Millennials spend 12-14 hours a week online searching for information, watching video, updating their profiles and messaging their friends. They are confident “neti-zens” who have never known a time when up-to-date info about friends, grades, tonight’s biology homework, favorite political candidates and the latest SNL episode wasn’t instantly and freely available.
It’s worth understanding what they like online now, because Millennial’s online tastes are very influential. According to Deloitte’s 2007 State of the Media Democracy Survey, word of mouth is the most common reason for Millennials to visit a website. When they find a particular television show or website that they enjoy, they tell an average of 18 people, compared with only 10 people for all age groups.
So what online brands are hot with Millennials today? New research from Outlaw Consulting among 100 hand selected Gen Y Trendsetters sheds some light. The biggest surprise here is that there are no real surprises here. Facebook is number one, even among trendsetters, who at the beginning were vaguely uncomfortable doing something so, well, popular. It just seemed so vain. That apparently has changed however, due to the ubiquity and ease of use.
>”Facebook has become more of a fact of life, a way to communicate and schedule events—consider it this generation’s version of Microsoft Outlook, but with an emotional side. “There is an entire army of friends who I don’t see regularly but still care about. It means a lot to automatically be able to see their photos from time to time, and keep abreast of who’s where. Facebook provides a warm blanket for me. It makes me feel more connected, less alienated.”
In our research with recent college graduates, we learned Facebook has become essential for remaining in touch with newly scattered friends. While the Facebook habit is strongest among those who actually used it in college (those who graduated less than 4 years ago), we expect the trend to continue.
Other popular trendsetter sites pose similar paradoxes. Ironically, trendsetters want to tap into the ‘wisdom of crowds’ available, where else, on EBay, Yelp, Wikipedia, Craigslist.
“There are tons of different opinions on there, but you can sift through and get a feel for the truth. I don’t know what I did before Yelp.” “Whenever I have an item in mind, I check eBay. It standardizes the pricing. If you want to know what the public thinks an item is worth, eBay will tell you.Gen Y trendsetters will gladly sacrifice 100% accuracy for direct access to the public’s version of reality, whatever it may be. They believe they know when to trust sites, and when to seek another source. In the meantime, they credit these sites with doing no less than changing their lives. The model of the open platform giving voice to a crowd will be close to their hearts as this generation comes to power.
The rest of the list is equally unsurprising. CNN, NYT, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Flickr and Pandora round out the list. Where are the obscure, the trendy, the not on the map ideas? Perhaps that is the big finding. The Internet, arbiter of every personal whim and taste, may be more mass than we even suspected.
