I think the word is "persuade." As you said, no one needs to write, so it comes down to your ability to persuade them to write for/with you. This works great for start-ups and other forums, Brazen is a great example. They have credibility and visibility.

Now for a company though, it is much harder. I think your point is why aren't companies recruiting us to blog/write for them? Honestly we're a dime a dozen and through blogs and making these connections is where they will find us. It is also very hard to measure the ROI for most social media and viral efforts. So how do you compensate a gen-y blogger? How do you "persuade" them?

Writers William Strauss and Neil Howe have played an important part in defining American generations in their book Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991). Howe and Strauss say that they use the term "Millennials" in place of "Generation Y" because the members of the generation themselves coined the term, not wanting to be associated with Generation X. Nearly ten years later, they followed up their large study of the history of American demographics with a new book specifically on that generation, titled Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000).
In the books Generations (1991) and Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000), William Strauss and Neil Howe use the start year as 1982 and end year of the generation as 2001. They believe that the coming of age of year 2000 high school graduates sharply contrasts with those born before them and after them due to the attention they received from the media and what influenced them politically.
As the attention shifts from mommy bloggers to us, a new definition will arise of Gen Y. The social media are interested in us not because we are new or the lastest thing out there. Its because we are simply radical in our thinking and response to the current social change. If you are looking for something fresh and upbeat then there is not better place to look the Gen Y.

Hey Syd!

We hit on some really good things when we were talking last night, but just to get everyone's thoughts:

From the research side of things, I am definitely seeing a rising interest in our Gen(s). Obviously since Spych is built around companies who target GenY/Mill I have possibly a skewed view, but I definitely see that companies are becoming more and more interested in what we do, why we do it, what we like and why we like it.

Not only does our peer group possess disposable income, money aside, we are so willing and eager to offer our opinion and proclaim exactly what we want.

I think it tends to scare companies a bit and they are carefully on the outside looking in, trying to get close enough to hear our voice whilst being careful to not offend anyone and get their brand blasted all over the web :)

All in all, more direct inquiries and research will be conducted. Brands will start to feel more comfortable with our gen and how we operate. Decision makers are getting younger and they understand us better, leading to better fit products being produced.

That's all I have for now - Great post as usual!!

I recently wrote an article on my blog (http://genyleadership.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-is-generation-y-leader.html) addressing the same issue. After I posted it, my father, who has had a very successful career as a leader/manager, asked what the difference between himself and Gen-Y leaders were. He has no idea of the size, skills and abilities of this new crop of people entering the workforce. This proves the point that organizations and managers have not yet embraced that a change in the workforce is about to occur and that there is real opportunity to change the way business is conducted.