Who will be the next Internet sensation to sit in the spotlight? This spotlight seems to alternate almost every week, finding a fresh new piece of talent to focus attention on for the world to see. This blog post idea came to me when I tweeted a question to my followers asking them what they wanted to read about in regards to Millenials/Generation Y consumers.

Jennie White, writer for Boston Innovation responded,

jenniewhite @KristinEDziadul I’ve been interested in #geny and their views on fame. It seems like we’re under the impression *anyone* can be famous. Who’s to blame? YouTube? Facebook? @shitmydadsays?

I believe that with the emergence of social media and video sharing, almost anyone can become “famous” on the Internet today. A quick Google search for top YouTube stars resulted in a Wikipedia article on the Top YouTube Personalities. Some of these personalities included Amber Lee Ettinger, an American actress, Internet celebrity, and model. She created the YouTube video “I Got a Crush… on Obama”. Then there is the web-based comedy duo, Smosh (Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox), the infamous Gary William Brolsma who created an impersonation dance to the song “Dragostea din tei” called the Numa Numa Dance, and even pop music star Justin Bieber.

This list alone demonstrates the fact that Internet stars are ever prominent and it is quite easy to gain stardom just by getting out there in non-traditional ways, generating content on a consistent basis, and creating buzz around what you do on the videos.

Social media sites can also be to attribute for this view on quick fame. I have encountered many people on Twitter who have well over 100,000 followers (Boston Internet marketing sensation Chris Brogan being one of them). Other people unlike Chris try to use ‘puffery’ words in their bios to make themselves seem more prominent than they really are and try to spam people to follow them just to get big, but it does work! With the rise of Internet technologies today, and people spending more and more time on it — Millennials spend upwards of 8.5 hours a DAY on the Internet — then it is no wonder why people can become so big so fast on the Internet.

Some may say this is a bad thing since it may give people big heads and make them something they are not, but it is also a way for people to interact with others, get their word out there, and if people like it, then hey, they deserve the attention!

I came across an article by the New York Times titled ” Internet Fame Is Cruel Mistress for a Dancer of the Numa Numa.” The authors, Alan Feuer and Jason George stated, “with the Internet, humiliation – like everything else – has now gone public. Upload a video of yourself playing flute with your nose or dancing in your underwear, and people from Toledo to Turkmenistan can watch.” True, if you set yourself up for humiliation, you sure will get it!

This is where I draw the line. I think those with true talents that want to broadcast it on the Internet in hopes of getting noticed by the right people truly deserve the fame, but others who just upload videos for the sake of it to either get laughs or receive laughs should know what is coming.

In Jennie’s tweet to me, she also mentioned the Twitter account @shitmydadsays. Just take a look at that account and some of the recent tweets he has put up and you’ll see why that guy became so popular on Twitter. Although it is a strange concept, since information is racing across the Internet at the speed of light, things like this are bound to get picked up.

The rise of video has certainly become a trending theme for Generation Y today since we are seen as the “Me” generation who wants to be the focus of attention, loves technology, and likes to be socially active. For instance, I have been seeing an increasingly large number of people on Facebook sending simple videos to friends, even just to say hi.

In general, I think the quick rise to fame that is now available using many Internet tools, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, can be a good thing for those that deserve it and have true talent. For instance, if a talented singer wants to get noticed by record labels in Nashville, TN but may not have the means to do so personally, they could turn to YouTube and social media to spread their talent and start generating buzz. However, for those who are just trying to make fools of themselves or put other random content out there, well I guess we will still be amused by them, and they can rise to fame, as statistics show (Numa Numa dance, for example).

What do you think of this hot issue?

Big, small, quiet or smelly, every town has one; and you more than likely owe them money. I’m talking about libraries. With ‘est. 1789’ signs posted at the entrance, quiet signs lining the hallways and confused faces at the Dewey decimal system station, libraries are quite unremarkable establishments today. As a Generation Y member I did frequent libraries as a child. I remember getting my library card, the endless searching of the shelves, the struggle to stay awake trying to complete my book report and the nickel it costs to make a copy ( I heard copies cost $0.25 now!). Today my library card is at the bottom of some junk drawer and it would not surprise me if libraries were on the verge of extinction.

Library, meet 2010 and this thing called a computer, be envious

Adios Dewey Decimal thing, bonjour silence, hello information highway and konnichiwa iTunes. Today we have something I like to call a ‘desktop library’ at our fingertips. A desktop library has infinite pages of information, search optimization tools, it’s quick, it’s easy and portable; some refer to it as the Internet. Grab a drink, a bag of chips, turn on Aerosmith’s greatest hits and do some research, even glance back at Judge Judy if you so choose. Want to research the production process of Almonds? Well Google, Wikipedia, Wikianswers, Yahoo, and countless other search engines will bring this information to you, and very quickly. In a traditional library I would suggest you ask the secretary and begin what would turn into a wild goose chase of shelf navigating, book searching and page flipping. 

