Friends of Dave: Stuff I LITERALLY Learned This Week
So last week I left you hanging with a huge cliffhanger. What is the deal with the guy sprinkling salt? And what does he have to do with this newsletter? And did he have anything to do with the Patriots winning what many are calling the best Super Bowl ever? (Answer: No. That was Tom Brady and Bill Belichick)
My guess is if you are under the age of 30, you immediately knew the guy as "Salt Bae," a Turkish chef whose real name is Nusret Gökçe and who is currently riding his 15 minutes of fame as a popular meme being shared on social media and imitated by Millennials.
While memes may seem relatively new, they are not. Those of us over the age of 30 who remember the early days of the Internet in the corporate workplace will recall gathering around someone's desktop computer to watch Mahir Cagri (also, strangely enough, from Turkey), the "I Kiss You" guy. Back in the early 90's before the iPhone, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Mahir achieved his 15 minutes of fame via an animated slideshow that was shared from one person to another via....wait for it....email. As a result, memes in the age before smartphones might take months to go "viral" and then it was largely in geographic pockets.
As we know, that is not the case today. Memes like Salt Bae can now come and go within a matter of days. And while a lot of it has to do to the pervasiveness of the Internet and technology in our daily lives, a much larger part has to do with the habits, interests and culture of Millennials. A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a former colleague where we discussed the spending, saving, and borrowing trends of what is now the largest generation on the planet. It is clear that, in addition to wide ranging technological innovation, Millennials are now poised to have perhaps the greatest impact on real estate trends, finance and how products in general are bought, sold and marketed in the near future.
So this week, I am dedicating the FOD newsletter to the trophy generation -- Millennials. Enjoy the articles I compiled as I started to dig into what makes this generation tick. You can't see me, but right now I am totally sprinkling salt all over my keyboard -- this newsletter was THAT good.
XOXO
Dave
For the Deep Thinkers...Real Estate Edition....
Homeownership Rates Hit Record Lows — www.buildium.com
Homeownership rates have hit a 51-year low. How are millennials making an impact on the rental market? Read both Part I and Part II of this series for some great insights.
Landlord Nation: Boomers’ New Retirement Plan Is Millennials Paying Rent — www.bloomberg.com The foreclosure crisis turned America into a market of renters—and rent collectors.
Millennials and Homeownership - What's Holding Them Back? — www.apartmentlist.com
The homeownership rate is especially low among millennials, and continues to decline each quarter. There are many factors affecting this trend – rising rents, student loans, and delayed marriages, for example – making it difficult to forecast trends in millennial homeownership.
Blackstone's $9.6 Billion Bet On The U.S. Housing Recovery Files To Go Public — www.forbes.com
Blackstone's big bet on the U.S. residential real estate recovery is planning to list on stock markets in an initial public offering that may fetch a valuation north of $5 billion.
For The Marketing Nerds...
How to Use Memes to Appeal to Millennials (Or Not) — www.qgiv.com
Forget blogs, Tweets and Facebook click ads. You want to go viral amongst Millennials? Start by understanding memes.
Memes Will “Normalize” the Trump Administration — theringer.com The Trump administration has been the subject of memes and internet jokes from day one. But this president is ridicule-proof.
For the FinTech Folks...
The Facts about Millennials and Their Money — news.greylock.com
FACT: 73% of millennials would be more excited about a new offering in financial services by Google, Amazon, Apple, Paypal or Square than their nationwide bank.
The Coming Millennial FinTech Crisis — www.pymnts.com
Most millennials don’t have a snowball’s chance of earning more than their parents. The generation that every brand is trying to woo is, by and large, broke.
After the Wells Fargo scandal, millennials deserve a ‘Netflix model’ for banking — www.recode.net The days of traditional banking, and the hegemony of big brand-name banks, are coming to a close as consumers demand more transparent, responsive and honest treatment.
Younger Millennials Picking Cash Over Cards — www.pymnts.com Unlike cards, the share of cash in the U.S. is slowly but surely decreasing. However, it’s far from going out of fashion, especially with millennials.
Your Weekly Dose of Random Knowledge...
Everything You Need to Know About #SaltBae — nymag.com A Turkish butcher who likes to beat his meat, literally.
Is sugar the world’s most popular drug?
It eases pain, seems to be addictive and shows every sign of causing long-term health problems. But I guess you can say the same about bacon and watching "Seinfeld" re-runs....
And The Last Word....
The Absolute Last Open Letter to Millennials — www.inc.com
Warning: Trophies Will Not Be Awarded for Reading This Post! You know how I know? Cuz I LITERALLY wrote it.
Got feedback? Questions? Suggestions? Email me: dave@slingstonegroup.com