Dismiss Gen Z Influencers “At Your Peril”
Fatherhood on Friday: The next wave of influencers is flourishing, inspired by the pioneering example our generation has set.
The first banner ad, launched almost 25 years ago, felt like the first claim toward settling the untamed frontier of online content creation. (You can read more about the origin story here.) They may seem outdated now, but in 1994 banner ads were a startling breakthrough toward funding digital publishing.
Then more wagons rolled in, permanence was established, and all the nuggets we’d been mining-blog posts, podcasts, video, etc.-made the streams overflow with an abundance of riches. And that, kids, is where the first influencers came from.
This week, we were taken by the next wave of pioneers at VidCon. This next generation is paving the roads where our tents once stood, building on our experience and learning from our mistakes. They are applying and evolving technology to develop levels of influence that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago.
The debate over whether influencing is on fire or flaming out rages on, but we’re strongly in the former camp. And based on his New York Times piece, tech reporter Kevin Roose agrees:
“The 21st century will produce a generation of business moguls, politicians, and media figures who grew up chasing clout online and understand how to operate the levers of the attention economy.”
The point is, these kids are killing it, based in large part on the example our generation has set. We’re excited to imagine the next wave of dad content when these guys have kids of their own.
IN THE NEWS
In the U.S., only one out of five dads has access to paid leave, and far fewer have the opportunity to take it.
Teen vaping has been declared an epidemic by the FDA after data found nearly 21% of high school students vaped last year. Have you talked to your kid(s) about vaping?
Paternity leave can be a positive game-changer for your family, even when the game seems fine.
“My son lived in New Jersey, but I lived in Philadelphia, and the bridge is a 15-minute ride. It’s just a bridge. I couldn’t go get my son from school when I wanted to.” — Meek Mill
“I feel that being the leader of the insane circus of The Flaming Lips has totally prepared me for fatherhood.” — Wayne Coyne
“All of a sudden, your priorities change. You’re not living for yourself anymore, you’re living for your little girl now. That’s how my parents lived for me, so that’s all I really know.” — Julian Edelman
Has the “ dad bod “ jumped the shark?
Self-exams are an important tool against testicular cancer. Are you checking yourself?
Have your kids made unapproved in-game purchases? There are ways to help prevent it from happening (again).
PORCHLIGHT POSTS
- “Being a first-time father is like becoming an actor with no acting experience.” — Oliver Maroney; Letting Go
- “I want to embrace it, but as it is for most parents, this milestone is at once awesome and frightening, liberating and crippling.” — Cort Ruddy; My Daughter’s Excited to Start Driving. My Feelings are Complicated
- “My father’s condition had stabilized and he had tools to help him navigate Earth’s gravity with the limitations imposed by polio.” — David Taylor; From the Family Station Wagon to the Apollo Lunar Rover, My Dad’s Engineering Talent Had No Limits
- “I am that guy making racist white people feel comfortable in their racism. I can’t be that guy anymore.” — Doyin Richards; The Origin Story of a Flawed Black Dad
- “I have never thought of myself as the perfect dad, and to be honest I have never actually thought of myself as a good dad. I have always thought of myself as an okay dad.” — James; A Letter to J
‘GRAM OF THE WEEK
Do you receive the Dad 2.0 Summit Newsletter? Each Friday, we share all kinds of news about dads and the Dad 2.0 Summit. Add it to your inbox! It’s the perfect way to start planning for our ninth year, Leaping to Washington D.C. on February 27–29, 2020.
Share your fatherhood news and/or stories with us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using the #FoF hashtag!
Originally published at https://www.dad2summit.com on July 19, 2019.
