Erich Stauffer

Tag: Generations

  • The 8-Bit Generation

    The 8-Bit Generation are those born in or around 1980 who knew a time before Nintendo, Nickelodeon, and personal computers.  Their favorite video games are The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, and Final Fantasy.  Their technology’s performance could still be influenced by blowing harder on the controller or by demagnetizing the tape deck before use.  If you said, “I don’t know,” you were likely to get slime dumped on your head.  In 1986 Double Dare debuted and the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up.  We knew technology could fail us and that we were all still human after all, but we all still had land lines and it was expensive to call long distance.  900 numbers ruled late night television when Nick at Night was still playing My Three Sons.  Nowadays it plays past episodes of Full House, the same show that played when the 8-Bit Generation was in elementary school.

    Some elementary schools had Apple II’s, but by the time they got to middle school, public schools had begun buying personal computers (PCs) running DOS and the first versions of Microsoft Office.  By high school they would have PCs running Windows 95 and the Internet.  They would be the last generation to grow up without having the Internet their entire high school career and the last generation to not have cell phones in the class room.  The closest any of the 8-bit generation had to a cell phone in high school was a beeper because most cell phone’s batteries were so large you could only use them in your car.  Most Internet connections at home were dial-up and AOL ruled the land with it’s floppy disks.  The first CD-R drives cost $400, more than some computers cost today.

    The 8-Bit Generation went to college in the middle of the Dot Com Crash and 9/11.  They graduated with less hope of finding a job than their immediate predecessors, Generation X.  They still dressed like they did in high school.  They think a Polo over a t-shirt and some stone-washed jeans is cool and if you swap the pants for some khakis and add a sweater they’re dressed up.  They believe white shoes are for dorks and prefer leather shoes like Dockers or Doc Marten’s.  They think of Angelina Jolie more of a Hacker than of Salt. They believe the future is possible and that it is here.  They don’t want to work, but they will.  Not everything was handed to them, but they did have it easier than their parents, but their children may not.  Those children, the sons and daughters of the 8-Bit Generation are now in kindergarten and elementary school.  They are using iPhones and iPads to communicate and play games.  They’ve never known anything other than always-on broadband Internet, streaming movies, video games on cell phones, and text messaging (they don’t even know or care what AOL is).  They are the 64-Bit Generation.

    Other Signs that the 8-Bit Generation is Now Running the Show

    This year (2010) we’ve seen Toyota recall vehicles for sticky accelerators and engines that randomly stop.  We’ve seen cereal from Kellog’s and medicine from Johnson and Johnson recalled for weird smells and tastes. And we’ve seen a steady stream of just downright bad-for-you stuff from China including cadmium-covered glasses at McDonalds.  All signs point to the Nintendo generation being in charge of quality control.  With their “80% is good enough” mentality, most of the stuff we drive, eat, and drink out of is good alright, but it’s that last 20% that is questionable.  Is this a sign of things to come?  What happens when the 8-bit generation takes over the power grid, the water system, and air traffic controls? I guess having power for 80% of the day is better than Baghdad, and that’s good enough for me.

  • You’re so money and you don’t even know it!

    If you’ve never seen the film “Swingers”, I highly recommend it.  It came out in the mid-nineties and struck a chord with many in the Gen-X and Gen-Y crowd.  To get a great feel for the kind of movie this is, check out the short clip below from Youtube (it is an R rated movie and contains profanity):

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODjE-_OB3JI&feature=related

    The characters from the movie have taken the words “money” and “baby” and given them wholly new meaning within the context of their group of friends.  Vince Vaughn’s character paints a great picture of what kind of attitude Jon Favreau’s character should have about himself.  It’s not just about self-esteem, its about what kinds of actions he should take if he’s really going to act like a bear with this bunny!

    Now, it’s tricky to draw a metaphor from a theme in a movie that is being made by another metaphor, so I’ll try to distill the truth that I believe the metaphors point to.

    Let’s say that you are looking for a job (here is my metaphor), and you are frustrated at a lack of opportunities.  Now, even a cursory knowledge of successful thinking strategies will remind you to stay positive, but it still doesn’t seem to be enough.  You’re right.  It is not enough.

