durtbagz: kids these days...

okay, so today i'm feeling a little less sassy, but there is still some left in me so don't get your hopes up that this will be a feel-good post. there's another girl who has a company that is supposed to do that. her name's laura something...ashely.

i've been thinking a lot about my customer base and what they need from me since i'm going to be asking a lot from them. as i mentioned earlier, this involves people ages 14-25, although i'm willing to bet that people older than 25 are interested if they are a) lame, b) super lame, c) have a sense of humor, d) the lamest person ever.

i realized that it's been a while since i've fit into this category...well, let me be more specific. i fit into the super lame category (people with combovers are lamer than me), but i am not 14-25 anymore. i remember what i liked in high school...sort of. i liked sports and going to the lake and boys. and school, kind of, but i was a bit nerdy so that doesn't apply to everyone. i liked what my friends liked and sometimes i liked things they didn't like, but i didn't really advertise that a lot. when i really look back on it, i spent a lot of time acting like something was wrong with me, mentally. (there is a story behind this: my girlfriend was in a wheelchair and people automatically thought she was "special" mentally, even though her brain worked better than most. so we felt it was funny to play that role to the extreme while out in public and we got really got at it. surprise, surprise).

after high school, i went to college and basically liked going out. i mean, seriously, what else did we do? then after school, i liked not being responsible. i got into snowboarding and lots of outdoor stuff. that's pretty much how i still am today. except i live in the desert, so i don't get to go snowboarding as much.

so here's my plight: what the heck do my customers like? what are they into? what do they think is funny? and better yet, what do they think is wrong or just crosses the line? what gets them talking to each other about a subject and what gets them pumped up? what shocks them, if anything at this point? (thanks, lindsay...paris...taradise). what do they expect from me?

i've put together a survey and i've given it to a crew that falls into this category, but obviously i'm interested in getting all the feedback i can. i have a list of signs that we're using to choose the first round to be available when we launch. some of you have already helped me in this area, but i have to admit, the list has grown. by about 30. if you want to help me out and give me your top 10 (or 20), let me know and i'll email it to you. also, if you are interested in taking the survey, or have siblings, cousins, nieces/nephews, neighbors who might be interested in helping, i'll take all the feedback i can get. i'll make you a deal: everyone who turns in a completed survey gets a free bag. NOT A FREE BAG FOR READING MY BLOG. a free bag for completing a survey...so totally different.

people this age are finicky. they are interested in what their friends are interested in or being the first one of their friends to be interested in it. my hope is that if i can provide the format or template, that they will take over and run the show, leaving me with the job of keeping things running and coming up with new items or ideas to keep them happy. they will submit the signs with images they want. they will post photos of them and their friends and their bags. they will vote on the signs they like and post comments on why they like or don't like the site...the bags...the signs...their hair...whatever. basically, i believe i will end up working for them. i actually hope i do.