Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society. Internet and
society, a preliminary report.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/Preliminary_Report.pdf
Weiss, M.J.
1999 Parallel Universe (Book Excerpt from The Clustered World)
American Demographics
http://www.demographics.com/publications/ad/99_ad/9910_ad/ad991002.htm
"According to the geodemographers at Claritas, the Arlington, Virginia-based marketing company, American society is composed of 62 distinctive lifestyle types-a 55 percent increase over the 40 segments that defined the U.S. populace during the 1970s and '80s. These so-called "clusters" are based on a composite of age, ethnicity, wealth, urbanization, housing style, and family structure. But their boundaries have undergone dramatic shifts in recent years as economic, political, and social trends stratify Americans in new ways. Immigration, women in the workforce, delayed marriage, aging boomers, economic swings-all have combined to increase the number of distinct lifestyles. And advances in database technology that link the clusters to marketing surveys and opinion polls are permitting more accurate portraits of how these disparate population groups behave-whether they prefer tofu or tamales, Mercedes or Mazda, legalizing pot or supporting animal rights." "Once used interchangeably with "neighborhood type," the term cluster now refers to population segments where, thanks to technological advancements, no physical contact is required. The residents of Pools & Patios, a cluster of upper-middle-class suburban couples, may congregate in La Crescenta, California, and Rockville, Maryland, but they also may be found in Spring Hill, Tennessee, or Portland, Maine. These residents can meet their neighbors across a fence to borrow a cup of sugar or argue issues, or they may schmooze online. In the clustered world, geographic communities united by PTAs, political clubs, and Sunday schools have given way to consumption communities defined by demographics, intellect, taste, and outlook. Today's town square is the online chat room. "