So evidently, the ideal age for a social media manager is under 25.
Wait… no… the ideal age for a social media manager is over 25.
Are you kidding me? Age? We’re talking about age? Like… the ideal age to be a CEO is 45-65? Or the ideal age to be an HR manager is 43-52? Would anyone with the slightest bit of credibility ever write a piece like that? No. Not without concrete research to back it up, at any rate. So why is it acceptable when it comes to social media? Why? Because it’s still en vogue to write complete nonsense about social media management?
There is no ideal age to manage a social media program, just like there is no ideal age to manage a PR or marketing or HR campaign, program or department. Unless you’re a professional athlete, age is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to your ability to do a job. Any job. Some people are already good at 20. Others still suck at 40. There is no magic formula. What you are looking for is competence, professionalism and a sharp, agile mind. That is what you should focus on. Not age.
Let’s take a look at this piece published by Inc. just a few days ago: 11 Reasons a 23-year-old Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media, by Hollis Thomases.
So first… who is this Hollis Thomases person, and more importantly, why does Inc. feel that she is qualified to write an article on this topic? Well, there’s this:
Hollis Thomases is the President & CEO of Web Ad.vantage, which provides outcome-based digital marketing and advertising services to up-and-coming brands. She is also the author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day, a contributing expert to Social Media Marketing Magazine, and has been a Media Planning columnist for ClickZ since 2005. She has taken her subject matter expertise to television, radio, and trade conferences. Here is her Twitter account: @hollisthomases (6,820 followers).
Note the url, by the way, which is different from the title Inc. eventually went with: http://www.inc.com/hollis-thomases/social-media-dont-put-intern-in-charge.html – don’t put intern in charge. Ah, well. We’re already off to a killer start: what’s a 23-year-old good for? Being an intern. Great.
Now don’t get me wrong: anyone who puts an intern in charge of their social media program is clearly being negligent. But we aren’t talking about interns here. We are talking about 23-year-olds and “young hires.”
Not to put too fine a point on it, but that hoodied 23-year-old you just crossed in the hallway might not be the intern anymore. In this day and age, he or she might be the CEO, and a solid one at that. There are “kids” right now building companies at 23 that will reshape the face of business, technology and communications in the next ten years. There are guys leading combat teams at 23, and I can tell you from experience that they are supremely competent and plenty mature. There are young women right now, today, already on their way to revolutionizing dozens of fields, from particle physics and presidential campaign strategy to industrial design and popular fashion. A few of them even won Olympic medals in London over the last few weeks. So how about this: instead of discounting young twenty-somethings as quasi-worthless, not particularly dependable assclowns, why not get to know them instead?
But no. It’s much easier to fall back on crap stereotypes to write a poorly researched article, and then somehow get Inc.’s editorial staff to give it the go-ahead. And thus begins an 11-point exercise in shameless clichés and assumptions. Let’s have a look-see:
- They’re not mature enough.
- They may be focused on their own social media activity.
- They may not have the same experience – or etiquette.
- You can’t control their friends.
- No class can replace on-the-job-training.
- They may not understand your business.
- Communications skills are critical.
- Humor is tricky business.
- Social media savvy is not the same as technical savvy.
- Social media management can become crisis management.
- You need to keep the keys.
Where do I begin? Do I even need to explain how absurd this is? It seems that professional, capable twenty-somethings have suddenly become as immature as ninth-graders on a school field trip.
1. They’re not mature enough. Right. Based on what data? And compared to whom?
I have a friend. Let’s call him Tim. Tim is 48. Tim has been going through a mid-life crisis for the last four years. You want to talk to me about the maturity level of a 23-year-old? You don’t get to unless you’ve spent a Friday evening around Tim. Tim is a CEO, by the way.
But that isn’t even the point. The real point here is this: if someone isn’t mature enough to manage your social media program, regardless of their age, don’t be an asshole and put them in charge of your social media program. Instead, hire someone who is qualified and well-suited for the job. Is that too simple? Too obvious maybe? Or should we keep going on the stupid stereotypes?
Okay. Let’s keep going then.
2. They may be focused on their own social media activity. Yeah, and they also may not. Because age has not a damn thing to do with that.
Not hiring unprofessional assholes usually takes care of that problem.
