As a student of history (one of the few subjects I paid attention to during middle or high school), I have always been interested in studying the differences between different generations. I like to see how societal events like war, cultural influences or technologies influence whole groups of people. One of the most interesting groups to me is Generation Y, also called the Millennials.

There aren’t exact boundaries – for any generation – but Gen Y begins in the late 70s or early 80s, and extends out to approximately the year 2000.

What recently caught my attention was that many Millennials have stopped using words like “hello” and “goodbye” in their conversations. The reason is pretty straightforward, most of their conversations via social media, texting or chat services have no clear beginning or end, but are simply ongoing dialogues with other people.

Of course, older generations are using these same technologies, but they still tend to use these media for more traditional conversations.

I am trying to refrain from saying things like “back in my day”, maybe because this would mean admitting that I am finally getting old. However, you can’t help but notice the differences that adolescents today have from earlier generations. As I started my business last year, I reached out to a number of financial institutions (my past expertise) and began selling the virtues of online communications. During these conversations it struck me, younger consumers won’t find ATMs, online banking or bill pay to be especially convenient. Why would they – they’ve never known a world without them.

They’ve always had cell phones (mobile devices? Handheld super computers?); always had 150 channels to choose from; always had video games that look like the movies. And the list goes on.

The impact of this group of people on American business has been muted so far. Younger workers are usually the last hired and first fired, and the current recession has hit them hard. But as they gain valuable real world experience and skills, their numbers will grow within our workforce, as they become cheaper alternatives to older workers. As Gen Y begins to assume more leadership roles and responsibilities, how will you market to them? These are questions that will need answers pretty soon.

Do you think print advertising will be particularly effective with this group? How about standard radio advertising? TV?

Do you think your money will be more effectively spent in direct (snail) mail campaigns, or email marketing?

Would you rather have a great print newsletter, or online blog?