After a travel and brain sabbatical, I have returned to complete the two-part series I began at the beginning of May addressing the spring Seattle startup scene.  (Part 1 of this series is available here. )  In my first post, I specifically noted "location-based entertainment" and "digital registration organization" as two startup themes that I believe have an incredible potential for success.  In part 2, I will approach the topic from the opposite angle and address a third theme that I believe has potential, but that is missing a certain element that would otherwise stop me in my tracks.  I will conclude by discussing an underlying element, related to the state of the (digital) consumer, that I believe is driving the motivation behind all three themes.

The current generation of texting, game-playing kids who have grown up with computers, games consoles and smart phones have attracted lots of attention, often hyperbolic, much of it critical. Spoiled brats is one of the kindlier labels; one author has written an entire book calling it the Dumbest Generation, just as Nick Carr has worried that the Internet makes us a dumber.

Don Tapscott, author of "Grown up Digital - the Net Generation," has actually studied these young people in depth and over time; his previous book was "Growing up Digital" and he also was co-author of Wkinomics. In short, he is not a newcomer to the field prone to throwing around unsupported impressions. He and his company, which have carved what I assume is a lucrative niche helping companies devise strategies for working with this large and financially influential demographic, have studied thousands of young people around the world, sometimes starting with his own children.