I'm a part of Generation X, post baby-boom, and before Generation Y, who seems to have grown up with information technology as a part of their entire lives. These days lots of press, lots of applications and ideas are focusing on how to better integrate with Gen Y type people.
When I came across this blog talking about information workers and how they use technology, I was pleasantly surprised. It seems that Gen X people are more likely to participate in the Web 2.0 technologies out there. That seems to match my experience where I find many younger, Gen Y-type people having very short attention spans and not being willing to give back as much to the world. They don't post as often, and tend to just want to consume things quickly and without effort. At least that's been my general experience. There are always people that don't fit the mold, but I see a lot of those trends in people that are younger than 30 years old.
You could read the graphs and information in another way, meaning that Gen Y people know more things already about technology, or they don't need to be involved in these online communities, and that's certainly possible. I'm not sure how the questions were asked or worded, so it's hard to tell.
I'd like to think my generation is more interested and excited by technology than older or younger ones. After all, we came of age, learning older ways of doing things and evolving into the digital world. And to a large extent, we built the base of this highly computerized world that most of us live in. However I'm probably just biased about people my own age.
I do think that there can be huge synergies from having people connect online and actively participate in the world. We can capture the knowledge of older generations and the excitement of younger ones. I urge you all to participate in those online communities you like. Actively participate by sharing information, not just reading it.
Steve Jones
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