Deep Jive Interests

An interesting debate over what Marc Andreeson was alluding to, when, as it refers to web services an the evolution of “Web2.0″, Fred Wilson supported the idea that a new design pattern was emerging that was being pioneered by younger generation of web users — mostly because they are “net native”. What was interesting, of course, was how the issue became one of “Fred Wilson is an Ageist SOB — Let’s Do a Blog Pile-On”

I mean, at its heart, its a silly debate … one that speaks more of the bloggers who are protesting a little too loudly, and a little too long, about how they feel about their own ages.

I would like to think that I’m not old. I don’t think 30 is old. But, I *do* understand what Fred Wilson is getting at. Every few years, there’s a change in how young folk “use” the Internet. I’m probably a few generations away from how teenagers are currently using it, and it will continue to change and evolve even beyond how teens are using it now. And I think *THAT* is what Fred Wilson is getting at.

Would you like two examples?

How many of you check your email?

Or, this one: How many of you wear a watch when you leave the house?

Teenagers today use email less than any demographic, for example. Use ‘less’ email? Why might that be? Perhaps because they’re sending messages via their own closed networks, such as MySpace or Facebook. Or, perhaps because they’re using their phones to send text messages. I’m not quite sure of the reasons (where’s Charlene Li when you need her?), but this kind of fact carries incredible implications

Consider the usage of watches. I don’t have a link here, but I did see a bit on a local news station the other day, and I was surprised to hear that something like less than a quarter of all teenagers carry watches. Why is that? Well, when asked about it, most said things like “I’m carrying a cell phone around with me *all* the time — that has the time.” Or, “Why would I need a watch? I just look at my iPod”.

Both of these kinds of patterns are unfathomable to *me*, but it is precisely these kinds of things which define how a generation interacts with different media, and in this case, the rise and (off-line) ubiquity of instant messaging. Sure, when they ‘grow up’ they’ll all start using email and begin wearing a watch because business standards will force them to adopt them.

But it says a lot about how they would *rather* spend their time. And these two small examples are clear examples of how digital generations are “different”, even to individuals who might not classically be defined as of a “generation” than them (as I clearly am).

Now, just because you’re older doesn’t disqualify you from being a net native. However, its clearly the rule, rather than the exception. The average 60 year old will understand email, but because none of his or her peers are using instant messaging and off-line texting to communicate, I’d wager there’s an aspect of this pattern of usage that they just won’t “get”.

If you’d like an analogy, when boomers were listening to Rock and Roll, I’m sure there were folks who were part of the Greatest Generation who “got” that as well, and were just as happy to turn up the volume on Mick Jagger, Barry Manilow, or Paul McCartney (for those boomers who were into those artists). But, I’ll wager that most didn’t.

Furthermore, if you were in the music business, of course there were professionals that were older and seasoned, but if you wanted to learn more about creating a new sound that was fresh and new, unless you’re always in places and with people who were making that new sound, you just wouldn’t be right for the job.

Bottom line? It doesn’t mean that you have to be young, but it helps.

Fred Wilson’s post wasn’t a shot at people who have paid their dues in the technology business. All it was was a recognition of a phenomenon that happens with every generation. And, more importantly, something that happens with the exploration and maturation of every new medium.

You don’t have to *be* young to recognize and take advantage of new patterns for the “web2.0″, but you do have to be in it, thinking about it, and using it often enough to be facile with the terminology and usage that you *could*do it. That Fred Wilson sees so many “company’s” these days with younger and younger pitchmen is a testament to the fact that many of them happen to be 20-somethings.