making the future human #3 - march 2024
March 2024 at dcdx
onto edition #3!! march was a bit different for us at dcdx. enjoy this month’s reflections!
dcdx takes the stage with Hinge
Last week, a few folks from the dcdx team took to the annual Youth Marketing Summit in NYC to speak alongside our partners at Hinge on Gen Z and the state of connection. This was an incredible experience sharing the stage with a partner I respect so much, and for those who were unable to make it, we now have the recording uploaded on our YouTube (watch out Mr. Beast) if you want to watch the talk.
We hit on 3 main discussion points; 1) the state of Gen Z’s connection, 2) the role of brands in this conversation, and 3) actionable takeaways - how every brand can help Gen Z’ers disconnect to connect.
Also wanted to share a few photos from our team and time there, after all this is about making the future human, so why not see some of the humans behind it???
In addition to all of that ^^^, we hosted our first-ever dcdx IRL event for friends of the company last Thursday, and it was one of my favorite moments in the last few years at dcdx. There was a moment there where I had to take a step back, just looking at the wonderful people gathered and pinching myself. I know it may seem silly, but for a company that was born and has grown remotely, seeing people gathered IRL, all of whom have love and appreciation for dcdx was truly one of those moments I’ll never forget. Thank you to those who showed up IRL - and those who show up URL too. You are seen, felt, and appreciated…<3 many more of those events to come, and hoping to meet many more of you IRL too.
New research from dcdx
From Digital Natives to Digital Captives Part Two: The Pursuit of Unplugging
A very recent and anticipated drop! After our first Digital Captives report, “How the Internet Changed Gen Z”, there was an unanswered but critical question - how can we help Gen Z’ers form connections and escape their digital captivity?
The pursuit of unplugging is a powerful lens into the mental barriers that young people face in “unplugging” and recommends a course of action for brands and organizations to help Gen Z’ers disconnect to connect.
Coming soon
Gen Z in the Workforce: The 5 Key Themes of 2024
We recently did some research with Abode on the five key themes and conversations around Gen Z in the workforce in 2024. We investigate: the etiquette gap, security > splurging, WLB autonomy, happiness at work?, and keep it in your house.
Coming out next week!! Excited for this - thanks to Abode for commissioning this great work.
Reflections on March 2024
Being a remote company has many positives for us. The access to talent is truly remarkable, and it has allowed us to build a team of driven, passionate young people from California to Colombia to Catalonia and everywhere in between. What remote work at dcdx offers to our team is not just the freedom to live where you want to live, but the freedom to design your life how you want to design it. We’ve had nomadic employees and we’ve had stationary ones, we’ve had people do 9-5s and 3-11s.
Being remote from day one has also forced our intentionality around building culture in a way that has put our communication styles, our language, our habits, and our traditions under a constant magnifying glass. I often remind our team here at dcdx that every single thing we do in a remote environment contributes to “culture”; from the upper and lower casing of our letters, to the way we end a google meet, to the punctuation we use at the end of a slack message. In a remote-only setting, these are the building blocks of culture that matter most.
And while all of this is true - our meet-up last week in NYC reminded me that no matter how intentional our remote culture may be, nothing compares to being around team members IRL. There is no replacement, no substitute, no alternative.
It reminded me to listen to our own Wise Words of Wisdom for our clients and partners; connectivity does not equate to connection.
Here’s to more connection, and using connectivity to drive it.
Onwards to April.
-AR