In middle school we were given 3 weeks to do a 3 page book report on a subject of our choosing, and this workload seemed immense. This entailed trips to the library, creating outlines, referencing countless books and undoubtably having late fees. Today we can get assigned these same projects and conduct an information search within minutes, even seconds with a plethora of data on the Internet.

Translation: people in the library business are in trouble.

I cannot guarantee this, but I will say it anyways: As computer sales rose and Google’s visits increased, I guarantee foot traffic in libraries declined. With fewer visitors, less books being check out, and inflation of printing prices, libraries today cannot compete with our ‘desktop libraries’; It is a grim realization for those still attached to that industry.

Libraries, like Eureka’s Castle, are another piece of the Generation Y childhood that is disappearing. Library cards are going to end up on Ebay and Pawn Stars 50 years from now, and our grandchildren will probably question us about their very existence. It is not a ‘story book’ ending for such a traditional information outlet, however barring they knock on my door collecting late fees, I am completely okay with this chapter of my childhood ending.

Entrepreneurs used to be one in a million. Times have changed. It’s almost impossible to go throughout a week without brushing up against an “anti 9-5er” who’s looking to make their mark on the world.

We have reached the point where those who are not willing to be entrepreneurial in some way or another are falling behind the curve. While a large corporation wants your full attention and certainly doesn’t want you distracted with a side business, nobody is complaining about the valuable experience that Gen-Yers are developing all on their own.

As a Gen Y entrepreneur I come across all different types of entrepreneurial people. Here’s the categories:

1. The Idea Makers

These people can’t even sit down for lunch without covering their napkin in scribbled out ideas of how they’re going to make their first million. I have a couple of friends who carry around massive notebooks full of all of their ideas. No offense to this bunch, but they normally aren’t the ones that have many skills to carry out their ideas.

2. The Stealthy Nerds

Locked away in their parents’ basements…we’ve all heard the stories. Programming skills are their main assets. Don’t be misled by the lack of social skills and all night World of Warcraft marathons. Ever heard of Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg?

3. The Mommy Blogger

Every time I go to a business conference I always end up sitting down next to one of these nice people. There’s a lot of misconceptions about this group. Among the top is that they don’t make any money. Last time I checked, business is all about eyeballs. The more you have, the more potential you have for money. Networking skills are this groups greatest asset.

4. The Social Mediaite

Inspired by the likes of Darren Rowse, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Chris Brogan. You’ll frequently hear things like “I gotta get 100 more friends on Facebook” or “I’m almost up to 20,000 followers on Twitter!”. This group will use their quick connections to make business magic.

5. Starry-Eyed Future Millionaires

You’re gonna hear things like, “This idea has $100 billion in potential sales within the first year and the sky’s the limit after that!” Money is the main motivation for this group.

6. The Lifestyle Designer / 4 Hour Work Week Followers

Tim Ferris has inspired a whole new brand of entrepreneur. If you’re not familiar with the 4-Hour Work Week, Google it. The goal of this group is to create an automated business that will allow them to travel the world with no strings attached.

7. The Corporate Haters

Disenchanted with the old-school corporate lifestyle, this group is out on a mission to “stick it to the man”.

To say that social media has changed not only my job prospects but also the whole outlook on my career would be an understatement.

Coming out of college in December, I knew I wanted to get into Internet marketing for a career. I then met people on Twitter and soon started to attend TweetUps, connecting with professionals on LinkedIn, developing and publishing videos on YouTube, and creating a daily blog post on my website.

All of a sudden, I looked back on my small empire and wanted to put it all together for good use not only for me but for everyone else that I converse with via social media. Developing my website featuring my blog was probably the best idea I had while branding myself online. Not only have I been able to show my writing style and ideas, but I have been able to share the posts on social media sites, Twitter in particular, and have had many valuable conversations with people about my various posts.

By developing my online brand (and loving it!) I soon realized I was becoming an entrepreneur. I never thought that I would be an entrepreneur, as I have always been an introvert that tended to stay within the status quo. However, once I found my passion, I could not stop the flow of ideas and my constant desire to meet and converse with others.

During my journey, I have come in contact with many high-profile people in the marketing industry, and have landed several incredible freelance opportunities. To name a few, I have written about ten guest blog posts, all well received, consulted for a small company in Boston, helped a fresh new social media marketing company develop client pitches, and I was most recently recruited as a social media strategy contractor for a new company in Boston. Aside from that, I am a guest blogger for a company out in California (I am currently in Connecticut) and a company in Kentucky Tweeted me, interested in my ideas.

