Trendwatching

August 19, 2004 5:30 AM

Trendwatching."Vast groups of immigrants now travel back and forth between their old and new homelands", "the fast growing class of products and services that cater to consumers' need for simplicity", "no-frills chic", "light versions of countries or societies, stripped of annoying 'features' like crime, bad weather and excessive taxes", "the obsession of ordinary citizens wanting to leave ‘something’ behind in print, audio or imagery", online access everywhere, the C Generation (where C means 'Content' - and that's not a reference to how they feel).
posted by iffley (9 comments total)

it's interesting (i get the trendcentral daily newsletter, but it's more simple.) Faith Popcorn--patron saint of all of this, i guess.
posted by amberglow at 5:44 AM on August 19, 2004

Here's a simple guide to trend-watching (cribbed from somewhere, I don't remember where):

If it's happened 3 times, it's an established trend.
If it's happened twice, it's a developing trend.
If it's happened once, it's an emerging trend.

If it has never happened at all, it's a potential trend.

There, it's easy!
posted by deanc at 6:34 AM on August 19, 2004

That Freedom Ship will be UNSINKABLE!
posted by brownpau at 6:40 AM on August 19, 2004

I'm normally very leery of this kind of thing, but there are two reasons why I've stayed subscribed to their newsletter:

1) I happen to know one of the founders well--used to work with him closely about 6 or 7 years ago--and he's quite sharp.

2) Much more importantly, I think they manage to generate some interesting insights. The newsletters are a bit too "gee-whiz!" (and self-promoting) for my taste, but they usually do generate a "Huh. Hadn't thought of it that way" reaction for me. (Their idea of "Massclusivity" is a good example of that--sure, it's kind of obvious, but they've managed to describe it clearly, find some solid examples to back it up, and they've got a good knack for wrapping a label around it.)

Wouldn't build a business just on one of their ideas, but I think they're good reading.
posted by LairBob at 7:13 AM on August 19, 2004

deanc-- You missed a rule: If you can't give it a catchy watercooler-friendly name, it ain't gonna happen.

Now, pardon me while I resume my cocooning.
posted by Stoatfarm at 7:29 AM on August 19, 2004

deanc-- You missed a rule: If you can't give it a catchy watercooler-friendly name, it ain't gonna happen.

And the corollary rule: If you can't give it a a catchy, watercooler-friendly name, it didn't happen.
posted by Ayn Marx at 8:25 AM on August 19, 2004

The next big trend: trend watching.
posted by Ayn Marx at 8:32 AM on August 19, 2004

Well I've been trend watching for X years.
posted by biffa at 8:58 AM on August 19, 2004

agreed. Good reading. Some of it may be a little, shall we say, self-serving. And kind of advertising-o-centric.

And how about that hypocrisy, huh? Snobmoddities? Massclusivity? yeah, okay.

However, like lairbob said, it's all worth it for giving names to things that don't have them yet. Personal favorite: Dormandise.
posted by Miles Long at 3:20 PM on August 19, 2004