I'm preparing some ideas for our Chief Executive on what today's kids are about, based on various 'serious' reports as well as countless interviews and chats with youf over the past month. However, the one bit of media which sums up the expectations of young people hit me this morning on the music channel Box, just as I was getting ready to head out.
Now, it's been a while since I've been to a proper rock or pop concert, especially since this one came along. I think the last biggy was U2 in Murrayfield, back in 2005. Back then I didn't notice what I saw this morning in a clip of Take That performing live at the O2 Dome, for New Year 2007/8. I first thought the audience were holding up glowsticks or cigarette lighters (highly unlikely now that a) smoking is banned in public spaces and b) cigarette lighters probably constitute a terrorist risk for our ever-paranoid spooks).
Of course, the young and not-so-young Take That fans are all holding up and pointing, disciple-like, their digital cameras and mobile phones to record the performance. There was a day when, if you walked into a concert with a video camera it would be confiscated. I wonder now that digital video recording devices are wallet- or pen-sized they've just given up and, even, see the YouTubing of the performance as more free advertising and buzz. Given that the official videographer gives a few good closeups camera-on-camera makes me think that music promoters, if not all educators, have understood that they can't stop what used to be the 'audience' becoming the 'co-producers'.
Generation Y isn't interested in watching any more. They want to participate, too. When you're teaching, running a meeting or training session today why not keep a tally of how much 'performing' you're doing compared to how much participating your 'audience' are. If Take That can manage 100% and 100% on both accounts, surely we can.
Using Take That to illustrate the changing nature of social media and youth expectation/participation... definitely a first (in a good way) ;-)
Posted by: DK | March 03, 2008 at 09:55 AM