If you’re in the tiny subset of rockstars in our little social media bubble, chances are you’re doing what you can to separate yourself from your peers. I know you are tired of hearing it, but you shouldn’t care because this doesn’t apply to most of you.

The truth is our generation IS totally entitled. People ask me all the time to connect them with X or give them a recommendation IF the salary is good. I have an idea. Get A job first, and then seek out that perfect fit with the fat paycheck and comfy benefits. Unless Mommy and Daddy are super rich this is the approach you should try.

Part of being a young worker, particularly in this economy, is grinding it out for a bit. You’ll be glad you did one day.

2.) Gen Y genuinely does want to make an impact, be challenged, etc.

Maybe it’s the entitlement talking, but Millennials really do yearn to make a difference. If their current employer is not providing this they’ll look to jump ship.

This young generation of workers are very educated and they want the chance to show what they can do. Running copies, fetching coffee and only doing grunt work that adds little to no value to the company is one of the fastest ways to frustrate a hungry young worker.

If you want to keep someone, give them work that matters.

3.) Companies are significantly less loyal than they used to be.

Too many Gen Y employees watched their parents get canned after years of loyal service to the same company. We’re witnessing big companies let great people go just because they can get cheaper labor to do work that is “good enough.” If they don’t take good care of employees after a decent amount of time (a year perhaps?), they SHOULD seek to hop around a bit.

If you work your tail off for a year, teach yourself lots of new things, assume more responsibility and bring in new business you would like to think your superiors would acknowledge that. And yes, that’s what supposed to do, but is a pat on the back too much to ask? A little extra flexibility? A small bonus?

Positive reinforcement does wonders for loyalty.

4.) Younger employees don’t know what they want or how to get it.

I think this might be the most common of the four reasons. Younger employees aren’t yet seasoned at the job search/interview experience, nor do they really know what they want to do often times. They often get in situations that are terrible fits because A.) they didn’t get a good sense of the culture/work, etc. or B.) they were terrified of this economy and took a job to pay the bills while they found the ideal fit.

I see it happen everyday. I get e-mails about it from people who’ve fallen into the trap. They go, they interview, they didn’t ask the right questions. They got excited because the company wanted them, and they forgot to ask themselves if they wanted the company. (Which doesn’t always matter. See #1)

This invariably leads to, “Hey I better take this job even though it’s not a good fit, because it will pay the bills until I find something that IS a good fit.” And I’m not sure there’s anything necessarily wrong with that. Who knows? It could turn out to be a great fit. You could make it a great fit.

I always thought employers would scoff at a job hopper, but I’ve actually found the opposite to be true with respect to young workers. Often times, a good hiring manager/HR person understands, and even experienced a similar path themselves.

What do you think? Are these valid reasons for the Generation Y job hopping epidemic? What are other reasons you’ve switched jobs?

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A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from Brenton Gieser who is a new media rockstar and he’s telling me about this new venture/movement he’s getting involved with. A couple of days later I’m on the phone Arielle (see below) and I’m learning all about GenJuice’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Tour. Needless to say it’s definitely something I wanted to be affiliated with and so I sat down (virtually speaking) with the three co-founders of the tour, and wanted to share with all of you what I learned and why you should be interested.

1.) What is GenJuice and why should people care about it?

Arielle: Well, GenJuice is simply an annual Gen Y innovation and entrepreneurship tour. This is our first year doing this and we are learning a ton, but this year we will travel to 13 different cities and videostream our entire experience on our blog. We will shoot video with young incredible entrepreneurs in each of the cities and hold our “unconference” events in each city.

Virgilia: Nice one Arielle. To add to that point, GenJuice is an avenue for aspiring and early stage Gen Y entrepreneurs to network with other similar minded individuals and hopefully solidify their own business ideas and find a potential partner/team member/co-founder. As well as having live videostreams on our blog, we will also broadcasts from each event through online podcasts.

2.) What was the inspiration behind launching this initiative?