3. They may not have the... oh, whatever. If they don’t have the experience or etiquette, why did you hire them to manage anything, let alone your social media program? Regardless of their age, if they don’t have the skills or experience or etiquette, don’t put them in charge. But if they have the experience, skills and etiquette, and they happen to be 23, don’t be stupid: hire the shit out of them before someone else does.
I know. This stuff is really hard to grasp.
4. You can’t control their friends. Really? Is that because 23-year-olds are just party-going loudmouths who will post obnoxious updates on Facebook? So naturally, yeah… a 23-year-old is going to be a liability to your brand, right? Nice!
Except, no. Show me the data that supports your theory. What… no data? Hmmm. That’s too bad. My next question would have dealt with how you intend to “control” angry customers and trolls.
Ms. Thomases, your personal prejudices against this age group suck.
5. No class can replace on-the-job-training. I have no idea what that even means or what it has to do with age.
6. They may not understand your business.
This article is starting to give me a headache.
What if that 23-year-old has been a fan of your business since they were a kid? Say you’re Nike or Disney or Nintendo, you really think a 23-year-old managed to live their whole lives without knowing what you do and how? Why do you think they’re applying for a job at your company in the first place?
Here’s another one: a 40-year-old new hire and a 23-year-old new hire are going to go through the same onboarding process. Why would the 23-year-old be somehow less qualified than the 40-year-old to manage the company’s social media program solely based on “not understanding the business?” Is there something physiological about 23-year olds that makes them incapable of learning your business model?
If you are hiring someone to manage your social media program, they’ll need to understand your business, regardless of their age. Train them. Get them ready to manage that function. This is not an age issue, it’s a preparation issue.
This argument is invalid.
7. Communications skills are critical. I can’t even wrap my mind around this. Let me just quote the writer and see if you can make any sense of it:
“Communication is critical to solid social-media execution. Before you let a young hire take over your company blog posts, take stock of his or her writing skills. Also: Many young people have not yet learned the “art” of communicating. Make sure they know how to read between the lines, rather than taking things too literally.”
That’s it. That’s the whole explanation.
Between you and me, I have no idea what half of that means. “Many young people have not yet learned the ‘art’ of communicating?”
“Make sure they know how to read between the lines, rather than taking things literally?”
Let that be the point: communication is indeed critical to solid social-media execution. Which is why social media professionals who write expert commentary for Inc. should learn how to express themselves clearly. “Make sure they know how to read” between what lines, exactly? Is there something about 23-year-olds that makes them read everything literally? And can we at least get some kind of idea as to what the “art” of communicating is? I wonder if it involves learning proper comma usage. Here’s an example: “Make sure they know how to read between the lines rather than taking things too literally” instead of “make sure they know how to read between the lines, rather than taking things too literally.”
I know a bunch of young 20-somethings with terrific communications skills and a shit-ton of people my age with horrendous communications skills (and many of them are in PR and marketing). So can we please stick to competence and skill instead of crapping on young twenty-somethings for the sake of it?
8. Humor is tricky business. Let me guess… because young twenty-somethings are incapable of understanding the boundaries and cultural nuances of certain types of humor… As opposed to 35-year-olds or 50-year-olds?
You’re right. Humor is tricky business. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with age. Not one thing.
Something just occurred to me: if you took that piece and replaced “young hire” with “women” or “old people,” it would be taken offline immediately. Prejudice is prejudice, and the opinions listed in these eleven points reek of it.
9. Social media savvy is not the same as technical savvy. Excuse my French, but… (cover your ears) what the fuck does that have to do with age?
This argument is invalid.
10. Social media management can become crisis management. Yes. It can and it does. What does that have to do with age? Do you want me to list every PR crisis in the last ten years that was completely botched by people over the age of 25? Here’s a taste: BP, Nestle, Enron, Toyota, Southwest Airlines, Chic-Fil-a, United Airlines, Eurostar, FEMA… We could be here all day.
This argument is frightfully invalid.
11. You need to keep the keys. Yes. That’s a basic social media program management 101 lesson that is applicable regardless of your social media manager’s age.
This argument isn’t just invalid, it isn’t even an argument.
Here’s an idea: instead of writing (and publishing) pointless pieces of hateful, misinformed garbage that fail to a) offer relevant reasons why young professionals under the age of 25 are somehow not qualified (or under-qualified) to manage a social communications program, and b) provide evidence to back up the writer’s opinion, why not write a piece that outlines the qualities and skills you should look for in someone who will help you build and manage a social media program? You know, things like competence, skill, talent, personality, adaptability, resourcefulness, even cultural fit with the company, for instance?
