- Half of all American children under the age of five are non-white.
- Twenty five percent of children in the U.S. have at least one immigrant parent.
- Forty five percent of college aged American students are political independents.
The end-game is being redefined
Tomorrow's donors, voters, members, clients and employees are diverse in thought, behavior and demographics. Engaging this inevitable growing diversity requires a shift in leadership mindset and management technique and a fresh review of mission and vision. More and more, there is a need for learning about unfamiliar perspectives and considering ideas that may be be uncomfortable.
Abundant Access. Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, online journals, Wikipedia, chat rooms and on and on. Ten years ago Facebook didn't exist. Eight years ago Facebook had six million users. Today, Facebook has one billion users. That means Facebook has access to the population of the third largest country on the planet. The opportunity to network with people of diverse backgrounds, interests and thoughts is more available than ever.
Social Unnetworking? Lately I have been thinking about the drawbacks of the digital age when it comes to engaging diversity. Here's what I mean:
Twitter for example...
A benefit of Twitter is that it provides access to the needle in the haystack. We can find that small group of people in the entire country that shares our very unique interest. Truly fantastic. But it also means that when it comes to ideas, we can find that small group that thinks like us and use it to reinforce our very narrow view, to the exclusion of considering other perspectives. Google (and others) helps us with this. Google keeps track of our searches so that ads are customized just for us. The more we access the web, the more the virtual powers-that-be customize what we see to align with our current perspectives. And because what we see influences what we think, it becomes a wonderful cycle of affirmation!
"Control your digital identity"...
I attended a wonderful continuing legal education seminar last week where we were advised that, like it or not, we all have digital identities. Rather than ignoring those identities, the experts encouraged us to control them. Manage what pops up when someone searches your name. "Push down" any online images that you may not like. All good advice, but does this knowledge make us less willing to meaningfully explore oppositional ideas? What if you're conservative and you regularly read a blog that discusses liberal ideas? Or you're an environmentalist and you engage in online conversation with a leader in the energy industry? Could that impact your digital identity? Are you willing to take that chance?
Be Intentional. Although we have what seems like endless access to information, ideas and people, unless we are intentional about seeking out oppositional views, and fearless about communicating with those who are different from us, we are in danger of lulling ourselves into believing we are examining the spectrum of information while really we are just deepening the roots of our pre-set ideas. In real life, diversity is increasing. Let's make sure virtual life simulates that.
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