I’ll return to Generation You once I get me my feet on the ground over there.

Thanks for staying loyal!

You’re teaching me everything I don’t want to be.

There are certain people’s egos who I ignore, because quite frankly they’re doing things that warrant an ego. There’s only one person who I can think of where that’s the case.

And no, if you admit to your egotistical ways it doesn’t make it any better. Egos are a huge turn-off. I don’t want to be your girlfriend if we are only talking about you. I don’t want to be your friend if you think the world revolves around you.

Unfortunately, social media breeds big egos. I love twitter, it’s a great resource. But, think about it you get to send YOUR thoughts out there. In turn people praise YOU and YOUR thoughts. C’mon every time you get an @ reply or retweet don’t you get a little ego boost? I do.

I keep it in perspective though. If people take the time to follow me, engage with me, read my blog, compliment me, and tell me I am God’s greatest creation (kidding on that last one). Then they deserve something in return. No, they don’t deserve it, they are worth it.

So easy there killer with the awesomesauce. Remember, you got 1,035 followers (who’s counting) because of us.

Photo by: Paul Goyette

So when does it go to far? Why do we post these insignificant blurbs. Because, we’re all attention hungry, dying for the infamous “like” or comment. We do it to feel loved and to spread our awesomeness. I’ll admit, I throw the occasional status update out there. They come in handy and I do love that like button. I do it in moderation, my daily musings, thoughts, and findings are reserved for Twitter. Facebook gets a status from me about once or twice every two weeks.

Facebook statuses have become a key component in the networking site. There are 45 million statuses a day. Yeah I’ll give you that, they’re a big deal. Think about it though, do you really want to share with your 700 friends that your boyfriend is a total scumbag? Share things that you think will add value to people’s mini-feed/live-feed/news-feed/whatever they’re calling it today. Share things that are funny, send the occasional shout-out to your bff, share causes you believe in, congratulate people, let people know what’s exciting about your life.

Oh yes and it is totally mandatory to somehow make your status reference to your birthday on your birthday. Once Facebook moved the birthdays down to the bottom, our “happy birthday” wall posts took a major beating. My crush from the 9th grade no longer wishes me happy birthday, but I might just have a chance if I hint to it in my status.

Guys, our pictures, favorite movies, and relationship status are all up on Facebook for the world to see. Is it really necessary for our latest drunken escapades to be plastered up there as well? Remember, our moms our on Facebook now. Yeah, things just got real awkward.

Are you a compulsive status updater? Then defend yourself here, I want to get your side of the story.

Photo By, Dani Lurie

I realized that this blog is called Generation You within the title is the noun you.. So I imagine that what Jennie writes relates to you. Whether she is talking about social media or the skills that employers are looking for in the young crowd and even if she is sharing her opinion about an issue that she is passionate about, it may relate to the generation that includes you. I imagine that there are many conversations that may spark from Jennie writers and the comments that readers leave on here. Keeping in mind with what I have said so far, I had to think about how I wanted to write a post for the 6th 20SB Blog Swap. So I have decided to write about having a manifesto.

A manifesto can be written for different reasons whether it is a goal to life, or if there is a need for a change, and even if its something that help us political wise. The manifesto, in general, can motive in some way or another to expand our ideas and broaden the horizon of building a better society and change communities to reach for the goal of teamwork. A manifesto can be a plan to change our view of the world, a document that will allows everyone to get up and do something about an issue that is very important in their lives.

For example, in this country, on a broaden perspective that are goals and documents set out to help everyone near and far. There are also plans that are more personally and sought out on a smaller scale. These documents may be written out by a person, a group of people, or they can be written out for a business. This compact is something that is called a manifesto. A manifesto can be written for different reasons whether it is a goal to life, or if there is a need for a change, and even if its something that help us political wise. It is important that we have some sort of plan to what we want to have in life and how we feel about our society.

Let me share with you my manifesto. It is a combination of my thoughts, ideas, and how I feel about today’s modern society.