But no. Let’s focus on age instead. Let’s talk about age as a qualification to run a social media program… Good grief. How did we even get here? Really. WTF.
I can’t leave you like this though, so here’s basically all you need to know about the ideal candidate for your social media management job. Are you ready? Here it is:
Hire someone wonderful and competent. Who gives a shit how old they are?
Okay? And if you want some pointers on what to look for, I’ll be back tomorrow with a few.
Cheers,
Olivier
* * *
As an aside, you can find some pointers on how to hire (and train) a social media manager in Chapter 6. (Pages 73-82.)
Social Media ROI – Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in yourOrganization was written specifically to teach managers and executives how to build and manage social media friendly business programs and incorporate social technologies and networks into everyday business operations. The book is divided into four parts: social media program strategy & development, social media program operationalization, social media program management, and best practices in measurement and reporting. If your boss doesn’t yet have a copy, time to fix that. If everyone on your team doesn’t yet have their own copy, fix that too. It makes for a great desk reference.
(Now available in several languages including German, Korean, Japanese and Spanish.)
CEO-Read – Amazon.com – www.smroi.net – Barnes & Noble – Que
Brand Building and Online Marketing Blog 
You know Olivier, for the last say…2-3 years, I’ve seen the disturbing trend in “social” of putting lipstick on pigs. Namely, rinsing and repeating what was said 5 years ago. Maybe and I’m really stretching it here, there might have been a shred of truth to 1/11th of what she wrote, 5 years ago. But now, it passes for nothing more than an attempt at attention grabbing. The tech world, more than any other discipline or profession, is extremely impervious to age. Experience even, can be negotiable. It’s funny and yet sad how much age bias and discrimination come up not only when it comes to youth but also on the other side with Boomers and on up. Link bait aside, I think Ms.Thomas was looking to write a rebuttal to the other piece you mention and yet it went in a direction that even she might not recognize. Seriously, would one really scan a resume for an opening in social, check the age, see that they were 23 and immediately kick it out? Really?
Basically, yeah. It isn’t even that I disagree with the notion that experience matters. Of course it does. And in theory, someone older and with more experience and maturity might be in a better position to manage a big corporate program than someone fresh out of college. BUT if you’re going to go there, give specific examples. Create context. Provide scientific data. And remind your readers that what you are telling them isn’t absolute, and that things aren’t so cut-and-dry. That would have been a tad more professional and even-handed.
Of course experience matters, but experience does not necessarily compensate for a lack of raw talent. Raw talent (in this case people skills) can compensate or help at least overcome a lack of experience.
I posted extensively on this topic last week. I too am annoyed with the 25 meme, and not just because of the premise of agism but also how 600 people bullied the girl off the nets who started the meme. What if she was wrong? So what? Does it mean we have to smear and scare someone off the ‘nets?
Do you know how many 20 somethings I talk to who know about this and think these people are angry and old? I think the chance to impart experience was lost.
The whole conversation jumped the shark.
Her piece wasn’t in Inc. though. It was just a blog post. An opinion piece, even. It was kind of silly, but whatever. Not a big deal. All of the response pieces that came in its wake, I basically ignored. Some were great, some weren’t… another day on the opinionwebs. But this? This was just too dumb for words, and shame on Inc. for publishing it. Between you and me, if it had been just another blog post on Ms. Thomases’ blog, I wouldn’t have cared enough to comment, much less write a post about it.
If at least it had brought forth a shred of substance…
If it somehow gave businesses valuable information instead of dispensing really shitty advice that might cost some brilliant, very capable kids their dream jobs.
Maybe most of all, the blind prejudice of it just rubbed me the wrong way.
The original article was obviously written by a very immature young lady who will look back in 10 years and regret publishing content that sounds so petulant and self-serving.
The subsequent back-and-forth about it, the blog posts, “open letters,” and commentary on Facebook only gave the original article credibility it did not deserve.
I wish people would stop talking about this and move on. I’ve known some great young social media professionals like Kevin (commented below) and great middle-aged social media professionals, like you Marc, and even many great older social media professionals. When I hired people to fill a social media position, age wasn’t a concern – because it shouldn’t be. Race, age, religion, physical disability, eye or skin color – what does all of that have to do with getting the job done in the best way possible? Nothing.
