Who am I?

Do you like to watch movies?  As a general rule, I hate to watch movies.  There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. I have a hard time sitting still for more than an hour and want my freedom to roam around.
2. My imagination gets consumed by highly dramatic or psychologically stressful movies, and I get confused, and I end up with nightmares for a week or an irremediable fear of camping/babysitting/amoebas living in the lake/men in clown makeup.
3. I would rather be out living my life than sitting on the couch/movie theater seat watching an actor fake out someone else's life and fund their highly opulent lifestyle that I don't get to take part of in the process.

Yes, I know: Bitter, party of one.

However, last night, I got suckered into seeing a movie with my girlfriends last night: "The Women."  It wasn't the best movie I have ever seen, but it was lively, and we were drinking, and I was with some of the best friends that I have had in my life.  I had fun later trying to categorize my friends into the character roles (the "pregnant friend" was easy to pinpoint, the "friend at a crossroads" was also a shoe-in, we're all pretty much the "career-minded friend", but who's the "homosexual party friend"?  I had trouble with that one.  I guess the "party friend" suits me - but sorry ladies - I am straight.)

Despite my aversion to scripted pseudo-stories, this movie had more of a lasting effect than I thought it would.  When the protagonist reached "rock bottom", she was asked a very pertinent question: "What do YOU want?"

This certainly got my mind brewing, but I soon extrapolated it:

What do I want?
Who am I?
Who do I want to be?
What do I expect out of others?
What do others expect of me?
(Finally) What do others expect of...OTHERS?

This last question had an extremely technical implication, of course, and since I had just been in a technology meeting with a health services organization, it had special meaning. 

Technology has provided so many options for personalizing an experience through different types of interactions: Web, E-mail, direct mail, phone.  However, so often, these interactions are disparate - those I spoke with today even shared that today, they have an entire Corporate Major Gifts program that is not only run by a single person, but managed completely separately from their "central database." PERISH THE THOUGHT!

This is NOT what I want or expect.  I would barely tolerate it, were I able to detect it. 

So, what is it that I want?  What is it that I expect, and other Gen Yers expect?  One word: Consistency.

I expect that when I provide information to you, that you receive it, regardless of medium.

I expect that when you receive this information, that it travels throughout whatever internal systems you have, so that I don't have to provide it twice.

I expect that once I provide this information to you, that things will "change" - that you will send me things addressed appropriately, that are timely, and that I've indicated an interest in. 

I expect you to be able to answer the question of "Who am I?" FOR me - to anticipate my interests, before I even know them, by past behavior. 

I expect you to be my "listening friend."  Because once I can see that you are listening, I will be more willing to be the "responsive friend." 

Comments

[Jonathan]

Everyone who works with data collection and targeting Gen Y should read the last 6 paragraphs. It is such a perfect take on Gen Y. If you don't know this you don't know your job.

[Michael Sola]

Happy to be a listening friend - you captured the Gen Yer style nicely and this from someone who's at the cusp of the boomers. Keep in mind "boomers" are still people!