'20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get' - A Response

I recently read the most fantastic article by Jason Nazar on Forbes about young people and their attitude to business. The no-nonsense style of the article was a change from the molly-coddled, spoon-fed and watered-down approach of treating young people in the 21^st century, especially by career professionals (Huffington Post recently argued, rather mockingly, that always being told we are special is ultimately making us unhappy). While I wouldn’t personally like to work under Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Nazar’s example of the most valuable boss, being told off for my future mistakes before I make them could be useful. Business is not about Miss Honey telling us what to do and giving us a big cuddle if we don’t succeed, it’s about pro-activity and initiative. I imagine it’s also about having a thick skin too.

Nazar talks about the emergence of social media in the business world and its longevity, or lack thereof. Although many would be offended at his suggestion that ‘social media is not a career’, his point is clear. Social Media is unreliable and may disappear as quickly as it arrived. Reports suggest that Twitter has already reached the top of its graph and is now on the decline and even Instagram feels the need to introduce advertising to prevent social media mortality being a reality. As Nazar states, Social Media is a tool for marketing that should be adapted to other business, rather than be the business itself. Social Media is simple, it is isolated and above all, it is unreliable. Business may not be reliable either, but it involves interaction with people and the formation of business relationships that can’t be acquired from posting on a Facebook page a few times a day.

Would we ask to go home if this happened?
Image: WeBlogCartoons

His comment, ‘Stop hiding behind your computer. Business gets done on the phone and in person.  It should be your first instinct’ is of particular relevance to my generation. We don’t pick up the phone anymore and many don’t even bother with email. In order to contact the Graduate Recruiters for the Big 4, it seems as though my comrades simply head to the Facebook page and add a comment to the long list of obvious and unnecessary questions before them. The way I see it, hiding behind our computers is making us anonymous, uninteresting and ridding us of all initiative. Asking questions has its time and place, but working something out for yourself is invaluable.

While I don’t agree with everything Nazar says, such as his rejection of tweet reading, the overall essence of his article appears to be a comment on laziness. Lack of networking, hiding behind social media and sending blanket emails; it is all easy. Picking up the phone, meeting business professionals and taking responsibility for our own mistakes may be tough, but it is rewarding. The Co-Founder of Docstoc has certainly persuaded me of one thing, there’s a lot more to business than sitting in front of a computer.

I urge you to read the original article, ’20 Things20-Year-Olds Don’t Get’ on Forbes.

Are We Obsessed With Social Networking?

A month of working for a communications agency, a brother whose job is a YouTube channel and a flatmate who makes a fortune by blogging about One Direction has all led me to believe that perhaps social networks have taken over our lives. I do love a good Facebook stalk/Twitter troll/Instagram snap as much as the rest, but maybe we should take a day off every now and then. Don’t you occasionally miss the good old days*? 

This wonderful cartoon sums up exactly what I mean:

Image: Wrong Hands: http://wronghands1.wordpress.com/

(*Good old days= 2 years ago)

How Facebook Has Ruined the House Party

When parents think of 'house party' and Facebook in the same sentence, they automatically picture this: 

Or this:

and they remember those Daily Mail articles where Timmy advertised his party on Facebook and the next thing they knew, they had £300,000 of damage and an arrested son. Well, I want to argue that although the Daily Mail may think Facebook gets a party started, perhaps it’s causing a whole new level of apathy as well. 

With the invention of Facebook Events, it seems that the necessity for a reliable RSVP has diminished. We no longer require a calendar or even a memory; we just pop onto Facebook and see if we fancy the event happening that evening, causing us to plan our social lives far more spontaneously. Clicking ‘yes’ on an event has become more a recognition of it happening rather than an affirmation of attendance. Gone are the personalised text messages or even the more civilised phone call, in fact gone is any direct communication at all. Create event, invite friends, enter.   

Now this is all fine and dandy if you’re relaxed about the outcome of your party, but it seems to me that you have to invite four times as many people as you actually want to turn up. Now that sounds rather different to Timmy and his cheese and crackers evening. Whereas in the past you would invite 10 on Facebook and 100 would show up, arguably now it needs to be the other way around. Although that may be comforting for parents, I would argue that Facebook is ruining the student necessity that is the 'house party'.  