Arielle: I can tell you a little about what inspired me to launch GenJuice and Virgilia & Danielle can tell you about what inspired them to come on board. I started GenJuice for a variety of reasons. It started off as a way to bring entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds but all under 30 together. We would just meet in coffee shops and help each other, trade intros, etc. In February, the concept of the tour came about as a way to expand the entrepreneurial mindset of the Silicon Valley beyond just this area. We wanted to promote Gen Y innovation and entrepreneurship nationally (and feel like rockstars while we did it).

Danielle: I first worked with Arielle when I was Editor-in-Chief of a student magazine at Berkeley. She managed the marketing for our magazine launch party, and it was a huge success. I was really impressed by her energy and her ideas and strategy around buzz marketing. From that point on, I knew that we would co-found a company or work together very closely in the future. When the GenJuice Tour came about, I was ready to jump on board. Sometimes, you just have to take that leap!

Virgilia: I initially had the notion of launching a project with a very similar mission to GenJuice. After briefly chatting with Arielle, I realized that GenJuice had the potential of being a truly viral movement with endless possibilities ensuing from our pilot tour. It’s a good learning lesson – understanding that instead of going off and doing your own project, partnering with other brilliant individuals with similar goals will result in a more powerful and sustainable organization. We want to empower young innovators and trendsetters to follow their dreams, just like we are!

3.) It’s relatively easy to make introductions, but what kind of resources will be provided to enable these new friendships, partnerships, etc. to thrive AFTER the tour is over?

Virgilia: We will keep track of all the attendees through Google Docs (the 6th member of the GenJuice team) and will share this document with each city’s attendee following the tour. We will essentially create a database of everyone who attended the tour and allow various methods using our online blog to facilitate constant communication and encourage lasting relationships.

Danielle: Yes, through planning the GenJuice Tour and what I learned previously from attending various conferences, it is very important to extend the online engagement that you make with people via email or twitter to an offline exchange. That’s where the meeting of the minds happens in real-time and where the magic happens. We’ll be creating this effect with GenJuice.

4.) What makes the GenJuice team special? What can a young professional learn from this team in particular that they couldn’t get elsewhere?

Virgilia: Great question Ryan! Our team is unique in the fact that we have come together to produce this nationwide tour in just 3 months. Organic growth has been our mantra not only for GenJuice, but for our team. We anticipate facing roadblocks and thus when we encounter them they only spur more ideas and we tailor our overall strategy immediately. We are continuously changing and learning from our mistakes, taking these lessons learns and implementing them, and growing our team with rockstar team players who help balance out the rest of our team.

Arielle: I completely agree. I’ll just add that our team does one thing well that I’ve never seen done anywhere else. We are fluid. We’ve had several mistakes. Many problems and issues came up when planning our first national tour, as you can imagine. Yet, whenever a problem arose, we already had three or four ideas on how to shift our strategy and still get the same result. I’d say all entrepreneurs need that ability; the ability to move quickly and solve complex problems in the heat of the moment.

Danielle: I would say that we are three, unstoppable women who are phased by no amount of obstacles. Lack of press? We’ll get the word out. Lack of funding? We’ll find a way. I think it is the leanness of our organization that makes us strong because at the end of the day, we know that if we don’t do it, then it’s not getting done.

5.) Why focus on just Gen Y?

Arielle: Oh pick me! I want to answer this one. Personally, what inspires me more than anything is seeing my peers do incredible things. Sure, it’s great to see older or seasoned entrepreneurs discuss their success – but it’s ten times more powerful to see someone who looks like me, sounds like me and is a part of my generation talk about how we can innovate. The Gen Y leaders we’ve met and connected never fail to inspire me and I want GenJuice to do the same for everyone we meet across the nation.

6.) How can we get involved and/or start supporting the cause?