I’d hire her over some of the old people criticizing her with such vitriol.
I think I want to go back to being an immmature 25 year old rather than being labeled a middle-aged social media professional. Though one would think there’s less wiggle room at 23-25. Apparently not. 🙂
First of all…thank you! I started ignoring this crap, but your post made me get mad all over again. People write shit and should use their own eleven reasons about themselves when writing these reasons just to fill space.
First of all…I have a perfect example of why these eleven reasons are bullshit. Her name is Kayce and she works at Greenville Hospital System. Now she is not the Social Media Manager, but she pretty much is one of the leads with GHS’s social initiatives. She just graduated two years ago and let me tell you, she not only knows her crap, she also understands her field the demands of social media with a major health care system. She was my student at Clemson and now we work together as a part of a team that manages the social space at GHS.
She debunks (or calls into question) each and every point that was listed by Hollis. I am excited to sit back and watch Kayce’s career…because bottomline, the Hollis’s of the world will one day be working for the Kayce’s of the world.
BR
Thank you. Yes. 🙂
As a 20-something working in social media, thank you. I want to say it was three years ago that we met and partied it up on a podcast together, and that experience was a massive learning experience. (When The Brand Builder tells you he’s going to refrain from retorting, he’s showing your little 19-year-old mind some mercy.)
I like to think I’ve grown a lot since then, both as a person and a professional. I’m not going to be one of the great minds of the social media revolution. I’m not going to write books or stand on a panel at SXSW and change the way people view digital social interaction.
At the same time, I have a fully functioning brain. I’m not good at many things, but utilizing my resources at hand to help connect communities via SM? Yeah, I can do that. And anyone who tells me I can’t because I’m too young or tells my friends they shouldn’t because they’re too old? They can go choke on their own PR crisis, because I’m not buying any of that bullshit.
Just sitting here thinking about this, I want to let out a string of uncharacteristically vulgar language because it just pisses me off. This is a bandwagon topic and I’m tired of people in my age bracket being debated as if we aren’t capable of independent thought or experience. Even the “pro-20-something” articles pretty much lump us into a zombie cult of computer worshipers.
GAH! I want to go kick something. Thanks, Olivier. Thanks for calling out crap like this and having faith in (some members of) my generation.
Thank god I’m two years shy of the irrelevant age of 23. I suppose I can keep my job in social media for the time being then, right? All my professionalism, humor, wit, intellect and grammar will stay intact until then, right? Or is this retroactive? Am I reading between the lines? How do I know if I’m being too literal?
Maybe I should take 20-or-so years off and really mull over all this. And then I’ll return to social media, completely obfuscated and stiff from being cloistered, and I will surely be competent. Right?
Nah. You’re screwed. I hear that the immaturity and humor challenges are retroactive to 22. Sorry. I know this is bad news… 😀
You nail it with the question of “So first… who is this Hollis Thomases person, and more importantly, why does Inc. feel that she is qualified to write an article on this topic?” I can’t figure out why people put their trust into folks without vetting the so called expert. At a minimum Google them but I suggest looking them up on LinkedIn.
Thomas
I don’t think I can articulate in this comment how thankful I am to read this post.
When I read posts like the one above you have successfully ripped apart, I always get the impression that the author is someone who is insecure about his or her job status and resorts to writing scare-pieces with the hope that potential employers will continue to shy away from hiring young talent and instead hire older professionals with arguably no greater level of skill.
Thank you for having the sense to look past the headlines and see these pieces for what they are.
I have the same hunch, Steve.
True there are younger people who can get the job done. But I find it interesting that in several points you make you claim to not even understand what she’s talking about. THAT’s what she’s talking about! And frankly, all you did was slam her and what she wrote. There was nothing constructive in what you wrote. Unfortunately, anyone who is over 40 and a CEO has earned the right to do whatever they want. Your slam of “Tim” is just that – empty name-calling. What are you 12?
1. I have no idea who you are, “the truth they hide.” You know what would be really cool? If you used your real name so we can have an actual conversation about this. I feel like I’m talking to the hybrid offspring of a part-time troll and a slightly paranoid Freudian slip. It’s a little bizarre.
