Monthly Archives: December 2011
Communal Motherhood: Overshare or Crowdsourcing?
Have you heard about millennials Facebooking their birthing labors? I honestly cringed. Seriously? The moment I started smelling of ectoplasm, I had no wish to interact with anyone. But then I am a Gen X. And we’re talking millennials. A survey by BabyCenter.com found that 50 percent of new mothers sent text messages or updated their Facebook profiles while in labor. Seventy-two percent announced their baby’s birth that way, while only 40 percent sent traditional birth announcements. Probably the reason FourSquare recently launched the “It’s a Boy”/“It’s a Girl” badge.
This oversharing started early. Millennials were the generation of class sizes that tripled. To accommodate these overburdened classrooms, new teaching methods employed a group dynamic—e.g., Group Math. So these people are hardwired to learn and explore together. They were also the first generation raised with the mobile phone as a digital umbilical cord—enabling them to be connected to their family and friends worldwide 24/7. This then evolved into their own connection masterpiece: social media.
Related topics:
Millennials
In the Spotlight: Freshfully
Alabama is one of the least healthy states in the U.S. It's ranked 46th out of 50 by the United Health Foundation and lags behind only Mississippi in terms of percentage of obese adults (32.3). Concerned by their state's poor nutrition--and, in particular, by the lack of access to healthful, local foods--entrepreneurs Jen Barnett and Sam Brasseale have launched Freshfully, an online marketplace that gives Alabamians information about and access to better-for-you foods. The site offers an online grocery store, local food guides, and healthful recipes for preparing fresh foods. Check it out here.
Related topics:
New Consumer
Cheapster: Getting Millennials Smarter About Money
Zions Bank is targeting millennials with an Internet reality series called Cheapster, on Facebook. The eight-part series follows young adults as they compete in a frugality contest for a $10,000 prize.
Earlier this year, the bank conducted research among millennials ages 13 to 28 and found that members of this audience typically are unaware of effective money-managing techniques, and some rely on extreme budgeting behaviors. Based on these findings, Zions developed Cheapster to show Millennials firsthand how certain bank products are used. As contestants scrimp and save their way to the grand prize, the series also provides money-management tips to educate this generation as they financially prepare for the future.
Learn more about it here.
Related topics:
Millennials
No Boys Allowed: A Social Network for Women
Luluvise.com, a women-only social network, launched this week. In addition to the usual functions--e.g., sending messages and photos to friends--it lets members rate their dates on attractiveness and sexual prowess. Can you imagine the uproar if it were a men-only site instead?
You can read more about it on TechCrunch or check out the site here. At this time, membership is available to Facebook users only.
Related topics:
Gender