Tech Trash and Tools for Millennials on Cyber Monday

Tech, trash and tools on the holiday list for Millennials this Cyber Monday according to instant survey by Albing International Marketing. AIM surveyed 300 Millennials and found that the top categories for online purchases today include tech items such as sound systems for iPods/iPhones, new iTech from Apple (such as iPad2 and iPhone 4S). While video games such as “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3” are popular among young men, “Just Dance 3” is a hit with Millennial women.

Most of the items mentioned were not especially great “deals,” but rather items they were planning to buy. “If I save a little all the better, but I was going to buy it anyway.” And a lot of the items are self-purchase or “self gifts,” not gifts for others. “My girlfriend told me to buy it for myself because she would never get just the right item. There’s nothing worse than getting something close to what you want, but just a touch off the mark…”

Items described as “trashy” are also popular such as DVDs of popular reality shows like “The Jersey Shore,” “Bridezillas” or “Real Housewives” (of anywhere). Even the movie “Bridesmaids” or episodes of the “Twilight Saga” were described as “giftable trashiness” by some Millennials.

Tools or gadgets are also hot items for Millennials. Keurig single-serve coffee machines and Soda Steam beverage carbonators are popular as well as Dyson’s Pet Cleanup Accessory Kit and the Oster Electric Wine Opener/Wine Chiller.

Any other hot items for Cyber Monday, Millennials??

Let's Give Thanks for "Anonymous Extraordinaries" - Millennials Like Natalie Warne

What a terrific TED Talk by Natalie Warne! Millennials like her are the future of our world. She fights for the Invisible Children forced into war as child soldiers and reminds us all that it is about the positive effects we have in life, not the recognition.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, we at AIM extend our thanks to all the "Anonymous Extraordinaries" out there who are teaching, healing and making our world a better place.

An Entrepreneurial Generation of 18- to 34-Year-Olds Wants to Start Companies When Economy Rebounds, According to Poll From The Kauffman Foundation

Millennials see entrepreneurship as path to success, but are delaying because of the economy

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Nov. 10, 2011 — In a beleaguered economy, the country needs entrepreneurs – the nation's job creators. Fortunately, a recent poll shows that the so-called millennial generation – those ages 18-34 – are an entrepreneurial bunch. A few key barriers are holding them back, especially the economy.

The nationwide cell phone and landline survey, conducted by the Young Invincibles in conjunction with Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, polled 872 millennials on their thoughts about the economy and entrepreneurship. With the world getting ready for Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 14-20, hearing what young people think about starting businesses is especially timely.

"This poll reveals a generation that is enthusiastic about entrepreneurship, and that is good news for the U.S.," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, "Fifty-four percent of the nation's millennials either want to start a business or already have started one. They recognize that entrepreneurship is the key to reviving the economy."
An even higher percentage of young people of color – 64 percent of Latinos and 63 percent of African-Americans – expressed a desire to start their own companies. Women, on the other hand, are less likely to want to start their own businesses than men are (44 percent of women vs. 57 percent of men).

Despite millennials' strong entrepreneurial drive, just 8 percent of them own businesses now, and only 11 percent intend to start businesses within the next year. Thirty-eight percent of the potential young entrepreneurs say they have delayed starting a business because of the economy.

"An astounding number of young people want to start a business one day," said Aaron Smith, co-founder and Executive Director of Young Invincibles. "And they overwhelmingly support action on the part of their leaders to remove barriers to these dreams."

The poll points out specific barriers to entrepreneurship, including the inability to access capital needed to get a business going, lack of knowledge needed to run a small business, concerns with overcoming current debt burdens, and few mentors from whom they can learn. In fact, 65 percent of young people think that making it easier to start a business should be a priority for Congress, with 41 percent saying it should be a top priority. Eighty-three percent of millennials believe that Congress should, at a minimum, increase the availability of startup loans.

Even more respondents – 92 percent – support increased access to the education and training needed to run a small business as a way to encourage people to become entrepreneurs, and 81 percent of the young people surveyed support student loan relief for millennials who start companies.