Market Segmentation

My Monday night Marketing Management class is painfully boring, which is disappointing to me because Marketing used to be one of my favorite subjects. However, this teacher insists on illustrating every simple concept with a story about a place he likes to eat, or used to like to eat or may want to eat someday. However, ever so often an interesting fact sneaks into the two and a half hour lecture. For example, last night we learned that Google's unofficial business motto is "don't be evil." We were also introduced to this little tool called mybestsegments.com.

I may be a geek but I have always found market segmentation fascinating, so bear with me. The idea that you can predict what a person will buy or do based on their income, station in life and where they live has always interested me. When I waited tables I tried to see if I could guess what people would order before I walked up to the table. Eventually, I got pretty good.

On mybestsegments.com, you can type in any zip code and find the 5 most prominent marketing groups living in that area. There is everything from shotguns and pickups (my personal favorite) to Bohemian mix and Mayberry-ville. Not only is it interesting to see the type of people who make up your neighborhood, I could see it being a useful tool when contemplating a move or planning a trip. After it gives you the 5 areas you can click on them to see a brief description and their buying habits. For example, my old neighborhood in Chattanooga watched VH1, read modern bride and would most likely drive a Prius. My new neighborhood shops at the Limited and reads Gamepro magazine and drives Kia Spectras. I think I may a little out of place...

Junior Achievement

Recently, I signed up to volunteer with the Bradley County Junior Achievement. I had always wanted to get involved with this program because it combined my love of business and teaching young people and I finally signed up as one of my New Years resolutions to do more in my community. Its really an ideal way to volunteer for the non-committal person (I just couldn't do Big Brother/Big Sister but that is a whole different story). You only have to commit to one 6 week class. They give you a handbook and activities and it is very well planned out.

You can pick any age group you want, but their greatest need was with Middle Schoolers. I am sure that no one is surprised by this. Middle School is the worst time in everyone's life. Whether you enjoyed it or not, chances are you drove everyone around you insane with your awkward obnoxiousness. Just trust me here...anyway, I got up really early this morning and went over the manual 5 or 6 times trying to appear prepared for my new class of 8th graders. However, when I arrived at the class I was pleasantly surprised. I absolutely loved the class...several of the students were quite sarcastic which I personally think makes the class more fun. They were really interactive and funny and seemed to enjoy even the activities I thought were cheezy and a little childish. I think I'm going to love Junior Achievement, everyone should volunteer!

My Luck

My car has been swaying back and forth while I drive for probably about a month now. Tuesday night I was driving home around 10pm after watching "Slumdog Millionaire" (Amazing by the way) and I was scared to death I was going to get pulled over for drunk driving because of the amount of swerving my car was doing on its own.

Finally realizing I had ignored the problem long enough, on Wednesday I took my car to the tire center to have my tires rotated. I had not had them rotated in the entire 3 years I have owned my vehicle, I think the mechanic was impressed. I picked my car up at 5:00 after being assured that my tires were in great condition and I would not need to replace them for at least a year.

I was happy. Unfortunately my car was still not. I almost got car sick on the way home from the mechanic. Somehow the shaking had actually become worse. I took it back to the mechanic today at 10am to get the tires aligned. 2 hours later I was told that sometime between 5 yesterday and 10 this morning I picked up a huge nail in my front left tire. The hole is not repairable and since they are doing an alignment I have to get 2 new tires. So my $10 quick fix turned into a $300 problem. Everything always happens to me all at once....it's crazy. In the month of December my camera, my ipod, a light in my upstairs bedroom, and my house phone all decided to quit working. Its starting to be a bit annoying...

Never discuss politics

I have yet to receive my government cheese...

25 things about me you never cared to know

1. I would love to live in a hotel, or have someone make my bed everyday and put out clean towels when I’m at work

2. Whenever I am considering buying a new piece of furniture I think about how hard it would be to move and usually decide it isn’t worth it

3. My most well-known nickname is 23. To this day, sometimes when I’m out in Chattanooga I am introduced this way to strangers

4. I have slept an entire evening in a hot tub. My hands were really wrinkled the next morning and I didn’t feel so good

5. There is not one country in the World that I would pass up the opportunity to visit

6. I’ve always hoped to live at least one complete year in another country

7. I’m a sucker for any guy who can make me laugh. Guys who wear suits are good too…A guy in a suit who could make me laugh would be like kryptonite.

