Ken C. Pohlmann

I recently blogged about Millennials, the demographic that is displacing Boomers at the top of the consumer food chain. I described how Millennial purchasing will increasingly define the audio/video markets and their preferences will increasingly define the nature of those products. Predicting the future is a dangerous game, but much like watching a bunny passing through a python, we can observe demographic bulges passing through the consumer market. Let's take a closer look at Millennials.

Serious question: Why do dogs like to stick their heads out of car windows? That question has haunted philosophers for centuries and unfortunately I don't have an answer either. But someway, somehow, it is part of the same mystery of why humans really like to listen to music while driving.

Take a look at this photograph. What do you think this thing is? Since you're reading this magazine, you are probably technology-oriented. But unless you are 98-years old, you might not recognize that this device played a major role in the early days of radio and audio technology. Let me explain.

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are defined as the demographic with birth years ranging from the early 80s to the early 00s. In other words, Millennials are about 15 to 35 years old. I am appealing to you. You account for almost half of all audio hardware sales. More than any other single group, you are the ones responsible for screwing it up for the rest of us.