Danielle: I’m glad you asked, Ryan! You can visit our site GenJuice.com to purchase your tour tickets. We have some amazing Gen-Yers coming to our unconferences, so you definitely want to be there to make those connections. Then, follow us on Twitter (@meetgenjuice) and give us a shout out to let others know about the GenJuice movement. If you’re interested in donating your space for the GenJuice Tour events or want to let us crash on your couch, reach out to us. And lastly, we are welcome to additional tour partners and sponsors. Visit our Indiegogo site (http://indiegogo.com/GenJuiceTour) to find out how you can help. Thanks so much, Ryan!

Who is Arielle Patrice Scott?
Arielle is a student entrepreneur obsessed with innovating while young, and encouraging other young people to do the same. She launched GenJuice as a way to encourage more young people to launch new ventures and projects. GenJuice is a national 12-city wide tour with events to help young aspiring entrepreneurs meet potential co-founders and team members. For more details about Arielle you can follow her during the tour at GenJuice.com, read her blog at TheArielle.com or follow her at @ariellescott.

Who is Virgilia Singh?
Virgilia is in love with the concepts of innovation and sustainability and has founded and managed a variety of projects. She collected experiences in the corporate world while working for Booz Allen Hamilton, building a product innovation strategy for Intel, and advising a UN Ambassador on how to empower women economically worldwide. Virgilia recently left her stable full-time position in DC to co-found GenJuice, a tour launching this summer that is geared towards connecting and highlighting young innovators and entrepreneurs across the nation. You can get in touch with her at virgilia@genjuice.com or follow her at @virgiliasingh.

Who is Danielle Leslie?
Danielle Leslie left her Sales and Business Development role at social gaming startup RockYou to take a risk on a fast-moving project called GenJuice. Danielle will be evangelizing innovation and youth entrepreneurship in Summer 2010 during The GenJuice Tour. Danielle loves discussing marketing and new business models and believes that with the right marketing strategy, anything can become a home run venture. You can get in touch with her at danielle@genjuice.com.

A couple of weeks ago during #u30pro chat we were discussing the notion of being overwhelmed in the workplace, and one of my good friends happened to catch a few of my insights and suggested that I turn them into a post.

Most of the things people were overwhelmed with involved managing client expectations, co-workers that don’t pull their weight, and a lack of communication.

Aside from being honest with your boss/co-workers about your state of mind, which was probably the #1 recommendation from the masses here were a few of my tips:

1.) First, take a step back, take a deep breath, go for a walk. Second, prioritize what HAS to be done & do that first.

If you’re overwhelmed you’re not going to be effective so it’s important to step away and get your bearings straight first. I’ve found a bit of sunshine, a trip to the vending machine, or a quick call to a parent or a friend is a great way to calm down and come back to your desk fresh.

Many times the state of being overwhelmed comes from staring at a long to-do list, but you have to realize that you can’t complete all the tasks at once. Quite a few people have been discussing the triage approach of late, and I think that it’s a very applicable here. Triage is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition.

You can only do one thing at a time so pick the most important thing, focus, and knock it out. What’s due end of day? What can you do after-hours that doesn’t have to be done until the following morning? What can you catch up on next week after things have settled a bit?

2.) Keep things in perspective. The world usually won’t end if you mess something up. Stay in the present, and tackle one thing at a time.

I thought when I left school and entered the workforce everyone would be uber-efficient, but that’s just not true. Just like in school, people often wait until the last minute to get something done. I know middle managers from huge companies that ask for slides from co-workers by Friday end of day, and don’t have half of them Sunday at midnight.

I’m not condoning this, nor am I advocating procrastination or excuses on a regular basis; however, people do anticipate mistakes and missed deadlines. If you’re overwhelmed because you screw up or it’s just physically impossible to complete something on time, it’s important to communicate that to your client, co-workers, etc., preferably before shit hits the fan.

As long as you don’t make a habit of it, understand that these things happen, it’s going to be okay, and start immediately doing what you can to rectify the situation and overachieve moving forward.

3.) Finally, being overwhelmed isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s completely dependent on your REACTION to being overwhelmed and if you’re capable of channeling it into useful, positive energy.

