Micro/Macro? Am I the target?

Target

Over the past couple days; I have been reading article after article about microtargeting and politics. Figuring out who people are voting based on what they eat and what kind of work they do. The art of persuasion then comes in to the picture. Playing on the unsuspecting voters insecurities based around childhood disappointments and so on (you get the picture.) So what about this is novel? Well…nothing. According to Wikipedia, the term, microtargeting, has been around since 1992 in the political realm, but gained national attention in 2004.

This term is also related to the integrated marketing communications term, behaviorgraphics, which targets people based on their previous behavior. Both microtargeting and behaviorgraphics involve predicting behavior of a particular group.

The question is, however, does microtargeting work on me. Let me describe myself first.

I am an African-American female in my mid-twenties. I am nearly finished with my master’s degree from Georgetown University. I drive a mid-sized German car. I have one cat and one Chinese water dragon. I have a MAC, and I use the computer every day. I am fairly well versed in using the Internet. In my refrigerator, you will find 100% fruit juice, Morningstar Veggie Crumbles and Chips Ahoy cookies (don’t judge me.) Did I mention I was vegan? Well I am. Can you guess whom I would vote for?

Microtargeters would say YES! The question is not simply whom would I vote for, but would I vote. I, like many others in the country, remain uninterested in the race for presidency. Just like other forms of advertisement, I choose not to respond or engage. I am not impervious, I just respond to topics of interest to me. This is the advice I would give to the candidates and their respective teams: rather than trying to predict whom everyone would vote for, just encourage them to vote. Give us a little credit, we can’t be judged by what’s in our fridge or what kind of car we drive.