I was watching a TV show yesterday evening called History of Now - The Story of the Noughties (BBC2 10pm) which mentioned a piece of software called Mosaic invented in the 2000s. Mosaic is a product from Experian that classifies the entire country into 11 main groups of people, with 61 subgroups, and is based primarily on where people live (i.e postcodes). The system helps the media, politicians and shops target certain products/messages at certain groups of people. During elections, for example, it’s vital to know where the undecided voters live and what category they fall into so politicians can target campaigns effectively. Online retailers need to know the best postcode areas to send their catalogues to get maximum profit and supermarkets need to know whether to sell more bumper family packs or microwave meals for 1.

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