VALS Survey

Once I completed the VALS survey online, it categorized me primarily as an INNOVATOR and secondly as an EXPERIENCER.

I completely agree with the label if Innovator; however, I like to think of it as being less-innovative as being an innovator on the consumer-product curve. That curve describes innovators as being completely product-driven and jumping right on a product as soon as it comes out in order to take advantage of its new-fangled technologies.

For myself, being a young, 21-year-old collge student, I think of the label of Innovator as describing the way we 'use' products rather than necessarily 'buy' them. We are the generation that adopts product willingly into our everyday lives: we try them out, tell our friends, start and end trends, and make sure the product is useful in all aspects of our lives. Take, for instance, cell phones. Or should I say, all-inclusive media outlets that we sometimes use to actually talk to our family and friends but moreso use them for music, movies, texting, and emailing.

I am an Innovator because I follow and start trends that are usually passed to other people in the community who may not be as willing to take on new products.

As far as being an Experiencer is concerned, I think that label is also quite fitting. I often buy things without thinking about it first - I buy for pleasure and 'the experience' more than the longterm benfits. There's no doubt that I enjoy buying the latest fashion and gadgets to make my life seem more coherent with current day interests and fads. For this reason, and the fact that I am sometimes an impulse-buyer, I would definitely agree with the fact that I am secondly categorized as an Experiencer.