2. Thanks for the implied compliment, but am 42. If I were 23, you would maybe have a point. I don’t understand what she is talking about because she isn’t clear about what she is talking about. I could be 55 and I still wouldn’t understand it. Do you understand it?
3. I did provide some constructive advice, actually. Read the post again. Better yet, come back tomorrow. You might have missed it in your haste to comment, but I ended the piece by promising a follow-up that will go into much greater detail.
4. Tim, is that you?
So you slam me personally? Is that all you got?? Clearly it is. I rest my case.
That was your case?
You’re a poor writer. If you were half as good as your think you are, you would be able to handle criticism and would have handled yourself as a professional. You’re writing reflects nothing except a juvenile reaction to someone else’s article. The fact that you haven’t been able to come up with anything except name-calling and are unable to include intelligent opinion in your article is my case. Check your ego at the door. Try writing with original thought.
You’re boring me.
You’re not a natural, but with a little more work, I think you could get better at that whole troll thing.
See how as long as I keep feeding you, you keep coming back for more? That’s a sign you have what it takes to go far with trolling.
I want to help you though, so here are a few tips on how to get better at being a real troll:
1. Your handle is a little too “the Illuminati are taking over the world!” Know what I mean? You can keep the tin foil hat, but a real troll needs something with a little more bite. Here are some examples:
DarthSoros23987
ChicFilaa3541
LibertyBell2016
Those are proper troll handles.
2. Your avatar is too “I need an archetype of authority to assert myself.” But Justice? No. Not her. Too neutral. Too bland. Too… law-career. It either identifies you as a lawyer or as someone who wishes they could have been but couldn’t make it happen. That undermines your Qwan, and it breaks the cardinal rule of Trolling: it gives me some insight into who you really are. To get to the next level, you’re going to have to kick it up a notch. My advice: look at what really successful trolls are doing and copy them. It’s okay, they won’t sue you for stealing their ideas.
3. You’re doing good on the circular argument. Example: out of the blue, call someone a 12-year-old; then tell them they’re juvenile for calling you names… when they actually haven’t. That’s good, but you run the risk of having the other readers of the blog immediately peg you for an amateur asshole instead of a semi-professional one. You’re going to have to inject a little more wit into your replies. My advice: read books. Not just blog posts but books. I know, it sucks… there’s no comment section there and you won’t get attention for acting up, but it’ll take your trolling to a whole other level. (Tip: If the urge comes, you can practice writing your troll content between the lines or in the margins.) And you can always go read your book in a public place, then act up every time you need attention. Yelling expletives at the book or just growling and scowling are pretty effective ways of catching a few stares. Nervous pacing, angry sighs, wild gesticulations are too. Public parks and coffee shops are ideal for this. The New York subway is too.
By the way… a quick note on a little cognitive hiccup I noticed up there: I can’t “slam you personally” if I don’t know what your real name is. If you use a troll handle (even a shitty one) to hide who you really are, all I can slam is your online persona. If you want to tell me your real name, we’ll see about that personal slam. Until then, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do it.
4. YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN TO USE ALL-CAPS. REAL TROLLS USE ALL-CAPS. You won’t ever get noticed if you just write like normal people.
5. Never ever ever ever post two comments back to back. It makes it look like a) you thought of something clever to say after you already clicked “publish,” and/or b) you weren’t getting a response, but you wanted more attention… so you couldn’t help but try again. I know you’re still new at this, but experienced trolls don’t do that. If you’re good at it, you can slam a blogger with one comment. If a witting retort comes to you after you dropped your last comment turd, just write it down somewhere and wait until the blogger or one of the commenters replies to it. THEN you unleash that brilliant late-comer on them. That’s how it’s done.
Tip: don’t ever give anyone the idea that you are really here for attention. We already know it, and we all already assume that you’re a sad, kind of lonely, maladjusted person anyway, but you have to pretend that you’re nothing like that. As an internet troll, the image that you want to create is that of a super successful person with a wonderful life, happy, fulfilled, mature, well-adjusted and socially accomplished who likes to put on a little internet superhero mask and go bother bloggers with random comments about how much they suck. Your superpower is a combo of super wit and super aloofness. You have to be too cool, too smart and too awesome for the rest of us. In other words, you have to make us believe that you’re taking time out of your busy business day (or French Riviera vacation) to right the wrongs of the interwebs. The way we (non trolls) play that game with you, is we pretend that we don’t know that you’re probably just kind of a frustrated, underemployed loser with mommy and daddy issues.
