demassify
\ dee-MAS-uh-fahy \ , verb;
1.to break (something standardized or homogeneous) into elements that appeal to individual tastes or special interests: to demassify the magazine industry into special-interest periodicals .
2.to cause (society or a social system) to become less uniform or centralized; diversify or decentralize: to demassify the federal government .
Quotes:
Product designers focused on stylization and customization instead of on utility, as advertisers and marketers began to demassify the mass market, breaking consumers into ever-finer market segments and targeting them through an expanded and more refined media system.
-- William Leiss, Stephen Kline, Sut Jhally, Jacqueline Botterill, "Social Communication in Advertising ," 2005
Researchers are exploring everything from a biomimetic approach to hydrogen production to coatings that neutralize noxious chemicals using sunlight, to an ultralight metallic material based on the abalone shell that's as strong as steel and only half as dense. In the future, such a material could " demassify " our planes, trains, and automobiles and deliver huge fuel savings.
-- Andrew Zolli, "Business 3.0: The Oblivous Capitalist Days Are Numbered," Fast Company , March 1, 2007
Origin:
Demassify came into widespread usage in the 1970s. The verb massify meaning "to popularize for a wide audience" entered English about 20 years prior, and stems from the Latin term massa meaning "lump" or "kneaded dough."
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