e-Business-Formula Internet Marketing Discussion Forum

[Dan Reinhold]

Trends are essentially fads or societal movements that have reached maturity rather than croaking at a young age.

Here's a list of current trends from no less a source than Entrepreneur magazine:

Authenticity This is the trend of unique, frequently local products - microbrews, hot sauces, cheeses, clothes and so on. Environmentally and socially responsible companies operating locally are more and more the way to go. Please pass the authentic Cape Cod cranberry sauce...

Age 35 Question: What do a single GenXer, a thirtysomething dad and a middle-aged parent of a preschooler have in common? Answer: They all act, think and BUY like they're thirty-five.

Why? Because they all WANT to be. Young folk now have a more mature, sensible mindset (ex: midriff tops on the way out...sorry, Andre, time to change your wardrobe), those actually in their 30s are feeling in their stride and baby boomers are clinging to youth with an iron grip.

Multitasking and memory loss It seems everybody multitasks now. It seems everybody HAS to. Even magazines are packing in photos and lists for quick reading. However, indulging your attention on something for a maximum of 15 seconds (20 if it's reeaaallllyy interesting) is messing with our memory function along with depression (sad because we're not absorbing more?) and stress (frying to a crisp because we're absorbing more?)

Obesity America is getting bigger, but the country's the same size.
With the fatting of Americans comes the coin toss: helping people lose that weight or help them live with it. Think about it...if you've ever read or seen Dr. Seuss' "The Sneetches", you'll understand perfectly.

(FYI: I heard on the news this morning that certain medical testing equipment is much less effective with obese people. For example, abdominal ultrasounds. Hey...I just report the news, I don't think it up.)

One of the saddest facets of this trend is children's plus-size clothing. Lane Bryant showed kids that big is cool, so now we may be upgrading the suspension systems on all the school buses. After all, why exercise when there's elastic waistbands?

The third place Here's one we WAH types may see as "the second place": adult hangouts. Home and work are the "first" and "second"places, but when you work at home, you're down to one. Y'see? Instead of sitting around the malt shop with Archie and Jughead, post-teenagers want a change in atmosphere AND a place that wants them to hang out. You've seen it first with Starbucks and Barnes and Noble. It's going further with WiFi access (free, naturally) in many places, as I discovered at the new Panera Bread location near me.
Sit a spell, stay a while, spend a pile...

Snobization Great word, huh? It describes the town where I live to a T, but we won't get into that. The American middle class is becoming snobbish, and they want affordable ways to be snobbish. Such as Todd Oldham's stuff at Target. It sounds like Versace setting up in a corner of KMart, but it's happening. Labels and luxuries without mucho moolah.

Uniqueness This ties in a lot with authenticity and snobization. It centers more on a desire to be the first kid on the block with the latest cool stuff. Because big and mass produced does not equal unique, the little guy with the cool thing of the moment wins. The more unique you can be, the more you're part of the crowd. Go figure...

Life caching Ahhhh, memories. We got 'em and we want to keep them...forever, in 100% retrievable formats. No one's going to settle for sitting in the rocker on the front porch reminiscing about times and events that probably never happened, or at least not THAT good or bad. Scrapbooking is really cutting up these days (sorry), and data transfer shops are popping up that cater to people, not businesses. How about a coffee-table book made from your digital photo collection? Being done.
Think memory retention and retrieval, and you just might cash in on caching. Again, sorry.

That, according to Entrepreneur magazine, is the the way the wind is blowing. Get your kite up soon or risk being blown away.