This is a message to all you pretentious hipsters out there who believe you are one-of-a-kind and undefined because Mommy told you so. Well, she forgot to mention that there are information databases that place the very essence of your soul into meticulous, stereotypical lists and sell them. Take tetrad.com's Nielsen PRIZM Segment Snapshots for example. Seriously, check it out. It will blow your mind.
We have all heard "Big Brother is watching you". I always passed it off as "he's occasionally listening in on a phone call or two", much like an annoying sibling. That is, until Kathy let us in on the reality of direct marketing and list brokers. They know everything.
Everyone and their dog is on a list. No, not the list that the fat guy in a red suit makes once a year, although the intent is similar. Except for the fact that marketers are cold, soul-less beings with an intent to take while Santa is a gift-giving saint. Oh well, so much for that theory. But chances are they both like cookies.
What have I learned from this? For starters, a shout out to George Orwell, you were definitely on to something. Second, the world isn't quite as free as I had initially thought. Lastly, if I'm going to be on a list, I want it to be good. I had better start wearing matching socks.
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