I suspect this depends on your definition of overwhelmed, but like anything else in life your reaction to what happens to you is key. You can get flustered, incapable of finishing your work, feel sorry for yourself, task team members with pulling some of your weight OR you can make up your mind that in the scheme of things this will be a tiny blip on your life’s radar (and even tinier on everyone else’s) and find a way to conquer it. And guess what? It’ll happen again, and again. That’s life. Get used to it!

Photo Credit: PhotoBlackburn

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We’ve been called out lately, by some pretty intelligent people no less. My initial reaction, particularly with Todd Defren’s post, which I read first, was to call bullshit and to write a rallying cry for my peers. Often my initial reaction is to feel backed into a corner and come out swinging, but then cooler heads prevailed and I re-read all of their posts. And you know what?

They’re right. Maybe not about everything, but it’s hard to account for the infinite amount of scenarios young employees inevitably find themselves in. You see, I just quit my job after only 16.5 months so I felt as though they were speaking directly to me. Am I just some entitled brat? In retrospect could I have toughed it out a while longer? In re-reading their posts I’m as confident as ever I made the right decision.

Here’s my evaluation of some of their key messages:

PR Prof Bill Sledzik — “Dear Millennials: Your parents lied to you.”

“Millennials were raised by parents who showered them with praise and awarded them athletic trophies for just showing up. Their lives were over-programmed, their parents hovering.”

Of course this isn’t applicable to EVERY Millennial, but it’s true, there’s no refuting that. Especially the kids from privileged backgrounds, the ones who think $60K and a corner office after 2 years is reality.

“All their lives they’ve been rewarded for effort more so than results.”

Working hard and having passion about what you’re doing should be a prerequisite for getting a job. It should be like having a high school diploma. Impact matters more than output, and doing your best doesn’t matter if you can’t execute.

I genuinely think Bill’s message was spot on.

Todd Defren — “Open Letter to Millennials (PR Industry Edition).”

“My advice then — and you may see it as biased — is to stay put for a while. I am talking 3 – 5 years, at least. There is no such thing as a perfect fit. You must create the perfect fit. This is your apprenticeship period. It is supposed to suck. There are supposed to be crummy days when you feel under-appreciated. Such days will occur no matter who signs your paycheck.”

This is the passage I initially took issue with. In my mind life is entirely too short to feel handcuffed in a position that ‘sucks,’ as Todd puts it. But read it carefully and you see that he says there’s supposed to be ‘crummy days,’ not consecutive crummy months. You DO have to create the perfect fit, and there will always be days where you have to find the silver lining.

I like that Todd explains further a few days later:

First, the clarification: it is up to the employer to offer competitive compensation and a satisfying work environment. Period. However, no employer will be able to offer competitive compensation and a satisfying work environment every single day, for every single employee.

So my point in last week’s post was to suggest that employees who encounter a rut or rough spot try to see it through, rather than throw in the towel.

That doesn’t mean “shackle yourself to the desk,” it means, “make sure you calmly alert the agency to your issues — and be a little patient as they suss out the solutions.” It won’t always work out. But it may be worth the attempt. That is Loyalty.

And just like that we’re back on the same page. There’s always going to be another company willing to lure you away for more money; however, if your present company is offering competitive compensation and you’re learning, growing and working on stuff you’re passionate about then enduring the bad days is just part of it. Sucking it up when you get yelled out every once in a while (though probably not necessary) is part of it.

And again, being honest about the things you have issues with and trying to come to a resolution IS being loyal. If you hang on for four months with no resolution in sight, and you don’t feel that you’re being challenged/learning/growing, then by all means you tried to accommodate the company and you can leave. Just try not to fall into a similar situation with your next position. Keep reading.

Jason Calcanis – “Red, Jackson, Gen Y & Loyalty.”

First, the scenario Jason describes is probably an accurate scenario that happens more than we care to admit.

Second, his advice for how to resign is solid, and there are some important caveats:

“If you’re not learning, enjoying yourself or developing, you probably shouldn’t stay in a company. On that, I think we all agree.”

