And we’re back!

(What’s the story) morning glory?

Before we jump in further…

If you’ve enjoyed this Millennial journey so far, please share this link on your Threads/LinkedIns/wherever. If you are reading this online and/or this was passed onto you, join me for future editions by clicking on the subscribe button below.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Looking to adventure outdoors with what’s left of this summer? A couple of friends and I have a side project called Bonnnfire showcasing how/where to get away and what gear to use to do it, even when getting away means sitting in your own backyard. Check it out here.

Deep(ish) Millennial Thought of the Week

It’s that time of year again. Pumpkin spice products are hitting retail shelves. Spirit Halloween stores are popping up in your favorite abandoned neighborhood mall. And the first text has been fired out in my fantasy football group chat.

For those who haven’t played fantasy football (and don’t worry, you can keep reading because this isn’t a detailed long thought on this subject alone), I applaud you. It’s a soul crushing, time hogging game of luck (mostly) with some arguable level of skill mixed in. I say this as a reigning co-champion of my own league. (“Co-champion” you may ask? Let’s just say, things got intense last year where both myself and my opponent had players from the Bills and the Bengals starting in our final when bigger things took over the matchup. I can’t wait to see Damar Hamlin take the field this year.) Running over 15 years deep now and mostly made up of my childhood friends who I grew up with, the league group text is perhaps the best part of the whole thing.

Personally, I play fantasy football to compete but largely connect with my past friends. As we are getting older, personal lives have naturally divided us a bit. Kids, work, and a plethora of other important activities have made it difficult to keep up with one another. The best part of the whole playing experience of fantasy football is that it unites us in a group text thread that is not only firing on all cylinders between the months of August-December, but is largely private to us and offline. It’s full of inside jokes from earlier times in life that no one else would possibly understand. I find myself finding the most joy from this level of more intimate communication right now. Not everyone has to see every thought.

I’ve written enough about the confusing state of social media as a Millennial over the last few weeks, so today I want to highlight how finding community in more private ways, free of the distractions that come from what you find on most social media platforms, has strengthened personal relationships, while opening the door to knowledge and education to help me accomplish new goals.

There are three main sources I am absorbing content and conversing concurrently in group settings:

1. Group texts

2. Reddit threads

3. YouTube videos + comments

Honorary mention: Discord groups

While the fun and intimacy of group texts is likely readily apparent, both Reddit and YouTube have surprisingly served much larger roles in my life over the past six months than at any other time in it. Here are two main reasons why:

1. There’s a level of anonymity, where good content (mostly) overrides popularity. Now on both Reddit and YouTube, I need to input what I want to read/see to curate a good experience. Yes, I know Reddit has an upvoting system. But the general vibe of the community is to support those looking to discuss and contribute to community discussion without follower counts playing a huge role in how content is viewed. Most user names are not someone’s real name and cartoon avatars represent one’s likeness. This is refreshing in today’s popularity-driven social commentary world. YouTube pushes content a bit differently, and popularity does have some role here in discovery. However, I’ve been able to tailor this channel to show me mostly content I want that is high quality in education and production, and that doesn’t always mean it is from a creator with more than a couple hundred subscribers. The cream rises to the top here more so than on Instagram and, ugh, X.

2. I’m free of the distraction of other topics. This one is simple. As I get older, I find having a bunch of people screaming random things in a room ultimately becomes too much for my Elder Millennial brain to process. Whether in group texts, on Reddit, or on YouTube, I’m able to lock in on the content I want and digest it free of everything else coming at me in a timeline. If I have any questions, or want to contribute to the discussion, I do so after absorbing what I have just seen or read.

Now, it is easy to find some of the toxicity that I have written about in the past on the aforementioned platforms. But you have to put some effort into discovering it. It’s not just shown to you because that’s what makes the algorithm go round. So because of all of this, whether it is to chat with old friends in a Fantasy Football setting, look up custom modded keyboards (a new weird obsession of mine), or figure out how to stain and finish a butcher block for the sit/stand desk I am building, I find comfort in more intimate settings than Instagram and X.

THE VERDICT: When trying to connect as you get older, turn to different technology to create the experience you are seeking. You can thrive by taking some alternative paths to the most popular choices at the moment. Make the platforms work for you.

Less Deep(ish) Millennial Stuff of the Week

• JELL-O HAS A NEW LOOK. But Millennials still don’t have time to make it, apparently. (CNN)

• MILLENNIALS HAVE ERRAND PARALYSIS. But so do other generations. Turns out technology has made everyone hate leaving the house to do anything. (Psychology Today)

• SUNBEARS ARE NOT HUMAN. But they sure are freakin’ adorable.(CNN)

• GEN Z NOW KNOWS HOW WE FEEL. The generation under us is now lost not understanding the generation below them. The world belongs to Gen Alpha. (Business Insider)

• THREADS IS UNRAVELING. I still don’t understand how to use it. Half of its user base has had enough. (CBS News)

Millennial Commercial Spotlight

I was walking my dog the other day and actually saw a vintage version of one of these bad boys on the road in use. Appropriately blasting unidentifiable but reminiscent bass lines from early ‘90s rap, the whole experience transported me back to when the Huffy Street Rocker bicycle was the COOLEST thing you could ride around the neighborhood if you were between the ages of 5-12 in 1991. Watch this blast from the past commercial here.

While I can neither confirm nor deny whether riding one of these transported you either to space or under the sea as the commercial depicts, between the neon colors and well, the neon colors… okay this bike was a bit of a novelty act that relied on the simple thinking that having a radio on a bicycle was the future. And for a brief moment in time, you can bet it was.

Millennial Album Spotlight

After sitting on the Curb Your Millennialism porch, we decided it’s time to share more on the music we love with our official “Still Rocks” stamp of approval for the best music of the greatest generation. This week’s album choice is also inspired by something I saw on the road. However it wasn’t this week, but back in 1997 from the back of my parents Volvo 240 station wagon. This object was not a bike, but what I believed to be, and still do, the Oasis tour bus. It was a fun event for me as I was a huge fan of the band’s 1995 smash album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and certainly am to this day.

By now, you’ve probably belted “Wonderwall” at karaoke. I personally opt for “Don’t Look Back in Anger” but hey, you do you. Clocking in at 7:30, “Champagne Supernova” is the most underrated of the album’s singles mixed amongst less popular classics like “She’s Electric” and “Hey Now!” Highly touted by Pitchfork in its full review, in 2023, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? still shines as the top album from Britpop exports from the mid ‘90s.

Pair with an acoustic guitar and a small audience.

Listen here.

That’s all for this episode…

Before I go, a little about me:

I’ve been in omnichannel marketing, business development, sales and operations for startups and big brands alike for over 15 years now. If you’d like to talk with me about consulting, find me on LinkedIn, Twitter X and now Threads or reply to this email. You can also book some time with me on MentorPass. Or you can get creative, I know you have it in you!

Thanks for tuning in. Good luck with your fantasy football drafts.