• Diversity is among us everyday. Everyone is from a different ethic group. Accepting the fact that we go about our everyday lives with multicultural people is a good advantage to broaden the scope of accepting people into our lives, work, and school environment. I believe that we all should take the time to get to know each other outside of our race. Accepting diversity and culture is important. If someone refuses to associate with other people other than there “own people”, that person is on the road to discrimination. Diversity helps build up a friendly, sustainable community for everyone to enjoy. Not only will acceptance of diversity into our lives will help us on a personally level, but it will also give way to a better government.
• Going to school from elementary to graduating high school and going off to college is a standard path in life. Most people are playing a big part of our education while others really do not care. The future of education will be in the hands of future leaders. Education is like a button on a coat. It is something everyone needs to make it through today’s world. Everyone should care about education, the schools, the teachers, and just the concept of being educated will be like in a few years. As we all know that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
• Being a better person is a good thing. Everyone can not be perfect nor can they be a stuck up aristocrat. I believe in just enjoying life to the fullest. If parents see that their children are happy, then it should be taken that they should be happen as well for their children. I believe that when everyone else is happy or I have done something to make them happy it makes me a better person to know that I have affected them in a certain way. In other words, we need leaders. Leaders that will lead others to better themselves whether it is personally or within the community. Leaders are to set examples so we call be become decent people and go through the process of changing lives, or if not changing the, influence of changing something from a bad habit to a good one.
No matter what we do in life we should learn how to become a better person. Yes, there will be the good days and the days where we are not ourselves, but we should not give up. Building a better society is a goal that should be throughout thoroughly. Not everyone will have the same ideas, but at least they will be set on the same mind frame of doing something positive improve our global community. My manifesto is a bit long, but the goal is to express what I think and feel to everyone that there is a time to become a team and realize that there is work that must be done.

I want you to put yourself in your grandma and grandpa’s shoes. Yes, put yourself in those ugly, white tennis shoes. Imagine yourself sitting on your LazyBoy reclining chair and watching your grandchildren play…inside. That’s right your grandchildren won’t be able to play wiffleball or play house outside. Instead they’ll be trapped in the confines of your house.

Ok, now come back to reality and leave your grandparent’s shoes for 50 years down the road. Look, climate change and damage isn’t going away, but if you want to have the opportunity to send your your little grandson, Sam out to play here’s a a few things YOU can do to make that happen.

1) Drinking bottled water isn’t cool anymore. I mean from Wal Mart to the freakin’ laundromat they sell cool water bottles. I know they’re a pain and we actually have to turn the faucet on and fill them up. Think about how hip everyone is going to think you are? Drinking out of that snazy Nalgene. Speaking from a girl’s perspective; guys if your drinking out of non-plastic water bottle I will totally want to date you. If your insisting on drinking out of those plastic bad-boys, then please walk five feet to the nearest recycling bin and dispose of them there.

2) Alright we all drive, but the newness of your license probably wore off like 6 years ago. Guys, just don’t idle your car! If your waiting for your friend to pick up your taco from the local joint downtown, just turn the engine off.

3) Now since I am total geek I have to include a technology suggestion in here. Generation Y especially, goes through cell phones and iPods like they’re underwear. Just don’t throw them away. Like you would with the plastic water bottle, find a recycling center for you cell phones and computers. Here’s a website to help you with that: epa.gov See guys I got your back.

Alright, let’s work on this together. I’ll try really hard not be a hypocrite and take my own suggestions. Let me know how your doing and feel free to add any of your own suggestions.

**This post is for Blog Action Day 2009. The topic is climate change!

So Drum roll please… The 2009 Greatest Tweeters Who Have Under 1,000 Followers:

1. @JoshGroth
Josh knows how much I admire him. He probably thinks it’s a little creepy, but his blog is one of the most insightful and humorous ones out there. His tweets are exactly the same. He’s provides great links and awesome personal anecdotes.

2. @mikesplain
Mike is so engaging! He replies, he asks questions, and he’s really supportive! Which are three qualities that are admirable and crucial on Twitter. He’s also very knowledgeable when it comes to the music industry, blogging, and coding. I feel like I’ve known Mike my entire life.

3. @LilMissSocMedia
Jayna Dinz is the sweetest girl on Twitter. She’s genuinely curious about other people and that’s what I love about her. She’s helpful, observant, and supportive all at the same time and those qualities parlay into real life as well.

4. @RDGarnet
This girl is refreshingly honest and bold. Her tweets are “fierce” as Tyra would say. Ok get this guys, Cheila actually personally thanked all of her followers! No Auto-DMs, she went to directly to each follower and thanked them. Now that is what Twitter is all about and Cheila gets that.

5. @jackieadkins
Now I know this is a post about Twitter, but I just have to give props to Jackie’s blog The Curbside Marketer. It’s visually…AWESOME. The posts are always easy to read and understand. Jackie is going places, there’s no doubt about it. His Twitter stream is just as fantastic as his blog. You know what it is? Jackie is just easy to talk to.

Think back to the last time you sat around a campfire, whether it was at summer camp or just a miserable camping trip with them family; campfires just make everything better. People open up, they share, they listen at campfires. I mean your in the middle of the woods, who’s there to judge? Thom Ransom from Ransom Note and I came up with the idea for The Campfire Network. We want bloggers to talk to each other and really get into each others thoughts, but more importantly we’re looking for you to have conversations. So find another blogger, swap questions, and feature your partners answers on your blog.

