, and current relationship status via social media. I’ve been a part of the post-facebook dating apocalypse for too long already. Nowadays, it seems dating is ruled – or at least regulated – through our online lives with platforms like Facebook. When you meet someone IRL, you have an option of continuing the relationship online or offline. If you choose offline, you’ll call/text each other, meet up, and discover nuances and facts on each date and step of the relationship. But if you choose to go online, you are thrust into knowing everything you’ve never wanted to know about a potential suitor.

After you find out that they’re single (hopefully), you perform what we youngsters call “lurking”. You (meaning everyone does this) check out their profile page, where they went to school, their interests, even their favorite movies. Then you sheepishly move on to their photos, viewing key moments of importance in that person’s life. By the second actual date, you know things about this person that you wouldn’t normally know until months into real life dating. Even if you don’t chronically lurk the other person, the status updates in your feed reveals more about their daily life than you would get from regular phone calls or coffee dates. And that’s just the beginning of the relationship.

I was bombarded with stories from my Gen Y friends about the perils of dating and social media. Many of the horror stories revolved around the drama of virtual break-ups. My friend called out his ex on her Facebook wall for lying about why they broke up and caused a huge (virtual) scene. Most of these battles were described as (virtually) very epic, and very (virtually) public. What ever did our generation do before we could cause a commotion via wall postings.

Once it’s over – what my friend describes as the “race” to change your relationship status – there’s a huge decision to make. To unfriend, or not to unfriend? Many of my buddies choose to unfriend, removing an ex not only from their real lives, but social lives as well. But what if you keep your ex around? Is it really easier to accidently run into your ex with another person at the bar, instead of watching their wall fill up with adorable postings from someone new? I doubt it.

Where does this leave Gen Y? Much like our “move onto the next trend before the first one is over” spirit, how do we just take our time in relationships without letting Facebook in-between? Do we really need every painstaking detail of our intimate lives on social media? Where do we draw the line in privacy – and is dating past that line? What do you think is easier: exploring our adult dating lives outside of the internet, or using this social platform to find deeper connections and communicate the way we use it for everything else?

Hey you.

Yes, you.

Where are you right now? Your literal location, not the “where are you in your life?” question.

Awesome. I really want to visit there someday. I hear great things.

I’m typing this in Columbia, MO while chatting with Patrick Johnson, who is somewhere in NYC.

I read blogs by people from Chicago to Saskatoon. I talk with people from Washington, the state, to Washington, the capitol.

This is an Education Week piece, so I bet you saw this coming – I learn from all of those people.

Why can’t our education system start taking advantage of this? There are some amazing professors at Mizzou, but surely we don’t have an expert in everything. Instead, we have good professors teaching things that they might have read about, or learned about when they were in school, but things they don’t really know.

But I bet there’s an expert in New York, or Greenville, SC, or Reno, NV that knows. Hell, even the people that wrote the textbook for the class. Can they Skype into a class? Think of the understanding students would gain from having a conversation with the writer of a textbook, as opposed to the current one-way flow of information.

Remember having a pen pal in third grade? That was a group project that wasn’t limited to location – you were working together on your conversation writing skills.

Now, we have Skype, Google Talk, Twitter and more to converse and come up with ideas. There is Google Docs and various dropbox platforms to help with content management. Flow.io is a great tool for project management. The best part is that many of these tools are free.

You don’t have to be a researcher with a budget to work with people across the globe. You can be a 10^th grader with access to a computer and a good idea.

Education no longer has to be limited to the walls of a classroom. This is education without walls, and we need to embrace it.

Photo Credit: DC John

I’ll freely admit that I’m a social networking addict. Like a bad episode of A&E’s Intervention, I saw all the warning signs but did nothing to stop. I couldn’t go a day without updating my twitter accounts (yes, two). I couldn’t stand waiting around for someone without checking Facebook. So when the opportunity came along to go without social media for a few days – along with NINE (yes, 9) fellow TNGG’ers – I gladly accepted this little psych experiment. I didn’t think I’d be able to go a few hours, much less 5 days of blackout.

After posting on my networks that I was going MIA, I received a text from my friend Matty, “it’s insane how ‘connectedly unconnected’ we all are”. He’s dead on. See, I maintain a vast private Facebook network, including coworkers, close local friends, and out-of-state friends. My private Twitter page allows me to connect with 50 close friends, most that I get to see a few times a year if I’m lucky. I also have a public Twitter related (mostly) to advertising. Like Ryan, a fellow blackout TNGGer, I also get my news from Twitter. Although I love watching CNN, I love following them more. Or, like Susan (experiment subject #2), “when it comes to awkward situations, I tweet about it” – you and me both lady. I’m also on Tumblr. every night being inspired by the creativity of the masses. I iChat daily with people that I never get to see (unless I score a cheap Southwest flight). Basically – if it weren’t for social media (or online communication in general), I wouldn’t be able to connect with the majority of my friends.

Because I apparently had nothing else to do, I participated in – gasp – real life (‘IRL’ in geek speak). I did my best to take every opportunity for face-to-face time during my five days off. Some highlights include:

• I took an extra ticket to the Phoenix Film Festival, saw an amazing film called “Do It Again” about a journalist’s quest to reunite The Kinks, and visited a new restaurant (sadly I accidently Yelped before I even knew what my thumbs were doing).
• I had a horrible experience at a local coffee shop and somehow survived not blogging about the awful service – although I practically had to sit on my hands to not tweet.
• I had a belated birthday dinner at a gluten-free-friendly restaurant and spent hours with one of my best girlfriends sans Facebook.
• I dined al fresco with a coworker and her dog on a beautiful spring night.
• I attended Desert Dog K-9 trials and watched the finest police dogs compete (and bite – hard).
• I had drinks with my married friends talking about WWII planes and tattoos.
• I hit the gym…often.
• AND I didn’t even blog about Ke$ha’s outlandish performance on Saturday Night Live – and trust me, that was difficult – but I made mental notes for later. Desiree – blackout subject #3 – wrote to me, “I just considered writing my tweets down so I could publish them later. Am I a social media douchebag???” I think I might be one too.

Although I crammed five days of social media celibacy with tons of events with friends, I still felt a little empty. I was out of the loop on what people were doing over the weekend, and no one told me how exciting MY weekend was. There was no validation that what I did was comment-worthy, no “cute” notations on Yelps, no retweets of my witty Twitter updates. You might sigh and roll your eyes about my quest to validate myself with my epic tales and journeys online, but I don’t know a time in which I haven’t shared this all with all of you.

TNGG Kaitlin added, “Social media validates my feelings and actions. Seeing them online makes them real and takes them out of me, much in the way that I imagine it would be to keep a diary.” This is our diary, and it’s for all of you to enjoy. You might quote every misguided marketer and say that I’m drastically self-involved, but for me it’s just how I have adapted to communicate and be a part of the world around me. For me, broadcasting my journey will always be a part of what I love, part of how I share myself and my time with those I care about.

Christian – another social media lab rat – explained, “It’s about sharing your thoughts and having people share theirs…social media is an online hearth for people to come together and communicate with each other in a way they never have before.” Reading several entries from fellow blackout participants, I realized that although it’s nice to take a break, we wouldn’t be the great generation that we are if we didn’t have these amazing communication tools. So in 140 characters or less – “I’m back and here to stay!”

Photo credit: dominiccampbell