To recap, to be a good troll, you have to command attention. You can’t allow yourself to beg for it. So from now on, no double-comments, okay?
6. Bite the hand that feeds you. No, I mean really. You have to bite it. See… what I am doing here is called “feeding the troll.” As long as I keep feeding you, I know you’ll keep coming back. It’s an instinctive thing with you. The mechanism is simple: You crave attention on the interblogs because nobody gives a shit about you in the real world. So you come here and act up, and just like you used to when you were a kid, and hope that you’ll get some attention too. For people like you, any attention is better than none, so negative attention will do because attention makes you feel like you matter. But you see, the difference between a child acting up and a real troll is that the troll will actually bite the hand that feeds it, whereas the incomplete adult looking for attention will still act like a wounded child as soon as someone does pay attention to him. See the difference? If you’re going to be a troll, be a fucking troll. Learn how to bite. I’m not your mom. Okay?
7. If you have a job that makes more than minimum wage, you might have to consider your options. I don’t think that you can be a good troll AND have a competing career. You’re going to have to commit to one or the other. I already get the sense that you aren’t fully committed to this endeavor. You aren’t putting real time into it. Look… it’s your life, but really really good trolls are committed to their craft. They take part-time day jobs in convenience stores and amusement parks just so they can devote their evening hours to trolling. That takes dedication. If you want to get good at this, you’re going to have to consider how much time you are willing to devote to it.
There. That’s it for now. I hope that helps.
Cheers,
Olivier
Whoa!… guess I ought to read the book’s chapter on Trolling?… Amazing comment, otherwise… hehehe!
… and the piece? yes, ageism is also discrimination.
However, seems like we all forgot what the EEOC stood for, what with recruiters poking around people’s online personas… and judging them.
… definitely rollingback to darker times, methinks.
Oliver… Thank you.
I have been fortunate enough to find myself in an environment that doesn’t factor in my age into my ability to perform. Our leadership is filled with dynamic individuals, and our company culture reflects it as well. I would much rather give a seat at our table to a 23 year old that “gets it”, than a 45 year old that has skated through life under the radar as an unqualified employee.
You nailed it at the end:
“Hire someone wonderful and competent. Who gives a shit how old they are?”
Thanks for sticking up for our youth.
Not so sure you should take the age thing so literally. I think it was somewhat euphemistic, representing the fact that indeed, many business operators that dont participate in Social Media look for somebody young in their organization, because they think social media is a youthful arena if they are not comfortable with it themselves….and end up giving up a lot of decision making about how their brand should be positioned online to folks that might know a bit more about social media than them, but don’t have all the experience to market their business. Social media being so powerful, why would you turn over marketing to somebody not ready to make marketing decisions for your company, young or older, just because they are comfortable on facebook, twitter, pinterest, etc?
Adam… The title and the entire article were specifically and repeatedly aimed at 23-year-olds. All of the stereotypes and assumptions listed in the piece are based on that. How are we not supposed to take it literally? 😀
This wasn’t a post on competence. It was a post on how 23-year-olds can’t do a job and why.
True story: when I was 22, I was a “Sports Information Director” at a small-yet-Division-1 school on the South Side of Chicago. I was in way over my head – but I never let anyone know that until after I left. (I made it for two years.)
This position would be akin to nowadays running social media at a Fortune 500 company that hired someone because they figured it was an absolute necessity – but couldn’t fund the position to do anything beyond the bare minimum.
Age mattered very little. In fact, the woman I took over for was 10 years older than me, and my replacement was 15 years older than me.
What made this partnership work – me with my employer – was my ability to ask questions and actually put in the hours.
Blanket statements could be made left and right about different groups’ (in)ability to communicate, to be strategic, to ask questions, to get the job done. I’m rather tired of those discussions, frankly, on both sides of the coin.
(Also, this Inc post is obvious linkbait, people like numbers and rankings posts, and…whatever.)
Yep. Some of the best coworkers I’ve ever had were in their early 20’s. What they lacked in experience, they made up in resourcefulness, intellectual curiosity and dedication. (They really wanted to prove themselves.)
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with 40-somethings who had spent whatever enthusiasm and energy by the age of 30 and were now happy to just fly under the radar, pick up a check every week, and patiently wait 3.8 years for their next 5% raise.