Now all that is not to brag about my accomplishments, but to demonstrate how incredible social media can be to help anyone develop their online brand and meet virtually anyone to help you achieve your goals.

I started using social media having no idea what I wanted to do with it besides hopefully landing a job. I have now developed a small ‘empire’ that can be compared to a small marketing agency, run by me, Kristin Dziadul. I see my business contacts and freelance employers as my clients and I provide them with my social media and inbound marketing knowledge. All of these contacts came from Twitter, LinkedIn and my blog. It has truly been an incredible journey, and in such a short amount of time.

I wake up every day excited to take on the day and learn new and exciting things. Hard work pays off, and social media was the platform for me to reach out to others to teach and be taught.

How have you used social media to your benefit? How have you helped others?

Lets face it: Millennials LOVE their cell phones. In fact, they love them so much that it is commonplace for them to be on them constantly while hanging out together. Today I was out to lunch with my family at a local restaurant, and in walks a group of six high school boys, all of whom were on their cell phones. As they sat down, they all continued to use their phones for one reason or another, and were even on them as they ate! Now, I use my iPhone quite a lot, but I thought that was extreme.

However, I put myself in another age group’s shoes for a minute. I related the way I was viewing and judging these boys to how Boomers probably judge people like me, the Millennial demographic. Boomers don’t necessarily understand why we Millennials use our phones so much and rely on them 24/7, and I did not understand why these high school teens felt the need to use their phones while going out to eat together.

This example demonstrated to me the changing technological times. Kids are now starting to use technologies at younger and younger ages. I remember a woman speaking at a recent conference about her two year old child knowing what TiVo was for. Amazing, right? What will the next generation of teens be like a few years from now? Probably more adept at technology than a majority of us, as scary as that is to imagine.

CBS News reported, “The wireless trade association CTIA and Harris Interactive surveyed some 2,000 teens across the country and learned that teens feel that cell phones have become a vital part of their identities. They also believe that they can gauge a peer’s popularity or status by the phone he or she uses.” Of teens 13-18, 4 out of 5 of them own a cell phone! In addition, almost half of kids 8-12 now have cell phones. I have seen middle school students that I used to babysit using their cell phones, and was shocked at first, but not anymore after reading these statistics.

As you can imagine, SMS advertisements will probably prove to be highly effective, targeted and widely viewed in the upcoming years with the high increase in cell phone ownership in Millenial teens.

We desire instant gratification in other ways as well:

When we turned 16, we expected to get our license and a car.
When we hear a song we like, we want to download it instantly.
When we took a test or wrote a paper, we wanted results quickly.
When we send an e-mail, we expect a message immediately saying it was sent.
When we call someone, we expect them to pick up.

Now what is it about technology that everyone loves?

Instant access.
Confirmation that an action was received.
Quick responses.
The ability to compute things fast.

Since us Millennials grew up on computers and the Internet, and the above four components are major benefits of fast computers, that explains our need for a quick reward from every action. It is almost an innate instinct of ours to receive instant feedback from something we do, not because we are greedy, careless, or selfish, but because we great up that way. Many people criticize our age cohort because we are this way, but consider how you would respond to things if you grew up experiencing feedback or rewards after everything you did.

From a young age, she knew that she wanted to be a country singer, and her parents supported her endeavors 110%. With her curly blonde locks, genuine heart, beautiful voice, and innocent look, she quickly found her way into Nashville and won over the hearts of producers and fans alike.

One of my favorite quotes of Taylor’s was in an interview she had with USA Today, “I’m so lucky to have these experiences.” In fact, it was such a meaningful and inspiring quote that I actually cut out that article and hung it above my school desk for two years after the article was published.

Taylor is the ideal representation of someone passionate about achieving their dreams with hard work. I can relate to her dreams exactly because I have found my true passion, and love doing it every day, all day. Although she is in the music industry and I am in the Internet marketing industry, our passions still shine in the way we work and discuss our accomplishments with friends and families.

I became a fan of Taylor just after her first album was released, and have been able to relate to a majority of her songs and take to heart all of her award acceptance speeches and YouTube videos displaying her work ethic. She is the idealization of what I want to achieve in my lifetime.

I have goals, dreams, and passions that I know can get me far. I know that great accomplishments can’t come without hard work and dedication, something I definitely have and will practice everyday. I see what I want for my life and am inspired by how Taylor envisioned that as well. I want to live out my dreams, be surrounded by amazingly supportive people, and realize my passions. Ten years from now, I want to look back on my work and see where it has brought me at that point and say to myself, “I feel like I have never ‘worked’ a day in my life.” I want to do what I love each day, and feel that it is not work but doing what I do best and enjoying it at the same time. I have gone a long way towards getting there already, and know that with time and hard work, I WILL be there soon.

Who is your idol or hero and why do they inspire you?