“Tell your boss everything truthfully. Tell them why you’re leaving, where you’re going and what you’ve loved about working at the company. If they ask, tell them what you think could be improved.”

“If you would rather stay at your company, but need to make more money, be straight with your boss and let them know you would like them to match, or come closer to a competing offer.”

See a theme yet? They’re not telling us to stay no matter what. They’re essentially asking us to be rationale in our approach, to be respectful, to learn from the experience, and to try and avoid it again in the future. Speaking of which…

Mark Suster – “Never Hire Job Hoppers. Never. They Make Bad Employees.”

First of all, I like that Mark lumps all job hoppers and doesn’t single out Millennials as I’m hesitant to lump people together based on how many birthdays they’ve had.

“Quitting 1-2 jobs early when you’re young is acceptable. I get that when people are young they’re exploring life and work. But 6 times is a pattern.”

“ You’re in it more for yourself than your company. OR … you make bad decisions about which companies you join.”

Ding. Ding. Ding. Mark is right too.

So what would I say to these guys?

1.) Thanks. They’re obviously all smart, talented professional that have infinitely more world and work experience than I do and I actually appreciate their insights (for free) where I can consume them, digest them, and apply them to my own life.

2.) And they know this, but loyalty is definitely a two way street. Millennials are significantly less loyal than their parents were, but part of that is because companies are less loyal as well. If a company isn’t giving you a chance to learn, grow, and compensate you fairly then you need to be upfront and honest with them about your intentions. If they can’t resolve it, at that point you probably have every right to do what’s best for you. *Learn and grow doesn’t necessarily have to mean work on awe-inspiring projects. There’s lots of ways to learn.

3.) Most of us aren’t trying to make mistakes. And a situation that works out probably isn’t a mistake if we learn a lot from the experience. My Dad likes to say, “I’m 57 years old and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” I can assure you that graduate school didn’t teach me how to know enough about myself OR how to interview in a way that enabled me to learn enough about the company to ensure a good fit. That’s something I’m still learning.

It’s easy to glamorize a ‘big name’ company or a cool industry like sports or music, but if those institutions don’t mirror your values you might end up in a precarious situation. Sometimes the best way to learn is through trial and error.

4.) My grandpa likes to say, “they call it a job for a reason,” but one of thing I admire about some of my peers is that they are out there in search of that something that will inspire them to do great work every day. YES, they should try to make what they’re doing a perfect fit, but life is short and being happy is important. It takes a long time to realize that being happy comes from within instead from the external forces that surround our lives.

What do you think? Are Millennials taking their criticism out of context and getting bent out of shape over nothing? What is your stance on job hopping and company loyalty?

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I probably read about 50-100 blog posts a day. A good half of these are probably business/marketing/social media related; down from nearly all I read about 6-8 months ago. In truth, that’s still too many, but I live in constant fear that someone is reading more than me, thus knowing more than me.

[In reality, there are lots people that know more than me. There will always be people who read more. And the doers not the readers are probably learning way more anyway.]

Carlos wrote a great post on this phenomenon.

The point is there’s an ebb and a flow to everything. I can’t read enough to know more than everyone any longer than a great blogger can consistently put out top quality content. I know this because I used to put out a top posts from around the blogosphere (of what I was reading) each month.

I remember months when Chris Brogan was stellar, others where Valeria Maltoni’s writing stood out, or David Armano’s. (For the record, Amber Naslund’s on fire right now). Bloggers who put out so much content will be better some months/weeks/days than others the same way baseball players go on hitting streaks or get in slumps.

Sure, the best players are usually near the top; but those top spots, they fluctuate.

That’s why most people settle into a niche.

And I believe it may be why many Gen Y writers are shifting away from writing about business, marketing and social media.

Seth Godin’s Linchpin talks about having the ultimate combination of high passion vs. high wisdom. And if we’re being honest, most of us who are Gen Y simply haven’t been in business long enough to necessarily have high wisdom.

If we stay with the theme of honesty, most of our elder peers would be reluctant to put us in the top stratosphere of business bloggers anyway.

The solution?