“4. Tim, is that you?” – ROFLMAO!!!!
Great post Olivier! I’m might write one soon about the “flip side” – as a 45 year old looking for work in the marketing/content/social fields – holy age’ism! Sadly, there are people everywhere and at all career levels who automatically judge others based on age, weight, looks, education, etc., sad but true. But what sticks in my craw is the trend toward “topic du jour” bandwagon jumping that passes for insightful content creation these days. One post causes a stir (i.e. the original one that spawned all this chatter about the young’uns), and FML you can’t swing a cat without finding a “reply, response, critique” article piggy backing on same (and no, your post is not in the that category! lol). Lazy, lazy, lazy.
That would be a great article, actually. i know quite a few of them, and it annoys me to see really solid people have such a hard time finding work they are well qualified for while people land these jobs even though they are grossly underqualified for them. The criteria for hiring are screwy enough as it is. Most recruiters can’t tell the difference between digital experience and social media experience, and good luck explaining to them that SM isn’t some stand-alone, fifth wheel function. Articles like this only perpetuate the problem, and the result is that the wrong people keep landing these jobs based on ridiculous criteria (like age). Write it and send me a link. 🙂
All you really need to do is watch the SXSW stream on Twitter. A few months into my squatting on social media soil I saw a tweet from a person who is *extraordinarily* well respected in this village of silly-heads, and do you know what that tweet said? “I got so drunk last night I can’t find my pants.”
They are not, nor were they, in their 20s.
Also, and I hate to be harsh, but most (most) of the stupidest behavior I’ve seen online has been from 40-somethings, not 20-somethings. I spouted off on this topic over on Geoff Livingston’s blog…it seems to be evolving into a “thing” with me – but I’ll sum it up by saying that social media could use a dose of grow the eff up. For lots of people. In so, so so many ways.
Best quote regarding social media in general, that I’ve seen in a long time: “social media could use a dose of gross the eff up.”
Thank you, darlin’, for that gem.
the truth is easy to verbalize 🙂 I saw that in a fortune cookie once.
Oh, hey…social media fortune cookies!! Now THAT would be fun.
I’m still a kid, aren’t I?
No. You are a well-rounded adult who knows how to be a kid when it’s called for 😀
So, uh, when can I order a batch of these fortune cookies?
heck, you can help me make ’em! Well, maybe just the fortunes in one pile and the cookies in another. I’d have fun with it tho.
“The way to authenticity lies not in the post you are thinking of.”
“The transparent person shows not his colonoscopy results.”
You know, that kind of thing.
This is golden. We could give them away in swag bags at SXSW and other such techy conferences.
That sentence about sums it up for me as well. I’m so tired of things being focused on age–It should be focused on skill set and what you bring to the table, nothing more, nothing less.
THIS. THIS. THIS. WHAT SHE SAID.
Like x 100. And yes. Spot on.
If you’re smart enough, you’re old enough. End of. Thanks for the common sense as always, mate.
Well said.
Pretty sure this was just so that her SM Agency can stick a “as seen in Inc” decal on their website.
I need one of those.
I concur!
Back in 2010, I started a social media agency in Lahore, Pakistan. I was 23.
The reason, we got into this business was, I learned communication and social business from my experience and when I saw people doing it wrong on web the wrong way, we thought this is an opportunity for us.
I worked with two more guys, both of them were much elder to me. But they were fine learning from me, and this was the time when I discovered your blog, and other resources. Though we couldn’t gone very far, but it is safe to say, we did great job.
I think, it is more about the LEARNING part, instead of age. We have witnessed big brands making mistakes, and I also see a prominent blogger and so called promoter of social business doing it completely wrong way.
So it is better if CEOs or CMOs judge the guy with ROI rather than the age.
Inc is not alone here, I stopped reading SM Examiner, when I did see some BS over there and things still continue.
Well said, Waqas. Well said. 🙂
Holy cow, that was a fun read. I especially like how you address the point that we can all name a handful of 30-somethings through 50-somethings that are making poor personal and business decisions while some of those young ‘uns are demonstrating autonomy, creativity and good stewardship.
Age has no bearing on the magnitude of your successes – or your failures!
And I am 44 years old…been astounded by young new hires and disappointed. I’ve also been astounded at second-career late comers and had to fire PhD’s.
