GenX Communications

I rarely out myself as a GenXer. My Local Group really hasn’t had any generational conflict. We’ve always had ExComm members of different generations. The whole GenX tension passed Chicago by.

But for some reason, I’m musing on the topic today.

I have seen, over and over, in LG newsletters , RVC columns, LDWs programs, InterLoc, etc, a consistent plea from Older-than-GenX leaders for younger members to step up, get involved, and take over. And I just have to comment on this:

We ARE involved.

We have been for decades.

And some of us do things differently: Less paper. More instant communication. Highly specialized mini-communities. Spontaneous gatherings. More inclination to hire someone else to do grunt work. Greater acceptance of a litigious society with less privacy.

Mensans can’t ask for new blood and fresh ideas and then complain when those new volunteers take the organization in new and fresh directions. If the well-seasoned members want Mensa to be like it was in the good old days of the 70s and 80s, then they should drive... the organization into the same state the Shakers ended up in.

But if Mensa wants younger members to take over, some members need to let go and quit all the snarky back seat driving—gripe less about the new fangled technology younger member use. We’re Mensans—we were smart enough to figure out how to program our VCRs and read emails. We’re still smart enough to learn how to use blogs, Twitter, IMs, Web-based forums, text messages, technorati, or even the AML Web site (and yes, I know the navigation is non-intuitive-- working on it).

This is how we communicate now. Come join us.