Get out of the echo chamber and write about our own lives.

Sydney is a great example of this shift that I’ve been witnessing for awhile now. As she was finishing school and scouring for an internship/job Syd wrote about a lot of social media and digital marketing topics, but shortly after becoming full-time at Weber Shandwick she altered the theme of her blog and made the transition to a much more personal route.

I can’t speak to Sydney’s reasons, but here’s my rationale on why so many younger (I’m trying to get away from the whole Generational labeling thing) bloggers are transitioning to a more personal approach:

1.) We blogged about social media marketing as we were learning about it, but we have the foundation now, which leads to…

2.) It’s so tough to break through the echo chamber day in and day out in order to stay near the top of such a crowded space. Sure, you can write an incredible post one day, but the next 3 you’re probably just adding your $0.02 to what Jason Falls already said.

3.) We’ve realized that social media isn’t this ridiculous craze, but that it’s part of the fabric of a lot of other things we do with respect to business. With the shine gone, perhaps we’ve grown a bit burnt out by all the chatter. Maybe our heads are down and we’re trying to get results, new things to talk about.

4.) With an increasing emphasis on relationships, transparency, and ideas we actually find reading about the everyday lives of others and the challenges they go through more pertinent. We still don’t give a crap about what anyone had for breakfast (unless we’re reading a fitness blog, right?), but we do like witnessing how other people our age are navigating similar career and social situations. Especially once we’ve grown to know these people.

5.) We’ve come to understand that with so much information at our finger tips virtually anyone can find the information they’re looking for online (how they organize and synthesize that information is a whole different story for a whole different post), and so maybe one way to stand out is via our ideas and our personalities. This is the goal of Brazen Careerist.

What do you think? Is the climb to the top a difficult one until you reach a certain point in your career? One that probably demands you’re a little older?

Are the reasons I’ve mentioned responsible for younger bloggers writing more about their personal lives and their own experiences than social media?

Have you made a similar transition in your own writing?

Photo Credit: Twiga269

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• Thanks to everyone who continues to make this list possible every other month. There were a ton of you that submitted ballots this time around, and I’m confident everyone will find someone new to add to their readers.
• It could stop there if you want, but I urge you to get to know one another (and introduce yourself to me if we haven’t met), collaborate on projects, explore commonalities, challenge one another, and make some new friends.
• After you digest the list I’d love for you to stop by the comments section and have a dialogue with me (and others) on blogs you’d like us to consider for future lists (and why), some of the blogs you’re glad to see make this list, who surprised you, what you think of the newcomers to the list, etc. (You can also speculate and offer suggestions on what you think the new format will be in 2010.)
• Feel free to grab the Gen Y Top Blog Badge from Flickr and add it to your blog (with or without a link back to here.

Oh, and Um, Yeah, there’s some good stuff month…

Also Receiving Votes:
LAF, The Dating Jungle, Free Pursuits, Bossy Girls, Nicole is Better, McKinney Oates Cereal, Alex Mann, Politcoholic, Under 30 CEO, Social Pollination, Wage Slave Rebel, Greg Rollett, Twenty or Something, Communications Catalyst, Exile Lifestyle, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Justice for All, The 9 to 5 Alternative, The Writer Babe Series, Ben Casnocha, Entry Level Living, Epic Self

On the Bubble:
Modite – This blog provides career & life conversations for a new generation of workers.

Corn on the Job – Rich’s blog consists of wisdom for job seekers and a wealth of his opinions acquired through his experiences, including human resources and corporate recruiting.

Life in Translation – Jamie’s insight pertaining to moving abroad, figuring out life, and the insanely torrential topic that is love.

Brazen Careerist – Penelope’s blog is about career advice, and her of course.

The Lost Jacket – A blog based out of Boston, MA (authored by Stuart Foster & Carla Blumenthal) focused on social media, public relations, marketing and brand management for businesses.

The Spinks Blog – This is where David attempts to wittily discuss the most recent trends, ideas, tips and questions on how businesses use social media

Derek Shanahan – DShan’s personal blog where he talks about a lot of things including: love, community, trust, and technology.

