Messianic Marketing
An article in the Tahoe Daily Tribune today says that "genergraphics" is the future of demographics, that classifying people based on their motivations is highly preferable to classifying people based on their characteristics or thought patterns. Genergraphics is supposed to revolutionize marketing (wait, didn't Web 2.0 do that? didn't social networking do that? didn't social marketing do that? didn't...).
So what does this have to do with the coming of the Messiah (he should come quickly)?
To me, quite a bit.
For instance, let's examine these new classifications:
n "Forgotten" (The Greatest Generation) - born 1935-1945: "traditionalists"n "Baby Boomers" - 1945-1964: "workaholics"
n "Gen Xers" - 1964-1976: "individualists"
n "Echo Boomers" (Millennials) - 1976-1994: "collaborators"
There is no shortage of statements of our Sages regarding "the generation of Moshiach". The generation of Moshiach is supposed to be as brazen as a dog, is supposed to thirst for the word of G-d, is supposed to...on and on. In light of this survey, perhaps we can understand these things differently.
Generation Y, the "Millenial Generation", the first generation to have grown up with the Internet, was supposed to be brazen, uncaring, and selfish. Yet, violent crime is on a decline, and indeed, these are the "collaborators." Social collaboration, Adobe/Macromedia Contribute software, YouTube, MySpace -- these are the things which are the lifeblood of the younger generation.
Perhaps a generation so raised on collaboration and instant global communication is uniquely poised to reach the goal of 1 Kings 8:60, that "all nations of the world should know that only Hashem is G-d". The "collaborators" will do a Google translation, text it to someone for proofreading, and it will be online, live, in seconds -- today's pace of life. This job, on the converse, as performed by traditionalists, might involve actual handwritten letters (traditional way of communication, "let me let them know I care" a la Hallmark), and might take far longer. Today, as one brand marketing analyst said, "GenY is best equipped to generate significant buzz and accelerate any program with ‘word of mouse.’ The kids in this group are online consistently, have huge networks of friends and talk frequently."
Collaboration, communication, and networking -- all of these things are more conducive to the feelings of love and unity (ahavat chinam) which are described as prerequisite to the Messianic Age.
Perhaps Moshiach will be best welcomed by a group of collaborators and individualists, on their iPhones, declaring the message of redemption for all humanity:
"OMG LYK ELIJAH SO PWNS I <3 KNG DVD"
Comments
I'm not really sure what this "moshiach" thing you're waiting for is, and I don't think I've met this Hashem-god guy you're always talking about.
Anywho, marketing is primarily about convincing sheeple to get shit that they don't fucking need, and my contemporaries ("generation Y" or "the millenials") are stupid enough to play the role of target demographic at this point in time. The word "revolution" itself has been co-opted by the very people and institutions who will be first up against the wall when (and if) it comes, and has essentially become meaningless. "Web 2.0" revolutionized the ability of every asshole with an opinion to moon the world (case in point, me), while marketing is still playing catchup.
This has been my Rashi for the day.
Posted by: Sholomanarchy | March 15, 2007 09:23 AM
While i don't believe in any great individual or technological panacea, be it Messiah or Metropolis, i do think reason and understanding of Truth's nature will, one day, reach a critical mass in human civilization resulting in a lasting transformation of reason-based thought from our present emotion-based mode.
If you boil down our civilization's intent, then you will see that Everything we do attempts to increase both the quality and quantity of comm bewtween humans. The web is a fantastically huge step in that direction. And this makes our time on par with that of fire and press (note that whole uniquely-driven libraries will one day be built up around this present era and its (un)lucky inhabitants).
FatCommunication breeds a type of peace that cannot easily be broken.
rob@egoz.org
Posted by: rob adams | March 17, 2007 01:03 PM