So I met eQ (awesome name, huh?) on 20 Something Bloggers and she was feeling The Campfire Network, so we swapped some pretty heavy questions. It would be safe to say that we each got one question we were a little nervous to answer. All I knew about eQ is that she lives in Manhattan and she blogs at Blogging Banana. Turns out eQ is a really cool chick, who is not afraid to voice her thoughts. She also picked out pictures to emphasize each point! Without further delay, here’s what she had to say:

Jennie: You have to choose one mental illness to live with for the rest of your life. What would it be?

Paris Syndrome.

According to #7 on the Top 10 Bizzare Mental Disorders “Paris syndrome is a condition exclusive to Japanese tourists and nationals, which causes them to have a mental breakdown while in the famous city.” Of course, I am not Japanese so I couldn’t get this syndrome as defined in these terms but still, I couldn’t very well answer this question with Dementia or Alzheimer’s now could I? Sometimes I think I have multiple personalities though.

Jennie: Your father is on life support after a major accident (think Terri Schiavo) it’s your choice: Do you keep him on life support or take him off?

Gosh, this is awkward. My father left us when I was 8 to run off with some tramp. I can’t say that I would care too much about whether or not he was a vegetable. I equate my father to a complete stranger. I know nothing about him or his life other than the fact he is a bastard. I hold a lot of anger and resentment with him and I should probably see someone about it, I know this. I do hope he has changed and found peace within himself after so nonchalantly walking away from a wife of 13 years and 3 adolescent children. So I would leave that decision to whoever in his life actually cares.

I empathize for anyone who may have had to go through this. I can’t imagine being in that position and I hope I would be able to find the strength to make the appropriate decision for all involved if this were to ever happen to me.

Jennie: At what point in your life did you feel the most emotional pain and angst?

There were several moments in my life thus far that have been turning points or have been instrumental in shaping me. One of the most important ones was the few months I was single between my ex and my current BF. I tend to be pretty reckless when I am single which is why I am a serial monogamist. My BF changed my life. He is my rock and I cannot imagine my life without him. However in the beginning he wanted nothing to do with me and I cried a hell of alot. In fact he told me that he didn’t want a girl and that he was holding out for this other girl he kind of liked. For some bizarre reason this made me want him more. Looking back I can’t see wtf I saw in him. He was the most complex person I had ever met which in turn caused me so much angst and emotional pain, but fuck if I knew that at the time, I was just so infatuated with him! Love truly is blind. Luckily we made it through some turbulent times and are in our sixth year together. Which goes to show that not all love stories have such a happy beginning.

Jennie: Are you planning on or living the American dream; white picket fence, golden retriever, 2 kids, perfect husband & killer bank account?

I plan on living my own version of the American dream as defined by me, myself and I. As per your description Jennie:

* White picket fence: Probably not. My taste in Architecture tends to be more in line with modernism and a white picket fence doesn’t fit into this style. Perhaps a nicely landscaped perimeter with rocks and meticulously manicured bushes would be acceptable.
* Golden retriever: No. I don’t prefer longhaired dogs. I see in my future: 2 bulldogs and maybe a tough fucker like a pit bull or German Shepard
* 2 kids: Yes, I’m aiming for 2 boys. I don’t think I can handle a girl, even though baby girls make my heart melt.
* Perfect husband: Common Jennie! Let’s get real. To the women who have actually married the quintessential “perfect” man I sure hope you enjoy a life of boredom and feeling less significant than your husband. Flaws are what spice up life.
* Killer bank account: Hmmmm. Now by killer bank account do you mean a bank account that has the power to actually kill someone? Because I gotta say, I’m not very comfortable with that idea. Or do you mean an endless supply of money? Now that wouldn’t be so bad! Lots of cash does have a way of changing people though, so I guess I would want just enough to live comfortably, get my loved ones out of debt, set up my kids college funds and donate yearly to some charitable causes. Anything more is just greedy.

Jennie: Ever heard about the Tao of Pooh? Which character are you?

I have not heard of the Tao of Pooh. Are you a Pooh fan Jennie??? I did read about it though and also about the character descriptions but I don’t feel I fit any one charcter. If I must answer this then, I would go with Pooh based on this description from Just-Pooh

“Winnie the Pooh, a bear of very little brain, tends to be a bit on the slow side (his head is full of fluff, you know…a common occurrence among teddy bears) but his heart more than makes up for that.”
&
“He is gifted with an uncommon, clear-eyed wisdom. What is most important for Pooh is the well being, happiness and feelings of his friends.”

