brad garland

I came across this post discussing the communication techniques of Gen Y and loved the pictures displayed.

Here they all are:






They definitely made some pretty big assumptions here but I think the overall theme works. I wanted to add a bit to the conversation however.

1) Give the Boomers some credit. On the Boomers picture there is no existance of email or even a cell phone on it? Come on…this pic might’ve have been better suited for the ‘Traditionalists’. Boomers definitely bridge the gap between this Boomer pic and the Gen X pic as most are comfortable with email and cell phones.
I do appreciate the subtle AOL mail icon & beeper on Gen X pic though. Hehe! ;)

2) Communication reply differences. I’m always intrigued on how people interact with one another so I always ask people, of varying ages, why they do the things they do. Something that I’ve come to realize is Boomers are more likely to expect a response from the place the message was originated. If they called you, they expect a phone call back. If they emailed, email them back! This has shifted for future generations. Gen X & Y can flow in and out of the communications mechanisms and as long as the end result is met, it doesn’t matter how they get there.

3) Face to face always wins but… I say it often but face to face still wins but I’m surprised in the Gen Y area there isn’t a video chat mark between phone calls and face to face. That mechanism works well today (Hell, Oprah is using Skype on her show now) and can really add to an internal meeting or a quick 5 minute interchange between co-workers.

I’m always looking for ways to be a better communicator and we all have our preferences so trying to understand why people do what they do is always an interested topic to me. Do you agree with these pictures? What’s missing?

I love Barcamp’s. I love what they stand for, how they are organized, the people you meet, the bonds that are made, the inspiration you can walk away with. It’s fun.

This past weekend I attended a Barcamp, BarcampBank actually, in Vancouver, British Columbia from Texas.

“What?”

That’s right. I watched, nay participated, in a BarcampBank from the coziness of my home in Dallas via live streaming audio/video that was being done in Vancouver 2300+ miles away. My buddy and designer extraordinare, Brent Dixon, made the trip and streamed the event for everyone through Mogulus.


A picture from my end.

As someone from afar, the experience was ok at first. Watching folks interacting in a (un)conference is neat and I began imagining how this wasn’t even conceivable even 5 years ago. But, for me, the experience went from ‘ok’ to a ‘holy sh%#’ moment when a question was asked from the online chat got relayed to the live group who started discussing it right there. To me, it represented a seed being firmly planted in how the conference experience will be altered. Will all conferences, henceforth, be virtual? Heh, no, come on…face to face will always win but they now won’t be limited to within those buildings either.

Lastly, I also wanted to say thanks again to the organizers of the event, they are good people and are all doing AMAZING things and I want to promote what they do. William Azaroff (Vancity & ChangeEverything.ca fame), Tim McAlpine (CurrencyMarketing & Young&Free fame), and Gene Blishen (General Manager of Mt. Lehman Credit Union and the CU Godfather). Thanks for putting it together gentlemen!