Millenium Marketer

Well, get ready because global warming is affecting our food, some say. The delicious high end foods like black truffles that some of us enjoy with reckless abandon are going to disintegrate into our memories if nothing is done to save this earth that nurtures us.

I always feel anxious when I start thinking about global warming and what it could do to us. What if we drown? I think of the image of the polar bear searching for a nice platform of ice to rest upon and how Al Gore says in the Inconvenient Truth that more polar bears are drowning than has ever been recorded in history.

I have a surf board and it makes a fairly good boat, but imagine being on a boat with no food on earth to survive. Eerie. Very contrary, too, to Cormac McCarthy’s version of an apocalypse in The Road where the world is ablaze in flames but I dare say it’s the same concept.

The famous Donner Family up in Lake Tahoe ate each other while stuck in the snow and in hunger, so who is to say that we won’t do the same?

It’s Sunday so I thought to indulge in a little bit of blogging transparency, because after all, we are in a post-consumerism age where most people are used to being marketed to and I know that for myself, I’m just looking for a bit of honesty in the world.* I’m taking a stand on this in the perspective spirit of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and his book has a very scary but beautiful quality to it which I can’t match up here, but at least that will help create the idea of why this blog post should be shrouded with a spray of misty fear.

On Friday, I alluded to this idea that according to the sociological belief about the different generations in the workforce, Millenials may not grasp the idea of what it means to hit “rock bottom” because we’re spoiled. (PINK Magazine has a great article about “Gen Y” which will offer some perspective.)

Well, I’d like to disagree a little bit about Millenials being spoiled. I think a lot of us are willing to work and work hard, but our definition is probably a little bit different from generations of workers before us. One thing that has always perturbed me about the job marketing for young people entering the workforce in Silicon Valley is its highly competitive nature, relative to other cities, as it is full of seasoned workers. So, perhaps I am not looking the right places because the Hidden Job Market plays a huge role here, but it’s tough going to win a job, especially for someone who is just starting out and looking for experience. Also, the pricing isn’t a great motivator: I scanned a few job boards today just to get an idea of how I can illustrate this point. There are a lot of internships with exciting descriptions which are either don’t pay or offer a small stipend. This means most of the money better be coming from somewhere else and it’s scary to think, it’s really true that survival is not easy.

And then there is something else that I find a little bit scary about working. Social networking tools definitely make networking easier and creating individual publicity easier but the economy is going up and down so much that people are working harder and harder. Work is a good thing, it keeps people busy and hopefully it leads to living fulfilling lives.

But since we’re no longer confined to the 9 to 5 in professional jobs, and the internet is pervasive in all its ways, I’ve been debating whether this affects families and general human relationships, “in person” versus over your social network.

Sometimes I look at the myriad of ways people can communicate over the internet and the amount of time people may spend working just to survive; and maybe I’m being naive but it doesn’t always make a lot of sense that families don’t have a lot of time to spend together.

Also, I read this article called What should I do With My Life? and look at the comments. There are so many people who expressed their struggle and troubles trying to find passion. A lot of them sound disjointed and I think that is scary.

So, readers out there, what do you think? Is it possible to have a fulfilling family life and a good job? What does the “Pursuit of Happyness” really mean now in 2008?

How does it happen that the entire health of the stock market is affected by one Rogue Trader can mobilize the Fed to do something?

My former accounting and personal finance professor once said that the best way to buy stocks is to go by the old saying “Buy in May and Go Away.” If you believe in the health of the company that you paid for and the health of the US economy, then there shouldn’t be any need to micromanage the company.

Now that is going to change because the US economy is not so stable. China, the sleeping giant, is just at the birth of the Industrial revolution and moving fast. A lot of Americans still think of credit cards as free money and look beyond interest rates as negative incentives not to pay off their debts, which is probably what gave in to the subprime crisis anyway.

Fellow Millenials: Listen up! USE that altruistic nature that you so value and help the US prepare for a healthier economic future. You don’t want to end up on the streets smelling more like ammonia than Coco Chanel.

Yes, I am a millenial too and yes, perhaps I was spoiled by doting parents but once they let go, you get the real idea about what rock bottom looks like.

Living in the “now” is not as important as living comfortably. We’re most likely not going to remember the fancy Coach bag at age 80 and in need of health treatment that probably costs just as much as the bag, which won’t be trendy any longer.

The way the financial sector has structured their marketing tactics (0% APR, Health Services on Credit, Buy Two for One, etc) just to increase market size has to change. It’s done nothing but taught us that everything is for free, even if temporarily. And it’s obvious that today’s market simply has the kind of behavior that expects everything for free: free internet, free services and instant cash. Young people have to become more educated about the way they spend their money. The color black is almost always in fashion, so ladies, gents and metrosexuals, let’s try to remember that red should only be used in moderation.

And for the anti-consumers out there: you know you’re just as bad toting lululemon gear, $50 to $100 fair trade yoga bag and taking yoga classes that most likely cost you $150 per month. This is enough to feed a family in Cambodia for half a year.

Let’s get real here. Do something huge, save the world economy by SAVING. And if you’re going to make an investment, do it but don’t expect instant gains. We’re going to need it when Hydroxatone becomes our new best friend.