    You need to think through both sides of the transaction.  In this case, the transaction is a business looking for a new employee and vice versa.  Now, even referring to the former as a “business” may be the wrong word to use.  Chances are (depending on the size of the company), that it is a human resources director or some specific manager that is looking to fill a position.  Now, if you were looking to fill a position with your company, and you knew that the new employee’s success (or lack thereof) would have some sort of repercussion with you, what would you do?

    Would you look in a phonebook and choose the people with the three best ads?  How is this different from having a well put together resume?

    In all actuality, you would probably rack your brain to think of somebody whom you already know that would be a good fit, whether they are currently looking for a job or not.  Next, you would probably look to the people whom you trust and ask them who they might recommend for the position in question.  Only then would you put out a listing for a new employee in some sort of job-finder service.

    So, what does this tell us?  If you are looking for jobs that are listed online, it’s either because the business could not find anyone else who was qualified, or all of the people they have already talked to about it are not interested in taking it.  Its not the prettiest picture, but it is closer to accurate than you might think.

    Without a strong, but healthy belief in yourself, you will either stand still and achieve nothing, or stand still and unwisely wait for success to find you.

    So why do I encourage you to be a bad man from the rated R movie and not the guy from the PG-13 movie who everyone really hopes makes it happen?  Because we live in an R rated world, and great opportunities are MADE and not handed out.

    If you think too highly of yourself, you will expect the winning lottery ticket to be mailed to you, even if you don’t play the lottery!  You believe that you are destined for greatness, but immune to the preparation and effort that goes before it.  Even if you are handed a baton (let’s throw another metaphor in, shall we?), and you haven’t prepared yourself with effort and determination, you will falter.  You may get the digits, but by waiting too long to call, you will blow the opportunity.

    The other extreme is to be meek, and to look at opportunities with fear and trembling.  You can see 10 ways in which the endeavor will fail, so you abort before launch.  Even if you see one or two ways in which it could succeed, you stand still to avoid the possibility of failure.  The truth is that standing still is a failure all by itself.

    The key is to be balanced and healthy.  Get out there and talk to the people you already know.  Let them know that you are serious about finding something new and you value their opinion.  They may just refer you to someone else, but it is highly unlikely that they will ignore you.  In fact, the only way to guarantee that you will end up with nothing is to venture nothing with your current contacts.

    Whether you want digits, a job, a relationship, or a new chapter in your life, it takes belief in your mind before you can go safely in your body.  Don’t just think “money”…. BE “MONEY”!

  • Generation X; Analog to Digital

    gameboy_256In the same way saw the Greatest Generation saw the change from horse drawn carriages to automobiles and the birth of airplanes to the rise of the space shuttle, Generation X has seen firsthand the transition from analog to digital: carbon copies to CC: and BCC:, and a slide rule to an iPod. GenXers began life processing credit cards at the grocery store with a carbon copy slider, called an “imprinter”. When they went to school, their teachers made worksheet copies using a “mimeograph machine” in purple ink. They were the last to be taught how to type on typewriters and the first to use a personal computer in school. Some started out on Apple IIs and others on IBM PC clones. By the time they were leaving primary school and entering college, portable computers and cell phones were common. The World Wide Web had turned the Internet mainstream. It was now odd for a GenXer to not have an email address and a cell phone number.

    Some things didn’t change though. The paperless office didn’t happen. More things were put online and sent via email, but paper remains in the office, schools, and at home. Email has decreased the use of paper mail though. Another example is flying cars. We still don’t have flying cars even though Back to the Future says we will by 2015 (we’ve got 6 years to get on that). Another hint from Back to the Future is cold fusion, which is still a dream. However recent breakthroughs by MIT in solar power technology may lead to a new era of cheap electricity which could change the economy in desert regions around the world.

    Read more about Generation X.

  • Generation X, Y – Two Letters, Two Jobs

    I’ve noticed a trend in our generation (the subset between Generation X and Y, The MTV Generation): two jobs. Almost everyone I work with and everyone in my family has two jobs. I have two jobs and even my wife has two jobs [Edit: She had two jobs before having kids, now she has one paying job.]. Why is this? Aren’t we supposed to be doing better than our parents? Therein lies the answer, I propose. Our generation expects to live like the generation before it, in the way they’ve grown used to: immediately. Everything is immediate in our generation: Microwave dinners; CDs instead of Tapes (DVDs instead of VHS – learn how to do DVD conversion) mean no waiting for the next song, just skip; and of course, the Internet. All of this leads to wanting to instantly have what we had while living with our parents (Generation Jones – Gen X). To get this we either have to work two jobs or max out our credit (usually both). If you have noticed this trend too, let me know.