10.) The Curbside Marketer – Jackie kickin’ it and stirring up conversation about social media, marketing, and life in the business world.

Tough for me to write about Jackie because I’m biased, but I sat next to him in an office for 5 months, and I know he’s brilliant. (Especially at making powerpoints. Hi Jackie!) He does two things really well that consistently keep me reading his blog:

First, he’s great at connecting ideas where most people wouldn’t recognize similarities. And second, he does an awesome job expanding on current events with his own insights and how it’s applicable to marketing. I really liked this post is chock full of all the tools you’d need to live location independent. I’ll take Cody’s word for it that he’s pulling beautiful women, but his he does explain in depth how he finances his lifestyle and what a typical day looks like. The only thing I don’t understand is why you’d live in Thailand and not Texas if you could live anywhere in the world.

9.) The Rest is Still Unwritten – Tech News and Random Ramblings from a 20-something year old bachelor.

What do Ryan Reynolds, Bill Simmons and David Stehle have in common? You guessed it. Mancrushes. All 3 of them. Maybe it’s because David’s a cool guy. I doubt it’s the reason that 95% of the commenters on his blog are women.

No, I think the reason I enjoy David’s writing is because it’s raw. And that’s who I am, completely unfiltered. And yet I turn it off when I enter the “real world” or when I share with you on this blog. So do you. But David writes like finding happiness in the middle, her hodge podge of assessments are always thought, and usually a bit introspective.

6.) Small Hands, Big Ideas – Musings and Inspiration on Technology, Career and Generation Y

Grace has graced us (get it? I’m clever) on this list four consecutive times now, and I have a sneaking suspicion that her ability to consistently find herself on this list has a lot to do with the consistency she displays on her blog.

Which isn’t to say she won’t surprise you with a new approach sometimes. As I know I’ve mentioned before I really appreciate her ability to mix up her posts and cover a wide variety of topics, infuse some of herself in there, and deliver insightful nuggets like this one.

5.) Life’s Like a Box of Chocolates – Stories and advice from the variety of things Sam’s discovered in her box of chocolates.

Poignant. That’s how I’d describe Sam’s writing. Like other writers on this list she really opens up and bares her soul to her readers, and a result we’re forced to learn about ourselves simultaneously while Sam examines her own life.

I can forgive her for her reality TV affliction when I read how she poetically navigates everyday conflicts like selfishness, and I don’t think I’m the only one who gets a lot of value from her [Sam] antics posts. Top all that off with the fact that she’s an absolute sweetheart and never fails to brighten a busy day with a quick hello via gchat.

4.) Sydney: Unfiltered – A raw take on Syd’s life. One she describes as: unpredictable, frightening, and wildly exciting

Sydney’s altered her brand a bit and while I don’t think she’s nearly as unfiltered as a Jamie Varon or a David Stehle, I think she’s really grown as a writer since stepping away from just PR and encompassing a lot more aspects of her personal life. Not to mention rejuvenated herself (and her blogging) I believe.

Not only is she getting the opportunity to speak at SXSW, which she riffs on here, but also her love life (which I kinda get to help with sometimes), and a savvy and personal look into growing up and being a working woman (and all that entails) in big city Chicago.

3.) Life Without Pants – The blog about everything and nothing: Without restrictions, without cause. The latest on Gen-Y, technology, philosophy, and more!

Three consecutive weeks at #1, and I suspect he thought he’d fall further than this after some people voiced their displeasure of late. But this is a testament to both Matt’s content and his ability to market himself and genuinely connect with people. (And that’s part of being a top blog, no? Rallying your community?)

Whether it’s useful tips Matt’s acquired from his own experiences or just the fact that he’s always on the grind Matt’s certainly earned my respect.

2.) OwlSparks – Daily short posts (oh, erm, not anymore) on philosophy, marketing, social media, personal branding, love, friendship, questions, discussions and all that stuff.

