FREE LOVE

Meanwhile, in Lewisham, UK, residents are helping to keep the southeast borough of London clean in CUSTOMER-MADE/LOCAL BRAIN style: after installing special software on their cameraphone, observant townspeople can snap a picture of graffiti or overflowing litter bins, enter location details, and send it to the local council. The picture is then posted on the council's website, and cleaning crews are sent to resolve the issue. Read more on this initiative on our sister-site Springwise New Business Ideas. And yes, this comes close to citizen journalism as well! So, to get started, what's stopping you from setting up your own ipodlounge.com, hiltonlobby.com, virgincabin.com, ingcounter.com, saabbackseat.com, safewayaisles.com, samsungcall-in.com, or vodafoneconnection.com, and inviting your customers to engage in CUSTOMER-MADE goods, services and experiences? Are you ready to open up (even as an experiment) one strategy meeting, one design process, one brainstorming session to the millions of consumers who may have an expert opinion, insightful suggestion, new business idea and so on, simply because they're your avid users, and, in the best case, biggest fans?

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it’s time to expand the TRANSUMERS trend/theme to non-travel, as consumers are slowly but certainly mirroring travel behavior in daily life. After all, in our Experience Economy, the temporary, the transient, is increasingly being valued if not worshipped on a daily basis.

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Luxury consumers are spending more, in many cases lots more, on life-changing experiences, while their need for luxury goods is waning

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The fixed is replaced by an obsession with the current, an ever-shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and stories as possible.

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some of the pleasures associated with travel are finding their way into daily life, now that tens of millions of consumers have become skilled travelers

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moving society from an 'accumulation nation' of hoarders into one where possessions can constantly be replaced with newer, better items.

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not only do TRANSUMERS want freedom, they also want to be surprised, moving from one ephemeral experience to another, constantly trading in the fading for the blossoming.

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Sales of personal navigation devices (PNDs) in Europe and the US have doubled to 10 million units between 2005 and 2006, and with the online world and GPS slowly converging, anywhere/anytime navigation will eventually be a given for adventurous TRYSUMERS.

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So in 2007, keep an eye out for:

TRANSIENT LIFESTYLES

Attractive to consumers driven by experiences instead of the fixed, by entertainment, by discovery, by fighting boredom, who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and possessions.

We dubbed these consumers TRANSUMERS in our November 2006 briefing, and there will be many more of them in 2007. The implications? An obsession with the here and now, an ever-shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and stories as possible, is undermining the perceived value (and thus status) of fixed goods and services.

PARTICIPATIVE LIFESTYLES

Especially for younger consumers, participation is the new consumption. For these creatives, status comes from finding an appreciative audience (in much the same way as brands operate). No wonder that it's becoming increasingly important to hone one's creative skills. Status symbols, make way for STATUS SKILLS? Please re-read our October 2006 briefing on this topic, which contains plenty of examples of brands already serving this new market. Oh, and here's a recent spotting that further illustrates the concept: Nespresso’s AAA Campus. What's going to be your participation strategy for 2007?

CONNECTING LIFESTYLES

In a post-material world, all that’s left to covet is…. other people? From networking sites to buddy lists to meetup.org to a boom in members-only clubs, social status 2.0 is all about who you connect to and who wants to connect to you, tribal-style.

CONNECTING LIFESTYLES is actually a subset of ONLINE LIFESTYLES, which encompasses everything from status gained from the number of views for one’s photos on Flickr, the real estate one owns in Second Life, to the good looks (and outfit) of one’s avatar. For hands-on ideas, check out our YOUNIVERSAL BRANDING briefing, or, if you own a copy of our 2007 Trend Report, re-read the section on UBER OTHERS.

ECO-LIFESTYLES

With the environment finally on the agenda of most powers that be, and millions of consumers now actively trying to greenify their lives, status from leading an eco-responsible lifestyle is both more readily available, and increasing in value. A substantial subset of consumers is already bestowing recognition and praise on Prius drivers while scorning SUV owners, and this will only accelerate as design-minded and branding-savvy eco-firms push to the forefront in 2007 (for examples, check out Springwise's top 10 eco & sustainability ideas). Make it green, make it chic, make it effortless, make it visible, and don't hesitate to point out your competitor's polluting alternatives ;-)

ADD YOUR OWN STATUS LIFESTYLE(S)!