I tend to be pretty stupid most of the time. I embrace it. I also am the biggest cheerleader in my friends’ lives. I wish them all the happiness in the world, because a happy friend only adds to the joy in my own life.

Catch your attention? That’s right my friend Thom and I are bringing something to blogging that’s out of the ordinary; we get to be apart of something that Thom calls “an experiment in social psychology.” Sounds like a huge deal? It’s actually even cooler then it sounds. What we’re encouraging you to do is ask questions of each other; deep and quirky questions. None of this 25 things you don’t know about me business (we’ll leave that to Facebook).Hopefully these questions we’ll inspire conversation and get us thinking. This goes beyond an interview, guys it get’s personal, but in a good way. The best way to explain this is to show by example. Here are the questions I asked Thom from Ransom Note. They’re beautifully and thoughtfully answered (sorry to sound so girly Thom).

What relationship is the most important to you at this point in time?
I had to think about this one for a few minutes. It’s hard to say which relationship I consider most important to me right now. I think about what’s important to me in general, trying to find my way into a new career and likewise a new life. Hence, the most important relationship would be the one that gets me to that point.Then I think about which relationship I would drop everything for. All things the same, my most important relationship would probably my parents; the people I rely on for emotional and professional support.

Do you have an idea of what your destined to become? Yes, what is it? No, why not?
I was actually having this conversation with my brother the other day, namely if I believe in destiny. We had decided that we believe in a sequence of events that are beyond control, which could be interpreted as fate or destiny. That said, it’s really hard to admit what i think the future holds for me. I hope there’s love, adventure, and success. My horoscope say I’ll be severing a tie to the past soon. Hopefully that leads somewhere.

If you could be on only ONE social networking/media site what would it be and why?
That’s a tough one. If I had to choose a networking site, it would be Linkedin. It’s the one that’s been the most helpful recently. Social media site- I would choose either Stumbleupon or Hulu. One is great for catching up on the shows I’ve missed, the other is fun to use to discover interesting sites. I’ve found some pretty helpful things in the past as a result of Stumbleupon.

When you’re people watching (c’mon we all do it) who catches your eye?
I like watching people that see like they have a great back story. There’s a older Asian man that walks around my neighborhood every day at the same time in the afternoon. He’s never with anyone, but looks as if he used to make this trek with someone in the past, and now it’s more a force of habit.
I image years ago, this man really didn’t like going for walks, but his wife did, who was never very good with directions. She would get confused sometimes. So like any good husband, he walked with her. Accept one late afternoon, he and is wife got in a fight, and he refused to walk with her. Saving face, she left to go walk by herself. An hour or two past and she still wasn’t back which worried him a bit. By 9:00, the man thought enough was enough and went out to look for her. He walked the usual route, but could find her. It was around 10:30 before the man got back home where he saw two police officers standing at the door of their little apartment. It was dark and his wife was crossing the street when a car turned the corner into their neighborhood. Being a petite lady, the car couldn’t see her until it was too late. Now, the old man walks that same route with his head down kind of as his own person albatross.
I have stories like this for a few people around the neighborhood.

Superwoman or Cat Woman?
I’m a cat woman fan. She has a better story, better costume, plus I like brunettes. I like how all the Batman characters are aspects of himself; like the Penguin is a millionare gone bad, the Joker is the antithesis of Batman. Cat Woman would be the feminate form of Batman. That’s cool to me.

I felt this commercial depicted something “catching on fire,” in this sense it being Lance Armstrong and cycling. So want to join the Campfire Network, answer some questions like these and more importantly ask questions like these, well then in the words of Nike; “Just do it.”

Our Generation has applied the iPod upgrade model to our lives. Wikipedia defines the IPOD Generation as “Insecure, Pressured, Over-taxed, and Debt-ridden.” I take it more literally, we are the iPod Generation, as in the Nano, Touch, Scroll wheel, shuffle portable music player. I am going to lump relationships and jobs here. Generation Y has developed the thought process that there is always something, newer and better coming.

If we’re dating someone, we get that little voice in our head saying “someone else is out there, who’s better.” Even in that fantastic job we landed we still get the same voice saying, something better is bound to come along and in that case I’ll just replace the old job with a newer and better job. We’re not happy unless we have the latest and greatest model, but the problem is new models will continue to come out. As a Generation we need to learn how to settle down and realize that newer and better won’t always guarantee happiness.

What do you think, am I being too tough? Are you like this? I’ll be the first to admit, I am and it’s something I am trying to work on. Let me know your thoughts guys.

j