Forrester Research's inimitable Charlene Li reports that 24% of 18-24 year-olds read blogs. double the rate of the aging Gen X-ers. Charlene is currently on the sort of trip to Japan and Korea that Rick Segal and I recently postponed, where she's meeting with lots of social media people and hearing about what they are up to. When she gets back here, I'll bribe her with free Starbuck's Coffees and see if I can get a brain dump.
Gen Y is most important, more important than many companies realize. In a very short time these college-aged kids will become employees, customers and startup threats to a great many companies worldwide. these kids read blogs, not newspapers. They find jobs online, not through help wanted or executive recruiters. They may never actually blog themselves, but the best and brightest of them will be reluctant I think, to join companies that does not permit them to use the social tools with which they came of age.
