Thursday, January 18, 2007
Thanks to our Chicago colleague Jim Lecinski, we read Trendwatching's good summary of the Top 5 Trends to watch for in 2007:
- What consumers consider "status" will be redefined this year. No longer just Tiffany and Mercedes, immersive participation and eco-lifestyles will emerge as the envy of your friends and neighbors.
- Tyranny of real-time transparency. Consumer reviewers and bloggers will continue to expose everything from scandals to unacceptable customer service in an instant and global way on the net.
- Debate will rage about what will constitute "Web 3.0." As consensus is emerging around Web 2.0, it's now time to start the debate on what's next.
- "Trysumers" emerge. What are they? Trendwatching says: "Freed from the shackles of convention and scarcity, immune to most advertising, and enjoying full access to information, reviews, and navigation, experienced consumers are trying out new appliances, new services, new flavors, new authors, new destinations, new artists, new relationships, new *anything* with post mass-market gusto." We say: Wow.
- More and more companies tap into the "Global Brain." The idea of using the web to source the top 1% of brains for any need, idea or category goes from novelty to norm.