I saw this article on my Twitter feed and was immediately put off by the title. I read through it and although there is some good advice hidden in there, it’s so asinine to ascribe it to age. I’m 23 myself, and I am having a hard enough time as it is having people take me seriously or hire me for the type of job I’d like to work in. It’s sad that there has to be an article like this that makes it harder than it already is for new grads. I blogged a response here if you have the chance to read it. http://donewithcollege.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/a-response-to-inc-s-hollis-thomases/
I really appreciate this write up and breakdown of the points from the article. I feel that the author tossed in the age-bracket to make the post even remotely relevant, because most of it just common sense on hiring decisions. However, common sense is not so common.
It was ageism, pure and simple. Her piece offends me for how it views your age group and the damage it will cause in terms of its credibility in the business world.
Around 54% of recent college grads (persons under 25 with a bachelors, to be exact for the statistic) were unemployed last year. When I saw her article, all I could think was “thanks…for adding a few more people to the pile of my generation without a job”. I can’t tell you how much this response means to me.
This may be the best post I’ve read in a long time – obviously, the term “talent” has never entered their mind regarding hiring folks of ANY age.
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
I think I know how this Inc. article got written. It’s a really simple title formula, and we can all use it if we want to write crap linkbait.
Just fill in the parenthesis below…ready? Here we go:
(pick a #, any #) Reasons (group/demographic/event/celebrity) (Can/Should/Shouldn’t/Will/”Can Teach You About” ) (marketing activity).
I’m just gonna do one right now. It’s fun.
3 Reasons Dung Beetles Can Teach You About Marketing Automation.
I’m no angel…I’m guilty of writing similar once before, but I’ll never do it again. Good call on taking this one apart.
Damn, you’re right. 😀
Thank you, Olivier, for always saying things as they are or should be said (and with the kind of no-bull straight-forwardness that’s lacking in so many conversations these days), and pointing out the crap from reality in what gets published.
The world needs more thinkers like you. Everything is relative to the individual and always should be. As a young entrepreneur when social media was just getting going, I faced stereotypes all day long (not to mention trying to teach people about what the heck SM was, was not, should not be) and became rather scorned because of it. Thankfully, with voices pushing like yours and the hard work of individuals trying to achieve greatness (hopefully at any age), stereotypes can change over time.
Thanks. 🙂
Few things annoy me more than blind prejudice. It’s stupid, it’s mean-spirited, and it costs companies serious talent. The number of people I know who don’t even get considered for SM jobs because they’re too young, too old, too fat, to blonde, too pretty, too southern, too client-side, too agency-side, too B2B, too quiet, etc. They’re top talent for those jobs but because of stupi assumptions fueled by articles like this, they can’t get a call-back. Meanwhile, some guy with the wrong experience but an artificially boosted Klout score and the right age gets the job and screws it up. It’s absurd.
Keep doing what you do. Cheers.
Age? I couldn’t care less. Experience? Depends on the individual job description. If you’re talking about the top social job for a Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods company, I’d be looking for a fair amount of business experience. If the candidate has managed to rack up that kind of experience by 23, that’s great. It’s also unlikely. So, like so many things, the answer to this question is: It depends.
Yep. Not a huge fan of wholesale dismissals of an entire group. Can you imagine if the piece had focused on explaining 11 reasons why anyone over 60 shouldn’t manage your social media program. Or women. Or Jews. I’m sure we could find 11 stereotypes about any group that we could apply to an article just like this.
“Why women probably shouldn’t manage your social media:”
1. Women may be too emotional for the job.
2. Women are not always as good with technology as men.
3. Women are not as dependable as men because of family obligations.
Etc.
Can you imagine?
“Why Jews probably shouldn’t manage your social media:”
1. Jews may not be as willing to work on Saturdays, leaving you open for PR crises on the weekends.
2. Jews may be overly concerned with their own community.
3. Jews may not get along with everyone.
Etc.
Disgusting. But somehow, it’s acceptable to write a piece like that about young professionals?
When I look at the 11 “reasons” why 23-year-olds probably shouldn’t run your SM program, I see a list just as stupid and prejudicial s those two hypothetical examples up there. It’s one of the most offensive things I’ve read in a long time.
Glad to see that you wrote a whole blog post about this. You’re absolutely right and after reading the inc post I wanted to write an angry comment but restrained myself. Thanks Oliver!