The nice thing about social media is how it evens the playing field. Online, it’s not about how many years you’ve been in the business but rather how well you engage.

It’s no secret that I’m young. I’m in my early- to mid-twenties, with one year of full-time salaried agency experience (+ my year and 1/2 of internship work). I haven’t been working in PR for 15+ years like a lot of people here in town. However, because of social media, I’m still able to excel as an “expert” in the field. (For the record, I still don’t think anyone is a social media expert yet. I just didn’t know how else to word that : P)

Gen Y’s have a unique advantage right now. Because there’s so much focus on new media (which has only been around for a few years), the playing field is even. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working for 1 year or 15, there aren’t too many people that have much more than a few years’ worth of experience in social media. A lot of us have been able to come straight from college and into the social web and excel.

Additionally, social media “expertise” isn’t gauged by how long you’ve been doing it but rather by how well you’re able to engage online — your social media “klout” if you will.

And the thing about social media is that it’s SO public. Anyone can scope you out on Twitter, Facebook, etc. and gauge how you’re doing everyday. Are you providing value to your audience? Are you building a community? How well do you engage others? It’s not longer about just “taking someone’s word for it”. Now, if anyone is curious about your social media “expertise”, they can see for themselves. IMO, it bring a whole new level of credibility to business — at least those in the social sphere.

It’s also because of social media that I personally have had the opportunity to do speaking engagements and to be quoted in local news outlets as an “expert”. Sure, I may look young (and I am). However, if I’m doing a better job engaging my audience and that of my company and my clients, then I may be more qualified — despite my age and lack of full-time experience.

Now, I’m not trying to piss of those of you who have been in business for much longer than me. There are, of course, many scenarios where you are more qualified to speak, be quoted, etc. The point of this post, is to draw attention to the very unique opportunity Gen Y’s have right now to stand out and embrace the trend.

Aside from the fact that we all graduated during a terrible economic time, I think social media is the silver lining. It opens so many doors and opportunities. I’m grateful that I’m able to experience this new technology as it continues to grow, and I am excited to see what the future brings!

What about you?

I read a really great article in AdAge yesterday on four stereotypes Millennials may encounter in the job market, and I think Adrienne Waldo hit the nail right on the head. — We DO encounter these stereotypes all the time — both the positive and the negative! [I can't say I really feel the negative ones within my office (we're pretty much all Gen Y-ers at Pyxl), but I hear them constantly all around me, particularly online.]

Entitled. Overconfident. Lazy. Selfish. — all negative Gen Y stereotypes we hear often. The one negative stereotype that truly bothers me the most, however, is that Gen Y is lazy. And the first thought to come to my mind every time is – Lazy?! Are you serious? (Note: I don’t think we’re those other mean words either, but lazy is the one that hurts me the most.)

Adrienne said it really well in the article:

Gen Y — the generation that’s expected to balance full college course loads, part-time jobs, community service and internships, the generation that’s forced to live with their parents so they can pay off their massive student-loan debt, the generation that’s putting off marriage and children to save money — is lazy? Excuse me? I thought about it, and I can see where they get the idea, but it’s on a very superficial level. We want to dress comfortably in the office. We have myriad commitments after work, so we can’t always stay late. We listen to our iPods to drown out the overwhelming noise of working in a cubicle environment. You can see how these things could be misconstrued — sloppy, lazy, unfocused.

I honestly just don’t think we’re lazy…but simply misunderstood.

Aside from the superficial reasons Adrienne discussed in her article, I don’t think you can call us lazy because we have an unwillingness to settle or maybe because we don’t always have the same life goals as older generations. For instance, I know a lot of Millennials who are unemployed right now. It’s not because they’re lazy. It’s because they refuse to settle for a job they hate. And why should they?

And so maybe our life goal isn’t to get rich — but rather to have an enjoyable life. Are you really going to fault us for that? Yeah, we want to work…but we also don’t want work to be our lives. Life is short and you can’t take your money with you when you go!

I’ve also seen things we do get mistaken for lazy when in reality, we’re being efficient! If we can find a faster, better way to do something, should we be faulted? If we get our work done in less time (and still with good quality), why should we be looked down on for not staying late at work?

Overall, the lazy stereotype really bothers me and I don’t think anyone can talk me into believing it’s true. Sure there are a few slackers, but that’s true of any generation! Slackers are NOT the majority of Gen Y and it’s unfair to label us as such!

As a part of this generation, I know of quite a few people who have accomplished a lot in their short lives: started businesses, written award-winning blogs, been promoted to president of a company, etc, etc, etc!

I personally (in the year since my December 2008 college graduation) have started my career in PR, co-founded Social Media Club Knoxville, purchased a home, lead the organization of Knoxville Twestival, started a blog, been quoted on the local news and in the newspaper, spoke at a UT PRSSA meeting, rescued a second dog, walked for Diabetes and helped feed the homeless — not bad for a lazy Millennial, right? (…And yes I wear jeans to work, have five tattoos and listen to music at my desk.)

What do you think about the Gen Y stereotype? I’d love other opinions — from all generations!

And if you’re a Gen Y success story…share with us below! I’d love to have more proof that we’re not a generation of slackers!