Carlos debuted at #3 on this list in August, and since then he’s switched from daily short posts to some less frequent longer posts, he’s ruffled some feathers, and most importantly… he’s probably made you think. About yourself, your beliefs, societal norms, foolish paradigms and much more.

I don’t always agree with Carlos, but wouldn’t your rather read something that challenges you to ask questions and dig a little deeper than nodding along and going, “Yeah I can dig that.”

1.) Life After College – Jenny’s mission is to provide simple, practical tips that help you focus on the BIG picture of your life…not just the details. Find tips and resources for life, work, money, happiness, productivity, personal growth and more.

Admittedly, I’ve been anticipating Jenny’s ascension to the top for few months now. I suspect it was only a matter of time. Quickly becoming famous (in our insular world) for her nifty templates/guides, Jenny does so much more. For one, though I haven’t met her I can assure you she’s real (just read the post).

I don’t know if it’s because she gets to hang around smart people at Google all day, but sometimes it just feels like Jenny knows something I don’t (aside from what a red velvet cupcake tastes like). For about 3 seconds it makes me want to live vicariously through her until I read that I should “Stop Audition for Other People’s Lives.” Told you she was smart. Like Sydney, she manages to mix in a few dating posts. But most importantly, she takes great pride in convincing the most charismatic bloggers in the world to guest post for her. (What? My fingers are tired. I deserved that plug!)

Congrats Jenny! And to everyone who made the final Top 10 Gen Y Blog List of the Year (and in this format)! I’m off to call Jenny and congratulate her, seriously. You – scroll down to the comments section and let me know how awesome these write-ups were.

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Top 10 Gen Y Blogs: December Edition — http://bit.ly/6KpXNW

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This is the FINAL ballot for this year, and also the final ballot USING THIS FORMAT. I will still be recognizing young bloggers in 2010, but after much thought and discussion with all of you I will be experimenting with a new approach. More on that later though.

Voting has opened for December’s Top 10 Gen Y blogs. You have until Saturday, November 28th, to submit your ballots.

Check out the latest lists:
October ‘09
August ‘09
June ‘09
April ‘09
February ‘09

Recall the rules:

Below is the ballot featuring all the blogs that received votes last month. This is the easiest way for me to do the ballot. You’re more than welcome to use the comments section (or e-mail) to suggest additional blogs, and if they meet the criteria I’ll certainly add them. I know I forgot some, there’s probably even a duplicate or two. No need to complain, just help me out and I’ll ensure they end up on the ballot.

You can rank the blogs you submit any way you’d like, though I would encourage you to consider some of the following criteria:

• CONTENT
• Aesthetic (i.e navigation, functionality, and to some extent looks)
• Ability to incite conversation, thought-provoking comments/discussion

The Rules:

• The blogs must directly relate to or be authored by Gen Y/Millennials*
• One ballot per person
• Your ballot must have at least 5 blogs listed to be included – This is the one most people forget.
• You -can- vote for your own blog
• If you feel compelled to include a great post that showcases why you chose a particular blog I won’t hate you
• Don’t try to game the system! When I get 8-10 ballots that all have the same blog #1, and the next four all the same, but slightly re-arranged. C’mon guys. It’s great to encourage your friends, but not at the expense of the lists’ integrity.

*For clarification purposes – This is not a list of the best Gen Y bloggers based on their demographic, but about the best blogs that deliver value for the Gen Y demographic. For example if a 26-year old writes brilliantly about the latest tech inventions, though he is Gen Y, he’s probably not a good fit for this list. The alternative is a 40-year old writing about approaches Gen Y can take to get a job in the current economic climate is very relevant. Honestly, I don’t mind that the line blurs as long as great bloggers get recognition. Take that for what it’s worth.

Please submit your list of top Gen Y Blogs to ryanstephensmarketing(at)gmail.com no later than November 28th, 2009.

Without further ado …

The Writer Babe Series
Free Pursuits
Apocalypstick
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
The Curbside Marketer

Slacker Reform
Life Excursion
Just a Generalist
Entry Level Living