Unfortunately, I think the answer to how you market things to a world with more and more demographic slices is to manufacture your own slices.

The idea of everyome being able to find their own niche is a mixed blessing. The concept of the “global village” was based on the growth of mass media. Everyone had certain things in common because they all watched at least some of the same TV shows, same adverts, read the same news articles. There was a basis, perhaps somewhat artificial, for common understanding and communication. Of course the downside of that was the “advertiser as god” syndrome, and the idea that whoever controlled the mass media controlled the world.

The anarchist ideal is of a completely fratured world where every person is a demographic of one. As an ideal, it’s not nesc. a bad one. No Mass marketing idiocy, no media manipulation, and no one has any more power to impose their view of the world on any other because everyone is equally potent, or impotent anas the case may be. But, that can be a very lonely world. And while it might take some effort for people to get together in groups to do ill, it also requires extra effort fro people to get together to do good.

What we have right now, I think, is a transition phase, which is rahter dangerous, where you have “small market” media that focuses on select groups. It creates demographic segments based on basic common elements, and usually the easiest to ones to access in the human psyche are negative. Fox News, the republican machinery and the cult of fear and xenophobia that seem so obvious in the united states for example. ( And when you are George Bush and you only have to look at media that supporst your view of things, it’s much easier to believe that the only valid veiwpoint is yours. )

It might be fine if you are a pin collecting cross dressing neo-nazi who thinks the whole world is filled with people like you… until you get into a position of power and make decisions based on that belief. And the marketers will be looking for the common denominator between cross dressing neo-nazi’s and and other groups, to make a controlled demographic… chances are the elements that pin collecting neo-nazi’s and radical christian cat immoliators share are going to be very basic, primitive urges. Fear, hatred and other easily manipulated negative emotions.

While as a misfit all my life I can apprecciate the appeal of an individualistic media, and don’t miss the big brother aspects of mass media, I do miss the unique ability of mass media to disseminate and innculcate a certain sense co belonging, togetherness and community on the world. I’m enough of an optimist to think that given time a world full of individuals can come to an understanding of their common humanity…I’m enough of a pessimist to worry that we may not give ourselves that much time.