Book review: Joanne McNeil’s debut book delivers a valuable history of the internet while advocating for a fresh future. Lurking: How a Person Became a User by art critic and digital culturist Joanne McNeil is full of fresh insights into how the internet has brought us together and torn us...
Tag: trends
Seeing Beyond—The Future is in Our Humanity
I spent more time talking to people for this year’s annual Trend Forecast Report 2020. Tuning into the subtle waves in their voices, meeting their eyes, I couldn’t help hearing the poignant emotions. Folks are burnt out and loaded with self-doubt. What’s this about? Here’s my take: The culture’s emphasis...
2020 Trend Forecast Report: Looking Ahead to a Year of Breakthroughs
Welcome to the 2020 Trend Forecast Report! Today marks our 10th Trend Report and it gives me pause. When I started this report 9 years ago, the iPhone had only been around for 6 months. George W. Bush was president. Nobody had ever heard of Justin Bieber. Every year, I...
Major Milestone–Turning 25
The OJ Simpson murder trial. Pixar’s Toy Story. Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. What do they have in common? They launched during the winter of 1995. So did I. It was January 1995 when I opened the doors of my consulting practice. I had one client signed before I walked into my...
You Think You’re Self-Aware? Why Personas Are A Bigger Deal
These days, the concept of the persona is very real. Personas offer building blocks toward becoming a more whole person–as long as you know what they can, and can’t, do for you. The viral wonder boy band BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) recently kicked off a new album cycle for Map of the Soul:...
Envisioning a Way Forward—Trend Report 2019
Every year, I bury myself. Not literally. I burrow into consumer data and devour breaking research and corporate forecasts. I interview experts and focus group moderators. My desktop is a jumble of notes and Post-Its. But there’s a method to the madness. Tracking the tremors before they turn into trends...
The Inner Life of Trends: Meaning, Motivation and What’s Morphing in 2019
Since moving to the woods last year, I’ve picked up a mild obsession: Looking up words I can re-purpose to describe 21st-century situations. This has become an important part of my work as a hunter of social phenomena. I want to associate new trends with an existing word — awesomize,...
News: Trend Report will be a Video Series!
After 9 years, I’m excited to announce that beginning in January, the new format for our popular Trend Report will be a video series. Change is good. After all, does anyone really need a giant sheaf of written findings to add to their monstrous stack of things to read? We...