Young Talent Time: Calling All Promising Young Bloggers

Dreams to retire rich, retire by 21,  work a 4-hour week and live the internet lifestyle as a digital nomad are the norm. There are many youngsters out there not only aspiring but achieving these dreams, showing up us older-folk (anyone over 30 yrs of age). Who are these youngsters and what are they doing right?

As a Gen X with children aged 8 to 18 years of age, I am absolutely flabbergasted at what the internet can offer young people in terms of showing off your talent.

I just watched 12 year old Shaheen Jarfargholi’s final performance on Britain’s Got Talent and was remembering how inspired I was when Susan Boyle did so well in her first performance – but this kid is 12!

Now it’s time to showcase and acknowledge the amazing young talent we have on the web who blog, run websites or are just starred on YouTube as amazing individuals.

When Did So Many Young People Start To Rule the Web?

When I say rule, I mean out perform many of their peers in a niche and stand out above the rest. I’m also referring to kids as young as 10 years making a name for themselves. Before they finish school they’re able to support themselves – and possibly their family too.

Successful and Up-and-Coming Young Bloggers

I’ll keep updating this list but for now here’s some youngsters I know of. While many of these youngsters on this list run Thesis Theme sites – others don’t. This article is about all young talent on the internet.

Alex Fraiser @ Blogussion & Asnio

16 years – Male  (2009) United States.

• Co-owner and esteemed leader of Blogussion, creator of Asnio and a few other projects. These two sites are two of the best in the Thesis Theme Community – both in design and content.
• Alex only started out on the web about 2 years ago and is already turning down web design consultancy work because he is overloaded with clients and school work.
• I wrote about Alex in Talented Thesis Theme Designer For Hire: Live Portfolio Here Now and am currently working on another article 100 Reasons Why Blogussion is an Amazingly Successful Site.

Liane @ Better Blogging for Bloggers

17 years – Female (2009) Philippines.

• Blogging tips on internet marketing, search engine optimization, making money online, content creation and web page (or blog) optimization.
• Read an interview with Liane at Chotoan.com – the blog of Toan Nguyen Minh, a male student from Viet Nam.

Simon Rogers @ Teenius

16 years – Male (2009) UK.

• A blogger in the Make Money Online (MMO) Niche. Simon started online making a few dollars a day with Google Adsense before progressing to site flipping where he would register a domain, set up a blog with a bit of content and then flip them for $50 – $100. Not a bad start. He then started his own blog Teenius and is running hot for a bright future.
• Head on over to Teenius to read articles on blogging, writing, design, twitter, marketing, young entrepreneurs, joint ventures, domains and reviews.

More Young Bloggers Are Coming Soon

In the meantime, read about what makes them successful…

What do Young Bloggers do Differently that Gives Them the Edge?

As I am not a youngster I can only assume what sets these guys apart from the rest of us. I’ve read a few interviews and picked up a little of their vibe. Here’s my take.

You are welcome to set the story straight and add more insights in the comments below…

• Not stressing about earning a living online. They do not have rent to pay or a family to support.
• Blogging for fun. Not stressing about whether they make it big or not, when they do the sense of achievement is the motivation, not necessarily the money.
• Instant gratification. I can only speak for my older children. They don’t want to wait for what they want, they want it now so they do what they want now to get it. Why should age get in the way?
• Technological advancement. Growing up with the internet makes it second nature. The rest of us had to grow into it and adapt. Adapting takes time and slows progress.
• Few barriers to entry. All you need is a computer and an internet connection. You don’t need a company, a registered business name or a business premises. You can work from home, actually from your bedroom or your bed (even better!)
• Cheap or free to start up your own site. You don’t need an expensive hosting package. Grab a free site and get your parents, older siblings or friends (adult representative) to help collect your earnings. Computers are reasonably cheap, as is bandwidth.
• Multi-tasking is natural. Life is so hectic these days, especially in the developed world. If you are using the internet for homework and assignments it is easy to sneak in a bit of research for that latest post you are working on.

Compentency is based on experience, not age.

• Computer skills. Like we learnt Latin and how to use a typewriter with carbon paper, youngsters program decision support programs in Excel, design advertising campaigns in Photoshop and create movies to explain their science experiments.
  • I went to one of my son’s grade 5 learning journeys recently (an open day to showcase the work he has done so far this year). I was blown away by the group of 10 and 11 year olds that created a 3 minute movie with sound and animation showing off their rocket experiment. It was a cross between Wallace and Grommet and Shrek.

Look out Pixar, they’re coming your way!

• Rise of entrepreneurship. The DOT.COM bubble may have burst in the 90s but the rise of online entrepreneurs is inevitable. Demand appears to match or out-pace supply in all areas of information and soft-product delivery. Like energy, demand won’t disappear, it will only shift to a new location i.e. online.

Most schools in Australia these days have an entrepreneurial subject and/or group activity that requires a new idea to be launched.

• More time on their hands. School hours are generally shorter, with senior years providing extra periods away from class and school. Laptops with mobile internet, libraries and more time at home, means youngsters are usually near a computer with the time to write and publish posts.
  • If you are working full time in a job – you may find it difficult to get one post a week up on your site. If you have lots of spare time i.e. still in school or university – you may have no problems posting an article or two each day.

• Faster growth. More articles each week means more content over a year. More search engine visits and indexing will put your site higher in the rankings. What site looks and feels more professional, informative and useful – one with 50 articles or the one with 350-700 articles? (Assuming articles are of equal quality).

• Natural self-promoters. Youngsters grow up with mobile phones, SMS, emails, twitter, chat rooms and forums, community noticeboards, comment forms on blogs and other social networks. By naturally talking to others (many of which are strangers) they are not shy to communicating over electronic medium.
• When the time comes to tweet or share a post, the youngsters do it naturally, without too much effort and they enjoy it.

Help Build the List

• Be sure to leave a comment with names (and the youngster’s website name) for adding to the list. I’ll pop to their site and do a quick review.
• If you are a youngster and doing something online that many other yougsters (‘normal’ kids aren’t doing) leave your name too. Self promotion is always okay.

Related Posts

1. Talented Thesis Theme Designer For Hire: Live Portfolio Here Now
2. 25 Top Blogs About Blogging & Why Old Blog Posts Are NOT A Waste of Time
3. Comment Karma For Bloggers: Recommended Sites To Visit
4. Blogging About Blogging Sucks the Life Out of You
5. 100 Reasons Why Blogussion is an Amazingly Successful Site (Part 1)