A Message to Fellow Gen Xers: The Web Isn't Cool Anymore

The other day I was giving a presentation to a client and, in the midst of describing my background, realized that most of the people in the room were still in middle school when I started my career in the Web. It's times like this that I step back and remind myself that the mainstream Web has been around for more than fifteen years (which is about the same span as my professional career to date).

Like many Gen Xer's, I gravitated to Web work in the mid '90s because it was new and cool. When I graduated from college in '93, the Web hadn't really hit critical mass. I was just looking to start a career in Communications when I was offered a job to build Web pages for a magazine publisher. It seemed like a great opportunity to make a mark, so I bought an HTML book and hacked my way through my first Web site. And, like a contestant on American Idol, I became an instant rock star. I was a "Web Master" and went from office peon to the person invited to senior management meetings to demonstrate the latest and greatest Web practices. Every day was an opportunity to discover new tools and tricks and get well-paid for it too. And that was really cool. 

We've learned a lot since those first heady days working in the 'Net. We've seen technologies come and go, survived the dot-com bust and watched as companies struggle to define how to weave the Web into the corporate fabric. So where does this leave Generation X? The Web has matured, but have we done the same professionally?

Lisa's last blog post challenged us to become agents of change in our organizations. College graduates this spring have never known a world where the Web didn't exist. To these digital natives, social networks, open source and cloud computing aren't novelties. They just are. They know how to use these tools and will be able to adopt them faster and use them more efficiently than we. What they don't have is experience. There is a real need for mentors and managers who actually get the Web and who can guide them as they bring an arsenal of new tools and skills into the workplace.

We're not the coolest kid in the cubicle any more, and that's how it should be. Our opportunity (or obligation?) is to become that Web-savvy manager we always wished we had when we came up through the ranks. Now's the time for Gen Xers to step up and lead the next generation of Web professionals. Recognize that our value lies in being leaders and inspiring those who look up to us. How cool is that?