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Ryan Paugh graduated from Penn State in 2006 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business. After working in corporate communications, freelance writing and reporting, he co-founded 
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New here? Employee Evolution is a blog written by Ryan Healy. Ryan is a Co-Founder of Brazen Careerist, the webs #1 social network for young professionals. Ryan speaks with organizations on best practices for recruiting and retaining Generation Y and how to effectively use social media to reach your target market. To contact Ryan, please visit our contact page.
My favorite part about blogging is conversing with the naysayers. Even the rude ones totally make my day. Because as soon as they start cursing, I know I’ve hit a topic that’s worth talking about.
With that said, there is a certain breed of haters out there that I could really do without – the ones that think age and experience always trump a solid, well thought opinion.
I think that most Gen-Y bloggers know what I’m talking about. In some fashion we’ve all been sized up based on years spent in the real world. And it usually leads to a comment that goes something like this:
In 10 years you’ll regret saying that.
Sure, in 10 years I’ll regret a lot of things. But what I won’t regret is making my voice heard as a young professional. Especially when there are tons of others out there just like me without the resources to do the same.
Will my perspective change within the next 10 years? Yes. Will I regret that I ever opened my mouth in the first place? No. If your argument is that a company might not hire me for something I said back when I was 24 years old, you may have a pretty good case. But there’s an equally good chance that a company does hire me because I challenged the norm. And that’s the type of company Generation Y wants to work for anyway.
What a lot of people don’t realize about blogging is it’s okay to be wrong. And while it’s important to check your facts, you don’t need to be an expert to state an opinion. That’s the beauty of blogging. When I started blogging over a year ago, I would have never guessed that I would experience hardcore resistance. And in most instances, it’s been a pleasant surprise.
So if you’re going to be an active presence in the blogosphere, wear your boxing gloves. A few blows to your ego are definitely game. But there’s one more important thing that you have to be ready to do.
Accept the New Authority
Social media has changed the way we give and receive information. News and opinion is no longer just being spoon fed to everyone by media moguls—it’s being created and duplicated and passed around by everyday people. Think of it more like a buffet. But if the buffet makes you nauseous, you’re more than welcome to order from the regular, everyday menu.
Challenging a blogger by asking where he gets his authority is pointless—you won’t likely find a list of credentials. Instead, size him up by checking out who is reading, linking, subscribing and commenting on his blog. Besides gaining trust, that’s the only basis of authority in the blogosphere.
What it all boils down to is the realization that you can’t evaluate a person in the blogosphere the same way that you would in the corporate world. Age is meaningless and the only titles we have are the ones we give ourselves for the sake of it. And still, people stop by and read.
Granted, as a young professional, sometimes I do need a good reality check. And I’m happy when it’s given to me.
As long as it’s done with an opposing opinion in mind, not my lack of experience or age, I’m willing to take a few jabs. I learn something about myself from every insightful adversary I have. But the ones who question authority, ability, and intellect based on old-school ideas about what makes someone credible are weak and useless to me.
Firstly, great blog. It is always interesting to hear the (very well formed) opinions of someone roughly my age and in the same industry as myself.
I think you’re right in saying that many people in industry look down on a younger member of staff, considering their lack of experience to be a handicap. I don’t think there is much you can do about this apart from respect their experience whilst challenging some of their pre-conceived ideas.
“Challenging a blogger by asking where he gets his authority is pointless”
It’s only pointless because most of the time you already know the answer: as mentioned, many bloggers (especially in our age bracket) don’t have much in way of credentials. However, I feel it’s a very valid question. Why should you be taking advice from someone who just “sounds good”? I’d like to see a proven track record of what has actually worked.
I’ve been thinking about this lately as I notice a lot of circular referencing in the Brazen Careerist community. Thus, “Accept the New Authority” is a little strong for me. I think about Stephen Colbert defining Wikiality; the fact that you or I say something as a “New Authority” doesn’t [necessarily] make it true or valid, so as always, advice should be taken with a grain of salt and the source is of utmost importance.
“together we can create a reality that we all agree on — the reality we just agreed on.”
-Stephen Colbert
Cheers!
The great part about the blogosphere is that we give everyone a chance to respond, correct our mistakes or challenge us. Old Media just gives it to you and lets you regurgitate it.
And least we are taking a stance and having our voices heard. The worst question or statement is the one that isn’t asked or said.
Ian: You’re right. And it’s a hard battle to win. Initiating change in the corporate environment is hard on it’s own, when the change is coming from the bottom up, imagine the difficulty.
Ian S: I think you’re right. And I think a big part of this new authority is the notion that everything you read/hear doesn’t need to be absolutely true. Or maybe it’s true, but only in a certain context.
Credentials may be a valid question, but if you already know the answer, you need to get off your high horse and contribute something valuable to the topic. Maybe it’s just me, but I get fed up with people who attack my opinions based on my age.
What I really like about this is the fact that we can debate. It’s not just streamlined information. And it’s nice to see that mainstream news sources are starting to utilize some of these techniques as well.
In a way, that’s a better reality that just listening to expert advice. Or Steven Colbert.
Greg: Absolutely! No need to say anything more.
Agree completely that being judged solely based on age and people not contributing anything valuable is ridiculous.
“In a way, that’s a better reality that just listening to expert advice.”
It’s better because differing viewpoints can help make more informed decisions. Would you take career advice from a kid coming right out of school or from Bill Gates/Meg Whitman/Jack Welch/Larry Page/whoever? Although everyone’s opinions might be insightful, who are you most likely to listen to?
While I consider certain bloggers authorities on various topics, most (myself included) are not. The good news is: these topics tend to spark a good discussion!
Hey guys - just wanted to let you know, the 60 minutes special you were in was just used in my HR class in my graduate program.
“Regret” is a strong word.
In 10 years’ time, will you regret some of the things you posted? Maybe. So will I. So will all of us. GenY isn’t the only group that could use another 10 years’ worth of wisdom.
But will you ever regret cracking your knuckles and putting yourself out there? I sure hope not.
Even if you choose to regret something you said, I hope you never regret saying it.
You guys shouldn’t worry what they think. Just be yourselves. I’m 42 yrs old and heard the same crap from detractors, about not having experience, when I was still fairly fresh out of school.
Each generation is progressively smarter (better educated) than the previous. The experience of the previous generations gets built into the curriculum for the next. Not to mention that cool parents raise their kids better.
Detractors are simply feeling threatened by fresh perspectives. So when they ask you where you get your ideas or authority on a subject - just remind them it comes from them and those that came before them - and that it has been expanded upon with fresh perspectives to continue advancing things even further.
Yes, experience in application does help, but approaching something with a fresh perspective and a clean slate often has powerful and innovative results.
Ron Pemberton makes two good points: much of this may have less to do with “generational differences” and more to do with time of life vs. basic human insecurity, and I also like his idea that each generation’s learning incorporates previous generations’ learning. I’ve always tried to distinguish between GenerationY being more educated, as opposed to better educated, but Ron’s point makes me rethink that a bit.
(However, I’ll kick myself later if I don’t challenge one of his notions: from where I sit, as a parent involved in my local school system, … cool parents raise their kids better is pure lunacy.)