8. I lived in Canada from the age of 1 to 12. No, I did not live in an igloo. No, I cannot speak French

9. I have never been in a Haunted House.

10. I’m seriously considering getting a doctorate in developmental economics. My dream job would involve helping third world nations develop their economies to pull their people out of poverty

11. I am three quarters of the way through at least 5 books

12. I have an incredibly short attention span. There are a ton of movies I have never seen because I didn’t think they were worth a two hour investment

13. At any given moment I am missing either my keys, my debit card or my cell phone

14. 2009 is the ten year anniversary of me leaving Florida and meeting the people who are still my best friends in the world

15. My favorite quote is “Go confidentially in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.”

16. My biggest fear is that I’ll look back on any part of my life with regret

17. I cannot drive to Atlanta without listening to rap music. I usually rap along in my car. People probably see me and laugh.

18. I love Stephen Colbert. (Please see #7)

19. I hate Jack in the Boxes. Not the restaurants, the toy. I don’t like not knowing when that guy is going to pop out. I hate the game perfection for the same reason

20. I am anti-high-five. Every time someone initiates said celebration I have a moral dilemma. Should I abandon my principles in order to be socially acceptable?

21. I absolutely love photography. On my last trip to Asia I literally took over 1000 pictures

22. Sometimes when I look at pictures of other team’s trips to Cambodia my eyes well up with tears because I want to be there so bad

23. Someday I’d like to write a book

24. I worked in the restaurant industry for over 10 years. 2008 is the first year since I was 16 that I will not have a W2 from a restaurant. I’m one of those weirdo’s that actually kind of misses it

25. I think about too many things way too much. Sometimes I wish I could turn my brain off for a bit

Ramblings on a Rainy Day

Rainy days are yucky...The only thing I want to do is light a Woodwick candle (I love the sound of a fire but am not lucky enough to have a fireplace) get in my pajamas and read a good book. I just got cable and a DVR for the first time in a few years so I'm pretty much happier than I've ever been in my whole life. (Insert sarcastic tone here.) Honestly, I think I'm so used to not having TV I don't know what to do with it. You can only watch so many reality shows before you just get sad and a little ashamed of the human race in general. I am definitely not used to having a DVR, I usually watch about 4 commercials before I remember I don't have to watch them. Then I fast forward into too much of my show and have to rewind. This whole process probably takes longer than actually watching the commercials...technology is so tricky.

So, (insert clever segue here) as a result of a conversation where I was told that my Facebook status updates were "boring," I decided to post a new one today. "Jenn is heading to Zambia to tour orphanages with Bono" was displayed on my profile about 2:00 pm. Here is the crazy part, by 3:00 I received numerous text messages and comments indicating that some of my friends thought this was what I was actually doing. I guess I should be flattered that people actually believe that my life is that cool but Bono? Really? A more realistic Facebook status would read, "Jenn just put on a load of clothes and is watching an episode of Family Guy she has seen 100 times with the commercials, even though she doesn't have to, because she isn't smart enough to work a DVR." But perhaps I shouldn't be so honest, it may take the mystery and magic out of my apparent Rock Star Status....The fact that I had an entire conversation about the quality of my Facebook status updates probably doesn't help either...and then I wrote about it. Please ignore this entire blog.

Santa Hats

Yesterday I made the long drive home from Florida to Tennessee. It was way too long of a drive ending way too short of a trip. I had a wonderful time with my family and the week flew by. Outside of Lake city I spotted an older couple driving along in a SUV both wearing Santa hats and ridiculous grins. It was 2 days after Christmas and there appeared to be no one else in the vehicle. It was weird, but as I thought about it some more (as there was plenty of time to think in my 9 hour drive) I remembered an old poem I had written and it seemed appropriate:

I pitied a homeless man yesterday
It was cold and rainy

He was walking, dirty and downtrodden
Holding a paper coffee cup
Poor and "unsuccessful"
But not alone

He walked with a woman
Equally dirty, equally downtrodden
Facing the cold rain
Together

Warm by the fire in a trendy coffee house
I sipped my caramel macchiato
Affluent and "successful"
Alone

I envied a homeless man yesterday