    Does it feel like the generations are getting smaller, or at least the names for the generations are getting named more often? A generation is generally defined as 20-30 years as this is the time it takes one person to grow up and have a new family. After Generation X (1961-1981) the names for generations began to take off. First there was Generation Y (1976-1997). In general, Generation Y is the offspring of Generation X, but since Generation X and Generation Y overlap by five years, both my older brother and I are both Generation X and Generation Y and our parents are part of neither generation. So what generation are my parents?

    My parents are Baby Boomers (1946-1964). Generation X, also known as Echo Boomers, Cold War Generation, or Baby Busters, is the offspring of Baby Boomers so by definition my brother and I are from Generation X even though we fall into the potential range of Generation Y. Because our parents were Baby Boomers (the 12th Generation of Americans), we are by default, Generation X (the 13th Generation of Americans). But if I am definitively Generation X, and by definition my children are Generation Y (1976-1997), I had my children seven years too late. So what generation are they and what went wrong?

    They are officially Generation Z (2001-2???). Did we skip a generation? Yes and no. To answer this question, we need to defined sub-generations. These are much more specific and this chart does a great job of explaining it. I am a member of either the Baby Busters (1960-1981) who are defined by experiencing Vietnam War/Cold War or a member of the MTV Generation / Boomerang Generation (1974-1985) defined by the Rise of Mass Media/End of the Cold War. Being that those generations overlap by 4 years, I am going to go with the MTV Generation because culturally, that is what I identify most with. What then, is the sub-generation of my parents?

    Even though my parents could be considered Baby Boomers, they themselves have never identified with that generation and so I think them better fit to be in Generation Jones (1951-1971) and within the sub-generation called Beat Generation. Beats are considered the first modern sub-culture, but my parents were not “Beats”. They are simply the lost generation between Baby Boomers and Generation Xers which probably highlights why I feel lost between Generation X and Generation Y. My children’s generation will probably be more defined due to better tracking with technology such as the Internet and the World Wide Web.

  • Defining Generations

    Generations

    Sometimes it feel like the generations are getting smaller, or at least the names for the generations are getting named more often. A generation is generally defined as 20-30 years as this is the time it takes one person to grow up and have a new family. After Generation X (1961-1981) the names for generations began to take off. First there was Generation Y (1976-1997). In general, Generation Y is the offspring of Generation X, but since Generation X and Generation Y overlap by five years, both my older brother and I are both Generation X and Generation Y and our parents are part of neither generation. So what generation are my parents?

    My parents are Baby Boomers (1946-1964). Generation X, also known as Echo Boomers, Cold War Generation, or Baby Busters, is the offspring of Baby Boomers so by definition my brother and I are from Generation X even though we fall into the potential range of Generation Y. Because our parents were Baby Boomers (the 12th Generation of Americans), we are by default, Generation X (the 13th Generation of Americans). But if I am definitively Generation X, and by definition my children are Generation Y (1976-1997), I had my children seven years too late. So what generation are they and what went wrong?

    They are officially Generation Z (2001-2???). Did we skip a generation? Yes and no. To answer this question, we need to defined sub-generations. These are much more specific and this chart does a great job of explaining it. I am a member of either the Baby Busters (1960-1981) who are defined by experiencing Vietnam War/Cold War or a member of the MTV Generation / Boomerang Generation (1974-1985) defined by the Rise of Mass Media/End of the Cold War. Being that those generations overlap by 4 years, I am going to go with the MTV Generation because culturally, that is what I identify most with. What then, is the sub-generation of my parents?

    Even though my parents could be considered Baby Boomers, they themselves have never identified with that generation and so I think them better fit to be in Generation Jones (1951-1971) and within the sub-generation called Beat Generation. Beats are considered the first modern sub-culture, but my parents were not “Beats”. They are simply the lost generation between Baby Boomers and Generation Xers which probably highlights why I feel lost between Generation X and Generation Y. My children’s generation will probably be more defined due to better tracking with technology such as the Internet and the World Wide Web.