You mean I'm not just a plain ol' loser?

http://newyorkmetro.com/news/features/16529/index.html
Just when you think you've grown out of labels they invent a new one. The Grup. This was actually a pretty interesting article to me. Having been a retail buyer/marketer (my corporate gig) I learned all about predicting behavior. You had to have the right mix of product at the right time for the right person. It was amazing how predictable people really were. It was my first introduction to trendspotting on a macro level. And as it turns out leaving the corporate job was part of a trend as well.

Here's a small sample of how it works. You hear a song on the radio and say to yourself, "That sounds different and unique and like someone I'd like to hear more of. That Norah Jones really appeals to me. I'm going to go to the store and see if they've heard of her." You get to the store and there is an endcap featuring her that month. The radio station (one of hundreds owned by the same company) is playing her cd all over the country at the same moment. To you it is a very personal connection with an artist. To a record store employee you are a drone coming in just like dozens of others that day asking if you've heard of this jazzy female singer named Norah Jones or something like that.

We all think we are special in our world that we have created and we make decisions on our own that shape who we are. Then we wake up one day and find that we are one of millions just like us. Enough so that they create a name that describes us. I guess it's kind of comforting knowing that so many of us are heading in the same direction and are not alone. What the hell is 40 going to look like? 50? Impossible to imagine! But we're going to get there as a group like good little drones wearing our uniform of Echo and the Bunnymen t-shirts and Chuck Taylor All Stars. Just don't expect us too early in the morning. We like to sleep in a little.