In the second half of the 20th century, baby boomers set the stage for how we live and work. The medium that boomers grew up with, broadcast TV, helped to create our consumer culture. The fixtures of suburban life — the SUVs, the expanding floor size, the family room off the kitchen — were created by and for boomers. The many ways that we organize ourselves at work and in our civic lives are based on models that were defined or reinforced by the dominant demographic, the boomers. Their influence is so powerful we hardly notice it.
But now, these old ways are starting to be shattered by the new Web and this new generation. The new Web, which lets people contribute to knowledge and not just consume it, is revolutionary. The great powers, such as the titans of broadcast TV, no longer control the distribution of knowledge. People no longer have to follow the leaders and do what they’re told. Now they can organize themselves, publish themselves, inform themselves, and share with their friends — without waiting for an authority to instruct them.
What’s more, this new generation, the biggest ever, knows how to use this awesome tool. They’ve grown up digital. The Net Generation, as I call Americans ages 11 to 31, has been trained since early childhood to collaborate, to hunt for information, to move fast.
With reflexes honed to use the Web effectively, the Net Generation will change the world in unprecedented ways.
Electing a President
They are already challenging the way business should be conducted — by suggesting that business leaders look outside the company for fresh ideas rather than burrow inside the “silo,” a business cliche that is revealing because of its origin, in the bulk storage of grain. They’re challenging the assumption that work should take place at…