i've been listening to the book the world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century by Thomas L Friedman. it's basically about how economic globalization is flattening/connecting the business world. i highly recommend it!

anyways...i was about half-way through the book and heard this:

in the future, globalization is going to be increasingly driven by the individuals who understand the flat world, adapt themselves quickly to its processes and technologies, and start to march forward, without any treaties or advice from the IMF. they will be every color of the rainbow and from every corner of the world. the global economy from here forward will be shaped less by the ponderous deliberations of finance ministers and more by the spontaneous energy from the zippys. yes, americans grew up with the hippies in the 1960's. thanks to the high-tech revolution many of us became yuppies in the 1980's. well, now let me introduce the zippys. "the zippys are here," declared the indian weekly magazine, outlook. "zippys are the huge cohort of indian youth who are the first to come of age since india shifted away from socialism and dived head-first into global trade and the information revolution by turning itself into the world's service center." outlook called india zippys "liberalization's children" and defined a zippy as "a young city or suburban resident between 15 and 25 years of age with a zip in the stride. belongs to generation z. can be male or female, studying or working. oozes attitude, ambition, and asperation. cool, confident, and creative. seeks challenges, loves risk, and shuns fear. indian zippy's feel no guilt about making money or spending it." they are, says one indian analyst quoted by outlook, "destination driven, not destiny driven. outward-looking, not inward-. upwardly mobile, not stuck in my situation in life." with 54% of india under the age of 25, that's 555 million people 6 out of 10 indian households have at least one potential zippy. and the zippy's don't just have a pent-up demand for good jobs, they want the good life.

"zippy" has been defined! i'm not sure if i fit the definition, but thought it was really interesting nonetheless.