The Coming Storm

The clouds are hanging out over the ocean now, but they are coming. And they are full of iPods. I believe that in 2008 we're going to see an entire generation burst like rainclouds onto the political scene with a force that will get people's attention. Until now, the devices and new technologies of Generation Y have been viewed by the powers that be as little more than toys. But what some may fail to realize is that in 2 more years, all the young punks will have jobs and kids and houses and...a vested interest in how the government is run.

I'll be the first to admit that the generation for which I am a bridge (I'm right between GenX and GenY) has to be one of the most sarcastic, smart-alek, irreverant bunch of kids ever to walk the planet. But where most people misunderstand us, I think, is in their characterizations that we don't care. Meaning, especially as it relates to culture, is expressed in new and different ways for our generation. Everything from our spirituality to our tastes in music is viewed through some form of media. Marketers know it. McDonald's knows it. And so do the major news networks. We don't just pick up the morning paper, read the story and consider ourselves educated on the day's pressing issues. We google it, listen to podcasts, read blogs and watch movies from raving lunatics about terrorist attacks and comedians running for president.

I don't think it's happened on purpose but we all know that news has become about selling ads and circling ideological wagons rather than reporting fairly on important issues. That's driven, I believe, by intentional and unintentional "marketing" to a generation whose purchases and thoughts and actions are hugely influenced by what they spend most of their time with...technology. So instead of reporting the news, news stations are reporting their version of the news so that their market share will keep watching. C'mon, we all know it if we watch CNN or FoxNews. It takes about 30 seconds to figure it out. And its sad.

So back to my point. Our generation, myself included, has been raised on a steady diet of changing technologies and sound-bytes. But beneath the incredibly shallow and short-attention span generalizations lies a deeply interested and quietly brooding mass of people, smart people, caring people, interesting people, who are going to be ready in 2008 to make a difference in the United States. So listen good political aspirants: Get ahead of the curve and follow the "Baracks" and "Colberts" of the world into the world of podcasting, blogs, YouTube and google-bombing.

As crude and sometimes boring as Barack Obama's podcast is, it's consistently one of the highest rated on iTunes. Why? I believe its because there is a generation of folks waiting with bated breath for leaders to engage them. To flow through their little white headphones and connect with them in ways that no leader has yet.