5 Ways to Avoid Procrastination

Image: A Writer's Journey

It is that time of year when university students have spent all their Christmas money, gained a few pounds having enjoyed home cooked food far too much and are starting to fear the looming January exams. Procrastination is at an all-time high, visibly demonstrated by the sheer numbers of people on Facebook chat and the abuse of the Facebook status. As a fellow sufferer, I have tried to discover a few simple steps in order to battle this terrible affliction. 

Tea Breaks. One of my most successful ways of avoiding the random need to get up and wander around is to decide when I am going to take my tea breaks (or booze breaks for those in desperate need) before I start working. Knowing that I have an end-point certainly helps me concentrate. 15 minutes to go…10 minutes to go… 5 minutes to go… break… 1 hour 30 to go… and so on. NB if you decide you need abnormally common tea breaks, you might need to factor in loo breaks as well…

Website Blockers. I have recently had my attention drawn to these God-given gifts that have the power to disarm you from Facebook/Twitter/YouTube for a certain period of time of your choice. LeechBlock for Firefox or WebsiteBlocker for Chrome are good examples of programmes that can block the websites that your procrastination habits abuse. If extra precautions are to be taken, ask a friend to set the password. NB unless you don’t mind a fairly severe frape, I suggest you carefully consider which friend to ask…

To Do Lists. This one may sound obvious, but rather than face a mountain of notes in one go, it may be easier to set yourself lots of little tasks. Particularly satisfying if you write a list of tasks at the beginning of the session and then get to tick them off as you go. Learn 2 equations: tick. Read 10 pages: tick. Repeat 2 equations: tick. NB abuse of this rule may lead to time wasting… 

Rewards. Working is hard, revising is really hard and exams are horrible. Encourage yourself to work harder by treating yourself if you are productive. Learnt 20 pages of notes? Watch a movie. Finished that essay? Have an ice cream. Didn’t go on Facebook for an entire day? Celebrate. NB Try to avoid rewards that involve alcohol, working is already hard enough.   

Do Not Start A Blog. But if your body needs its procrastination fix, I suppose you could read this one.

The 5 Websites I Check Every Day

Image: PicGifs

Now that it has become second nature when I enter my room to turn on my computer, almost as often as I turn on the light, I have come to realise that there are certain websites that are part of my daily routine. With easy access from my toolbar and extravagant Virgin internet, I have no choice but to waste a certain amount of time each day finding out what is going on in the world. I find myself allocating ‘procrastination slots’ each time I sit down to work, fully in the knowledge of the inevitable website wasting adventure upon which I am about to embark…

Facebook. So obvious that it barely needs mentioning. This is not just to be found on my toolbar, but as my homepage as well. Even when I don’t have my computer on me, I have a portable Facebook checker in my handbag in the form of my phone. It is embarrassing, time wasting and unnecessary but I’m fairly certain that this is one of the more relatable ones. Stop judging- you know you do it too!

 

Daily Mail TV&Showbiz Online. So I thought Facebook was embarrassing? It’s completely addictive to find out whether Lady Gaga has put on some weight or whether the cast of Made in Chelsea attended some premiere. However, after a good few minutes of horrendous judgements, I feel so guilty that I move onto website number 3…

 

BBC News. Once I have discovered what is going on in the celebrity world, it’s time to even out the balance and find out what is actually happening in the real world. However, if I can’t quite face anything too thought-provoking, there’s always the BBC entertainment section that can fill up my gossip quota.

Twitter. Now I would consider myself a twitter newbie, but people keep telling me stories of friends finding jobs through tweeting and being contacted by incredible people so I think I should stick with it. Also, it’s a great way to find out what is going on around you, especially in a university. I found out the Queen was in Bristol last week through the Twittersphere…

Student Beans. This is definitely another guilty pleasure, but one that never fails to make me laugh. If you haven’t spent time on this site, do not hesitate and head over right away. Think FML and Uni Confessions all mixed into one. After a tough day of lectures (or when feeling guilty about not having gone to any) hearing stories of other students doing unimaginably stupid things will cheer you up no end. 

Image: BalooCartoons