genxyz’s posterous

Gretchen Bender  //  I am a lover of wine, food and micro brews; a marketer, PR and social media girl by trade; a member of the burgeoning mobile workforce and constantly dreaming of a more analog life. I’m intrigued by advertising and the campaigns that marketers develop to reach my demographic, which I lovingly call GenXYZ (for those of us stuck in the middle of it all).

Nov 16 / 3:15pm

Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work - washingtonpost.com

Everyone surveyed worried about job security. Gen X and Gen Y were most likely to complain about pay. But a "lack of career progress," was by far the biggest gripe from Gen Xers, with 40 percent giving that as a reason for their restlessness, compared with 30 percent of Gen Yers, 20 percent of baby boomers and 14 percent of senior workers.

Gen Yers, meanwhile, were more likely than the other generations to cite "lack of challenges in the job" as a reason they would leave, while baby boomers more often chose "poor employee treatment during the downturn" and a "lack of trust in leadership."

An interesting story about how Gen X is dissatisfied with work. I've been hearing the same sentiment from my Gen XYZ friends. It seems that everyone is discontent, just for different reasons. The job market will no doubt be an interesting one to watch as the economy rebounds. How many people will career hop when the dust settles?

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Nov 16 / 1:44pm

Map: Another Amusing View of San Francisco - via @SFist

I love when people take the time to make things like this. I also like living near the 22 year olds with animal tattoos.

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Nov 9 / 2:01pm

Renting the Runway

I'm a huge fan of Gilt Groupe, ideeli and the other online sample sale sites that have popped up over the past few years. This is one I'm not so sure about. The new service lets you rent designer outfits (like Bag Borrow or Steal on the handbag side).

Sure, it's a "deal" compared to buying the dress, but will fashionistas be willing to shell out their cash for something they can't keep? I'm guessing this will catch on in places where wearing the latest and greatest designer gear is a must (not so much in my life).

What I do love about it is the blending of Netflix + Zipcar model for dresses. That's a very cool concept. Now, what will they do with last season's favorites?

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Nov 3 / 10:21am

Peek's Twitter-Only Device

I'm with PC Mag on this one, do people exist that want mobile Twitter, but aren't wiling to put it on their phones? If so, do they have the funds for the Peek? It will be very interesting to see how many of these devices they're able to sell.

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Nov 2 / 10:19am

Fascinating - What Your Taste in Beer Says About You

I'm a craft beer lover, which apparently means I'm 153% more likely to always buy organic (true) and that I'm more likely to spent time thinking about beer rather than work (funny and also true). This study could be far more comprehensive, but based on the people I know, I'd agree with most of their observations.

Enjoy.

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Oct 30 / 1:10pm

Axe Hires Subway Musician to Promote Its Products

I like the idea of getting my own corporate sponsor. This is sort of inspiring - it's always interesting to read about people plugging away in unique ways to earn a living. Props to Axe for marketing in cool ways and for hiring "authentic" performers.

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Oct 23 / 11:30am

A journey into the heart of Generation Y shopping habits

There are two trends that have shaped this generation's attitudes toward shopping. The first is being raised during an era of "self-esteem" parenting, with a constant refrain of "Good job!" and "Everybody's a winner!"

The second is the Internet, which taught them to expect everything to happen faster, for experiences and products to be customized just for them, and to rely to an even-greater degree on friends for advice.

The result, says Yarrow, is a generation that is extremely confident, has a much closer relationship with its parents and excels at using technology to get what they want.

On the downside, it is an anxious generation, worried that being told they can do everything, they are actually expected to do it. They mature much more slowly. And they have set the bar high in terms of their jobs and relationships. The result is a tremendous amount of stress. Many Gen Y's surveyed said shopping provided a "mental vacation."

The conclusions made in this article don't mesh for me. Gen Y is stressed out, so we expect a more personalized shopping experience? The author goes on to say he's "afraid that our society has bred a generation of shopping-obsessed, materialistic offspring."

On the other side, you could argue that Gen Y's determination to find the best deal and our love of "try before you buy" retail leads to retailers and manufacturers developing better products and services. We can always walk out of the store and search online for the same product at a better price... or a better product altogether. We're certainly not the only group to benefit from that shift.

This is part of the problem with lumping tweens into the same group as late 20-somethings. While 13 year old girls (apparently in the same generation as I'm classified by this author) might be willing to settle for a messy pile of clothes at Forever 21, I want to touch and feel the quality of clothes at boutiques and mass merchants. I want to try the makeup at MAC so that I know it won't irritate my skin... I'm not materially obsessed, but I'm not willing to sacrifice quality.

Are you a GenXer or GenYer? What do you think of the differences in our shopping habits?

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Oct 23 / 10:50am

Annie Leibovitz's Portraits of President Obama and His Family: Vanity Fair

I'm not sure if this will help Annie pay off her massive debts, but am so happy to have her lens on the Obamas. Can't wait for some extra time to dig into the Vanity Fair.

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Oct 19 / 4:22pm

It was only a matter of time... before Twitter got into the wine business.

I've been wanting to go to Crushpad. Yes, this makes me want to go even more than I did before.

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Oct 8 / 8:47am

Hiking + Yoga

What a cool thing to do in San Francisco.

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