I always thought I knew myself pretty well – how my mind worked, how I liked to be communicated with and what media strategies were effective for me. I may have been wrong.

I recently sat through a Frank N. Magid Associates presentation about communicating to the Millennial generation – those of us born between 1977 and 1995. There are now 79 million Millennials as compared to 48 million Generation Xers and 78 million Baby Boomers. Who knew we were taking over the world?

So how do you communicate to this growing population of 11-29 year olds? Talk with us, not to us. We like open dialogue and two-way communication – we are a generation of email, text messaging, instant messaging and blogging. Focus on consumer-generated content and don’t assume that we consume media passively. Advertising is never enough.

Along those same lines, get to know us and speak our language. More than 80 percent of Millennials believe college education is the “coolest” thing they can do. Thirty-five percent identified not succeeding at school as their biggest fear, while 20 percent said it was not succeeding at work. We aren’t a cookie-cutter generation – it is worth taking the time to determine what we value and target your marketing and PR accordingly.

Our generation is defined by technology – laptops, cell phones and iPods, to name a few. With all these options, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we have mastered the art of multi-tasking. So don’t limit yourself to one avenue for communication. Our average day consists of 2.5 hours of watching television, 2.5 hours of surfing the Internet, 2.3 hours of listening to music and 1.2 hours of talking on cell phones. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to realize that there has to be overlap in order us to work, eat and sleep.

Finally, target peer-to-group communications – we are greatly influenced by our social networks. The average size of our social network is 21 people, and the power of buzz marketing resonates loud and clear with us. One online public relations firm, BzzAgent.com, allows people to sign up and serve as buzz marketers for products ranging from books to hygiene products to food items. By using word-of-mouth marketing and participatory communication, BzzAgent has figured out the way to engage the Millennial audience.

So, do I agree with everything in this presentation? Being on the older side of this generation, I would say some applied and some didn’t. But for the most part, it was pretty much on target. And since I started writing this blog, I’ve taken three phone calls and written four emails, all with music playing in the background and while snacking on Cheez-its. Hmmm….