Column: It's not too soon for 'micro' fad to fade out

• For newbie parents, what's hip? A microvan.
• Within political circles, "micro-targeting" is all the rage, as is "micro-finance" and "micro-housing."

A friend, who is also a recent dad, just got himself a new minivan. Sorry, a microvan, as my friend corrected me.

For my generation of newbie parents, a minivan is a telltale sign of reaching middle age, a totem like pleated Dockers or bulging fanny packs that signals you no longer care about what's cool or watch reality TV.

A microvan, it would seem, lets you remain a thirtysomething hipster while also having room for six passengers and the family pooch. In other words, micro is good, micro is hip. Attach the prefix onto anything, and it instantly ups the cultural caché.

For instance, the darling of the international development world has been "microfinance" lenders. Within political circles, "microtargeting" is all the rage, says Sasha Issenberg in his new book Victory Lab. He points to "revolutions" in data mining and randomized experiments that allow political campaigns to no longer blanket airwaves with ads but rather target with precision voters based on their individual preferences. And the latest trend among urban planners and architects, given the soft market? Something called "microhousing."

Microcelebs

Then, of course, we still have microcelebrities -- where a viral YouTube post can catapult someone to 15 seconds of fame. Tumblr and Twitter have turned "microblogging" into a full-contact sport. Even academia has a fetish for all things micro. If you want to get published in a social science journal, your paper had better explore the "microdynamics" of this or that.

The news media are also gaga with the term. When singer Jack White abruptly left his Radio City show, TheNew York Observer reported a "micromob" formed to protest. "Micro," in this sense, conveys a spontaneous do-it-yourself ethos, a kind of grassroots individualism. After all, a microbrew just comes off as more enlightened than a can of Budweiser.

Fading fad?

But the buzz phrase could be fast becoming a, um, microfad. If microtargeting is so effective a strategy in political campaigns, then why are we still bombarded with negative super PAC ads all day that have nothing to do with my personal preferences?

That microblogger friend of yours on Facebook who updates his status every five minutes? He's just plain annoying. The microcredit industry has been plagued by reports of harassment from loan sharks in places like Bangladesh. And, contrary to what microhousing advocates might tell you, who wants to squeeze into a 150-square-foot shack?

Sense of specificity

Micro conveys a sense of self-righteousness and specificity. But it sounds more to me like a gimmicky kind of term that start-up entrepreneurs use in their elevator pitches to venture capitalists. Or like a term tossed about at Davos or SXSW conference with great fanfare but with little idea of what it actually means.

During this election season, the phrase has felt like a fancy way for political consultants to come across as hip or data-savvy, when in fact the first use of experiments to "microtarget" voters was a political science article published in 2000 by two Yale profs.

Let's face it: At the end of the day, a microvan is just an overpriced minivan for parents afraid of growing old.

Lionel Beehner, a fellow at the Truman National Security Project, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including ourBoard of Contributors.