Rocket Readings: You're Doing Social Wrong. Your Teenager Does It Right. (The Shortlist)

You're Doing Social Wrong. Your Teenager Does It Right. (The Shortlist):

from HBR.org by Gretchen Gavett

We're Doomed
It seems that everyone is freaking out about teens abandoning social media sites like Facebook. By "everyone" I mean advertisers. They’re racking their brains trying to figure out why it’s happening. If you’re puzzled too, read this lovely piece in Medium by Cliff Watson, who argues that the number one reason kids don't need Facebook is that they "literally don't need Facebook." After running through a host of theories as to why, including the fact that parents (ew) and even grandparents are on Facebook now, he comes up with a much more reasonable reason: Young people are gravitating toward messaging services such as Kik, and in doing so, they’re recapturing the intended meaning of social: "Making contact with other human beings. Communicating. Back-and-forth, fairly immediate dialogue. Most of it digitally." In other words, it's not a post; it's an exchange. Snapchat anyone?
Tips and Toes

Nail Salons Show How Low-Wage Immigrants Stimulate the Economy Quartz

For a ground-level perspective on the immigration debate, consider Tim Fernholz's take on the world of U.S. nail salons, which tend to be staffed by low-wage immigrants. Research shows that while workers who are already in place do suffer from the competition when immigrants come to America, the new arrivals also create opportunities that lead to greater investment. Immigrants were responsible for significant innovation in the manicure business: They developed the idea of the stand-alone, inexpensive nail salon, which stimulated demand, which led to wage increases, which led to further economic growth. In fact, as immigration swells, average wages seem to rise, not fall. —Andy O'Connell
Chicken Piccata With a Side of Networking

Feed Your Employees' Minds and Bodies Innovation Excellence

Changing just one aspect of daily life in an organization can have a powerful effect on innovation. So why not try providing lunch for your employees? Meals build community and networks, writes Tim Kastelle. Idea generation will improve as people problem-solve together at meals. Employee relationships will change. Pretty soon, your company will be completely transformed. Kastelle cites a startup that not only provides meals, it also has an open dinner once a week where people outside the company can hang with employees – yet another way to build networks. Sign me up. —Andy O'Connell
Please Hire My White Friend

How Social Networks Drive Black Unemployment New York Times

We know that turning to friends and family during a job search is a good way of getting a foot in the door. But Nancy DiTomaso, a professor at Rutgers Business School, found that many professional networks are still not particularly diverse, with the result that white people tend to recommend other white people for competitive positions. "Just as opportunities are unequally distributed," she writes, "they are also unequally redistributed." What's also concerning is that, based on interviews DiTomaso conducted, people are convinced that skills and hard work are the primary reasons they landed good jobs — only 14% noted that they received help from others. In other words, race and employment are inextricably linked, but many prefer not to see it as discrimination.
Stocks? No Thanks

Equity-Market Boom Passes Many Americans By Gallup

The DJIA's unprecedented height this week was a matter of mere academic interest to a lot of Americans. Stock ownership among U.S. adults is at its lowest level since 1998, according to Gallup. Just 52% of Americans now say they personally, or jointly with a spouse, own stock outright or as part of a mutual fund or self-directed retirement account. The nation's 7.5% unemployment rate is probably part of the reason: Back in the early 2000s, when unemployment was more modest than it is today, some 60% of Americans owned stock. Nevertheless, equity ownership is even lower today, by one percentage point, than it was in April 2012, when unemployment stood at 8.1%. Are Americans too poor to own stock, or are they still smarting from what happened to their portfolios in the Great Recession? —Andy O'Connell
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