One thing you can't go wrong with in 2007 is to ask yourself how your current and new products and experiences will satisfy a plethora of very diverse status seekers. In fact, once you get rid of the habit of only believing in traditional status symbols, there is no end to the number of STATUS LIFESTYLES you'll be able to identify. An exercise like that will in many cases end up with the Big Question of what these days exactly constitutes value and meaning, and to whom, but we’ll save that for another briefing ;-)

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Now, the need for BEING SPACES is nothing new. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined 'The Third Place' in his 1990 book 'The Great Good Place', and described it as a celebration of the places where people can regularly go to take it easy and commune with friends, neighbours, and whoever else shows up. In Oldenburg's view, this complements the Freudian concept of well-being ("having someone to love and work to do", or in Oldenburg's words, "having a mate and a job"), as The Third Place provides a third element: a dependable place of refuge, where one can escape the demands of family and bosses, and thus temporarily forget about one's sorrows and shortcomings.

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A year ago, we spoke about the READY-TO-KNOW trend: consumers increasingly depending on extreme transparency of information to empower their private and public lives. Twelve months later, with new spottings and insights flooding our research folders, we have renamed this trend (and upgraded it to) INFOLUST. Please scan and get going! ... For years now, we’ve been hearing about cyberspace moving from our desks and kitchen tables to our mobile phones, creating a truly ONLINE OXYGENATED world, in which INFOLUST will flourish. We’re not quite there yet, but the pieces are definitely falling into place: according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) and Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), there are now 1.9 billion+ mobile phones in use worldwide, more than the number of TVs and PCs combined. What’s more, by the end of 2008, more than 600 million mobile phone users worldwide will have mobile internet access.

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Meanwhile, in Lewisham, UK, residents are helping to keep the southeast borough of London clean in CUSTOMER-MADE/LOCAL BRAIN style: after installing special software on their cameraphone, observant townspeople can snap a picture of graffiti or overflowing litter bins, enter location details, and send it to the local council. The picture is then posted on the council's website, and cleaning crews are sent to resolve the issue. Read more on this initiative on our sister-site Springwise New Business Ideas. And yes, this comes close to citizen journalism as well! So, to get started, what's stopping you from setting up your own ipodlounge.com, hiltonlobby.com, virgincabin.com, ingcounter.com, saabbackseat.com, safewayaisles.com, samsungcall-in.com, or vodafoneconnection.com, and inviting your customers to engage in CUSTOMER-MADE goods, services and experiences? Are you ready to open up (even as an experiment) one strategy meeting, one design process, one brainstorming session to the millions of consumers who may have an expert opinion, insightful suggestion, new business idea and so on, simply because they're your avid users, and, in the best case, biggest fans?

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Consumer generated power Continuing concerns about climate change and skyrocketing energy prices are fuelling interest in alternative sources of energy. One of consumers’ major complaints though is the lack of making a real impact: separating bottles and papers only goes so far. Sensing a real opportunity, British/Scottish Windsave launched the Windsave 1000 system, a three-bladed fan (1.75 m in diameter) that connects to a building's standard mains supply. The turbine is quiet, with noise levels comparable to the sound of a person talking at normal volume. It produces approximately 1kw of electricity, enough to run a TV, DVD player, computer, fridge/freezer and several lights. Windsave is now partnering with British Gas to market and install roof-top turbines; trials will be carried out in Scotland and South-West England later this year. Engineers from British Gas will supply and install all equipment for GBP 1,500, and it's projected that the turbines will save households up to GBP 100 on their annual electricity bills. With government-funded rebates and subsidies, consumers could earn back their initial investment in less than 6 years. In the US, Arizona-based Southwest Windpower rustled up USD 8 million in venture capital for a similar approach: it’s developing a new 1.8 KW Skystream 3.7 turbine. The company claims the Skystream is a breakthrough in residential power appliances, that will change how homes and small businesses receive electricity. Any extra energy is fed into the utility grid, spinning the customer's meter backwards. Which of course turns these consumers into green minipreneurs. The market? There are a LOT of wind-swept places on this globe. Who’s next? Full article here: springwise.com/eco_sustainability/consumer_generated_power_updat Previously covered: springwise.com/eco_sustainability/urban_windmills Please share your thoughts in the comments section, or add similar concepts that exist in your own city or country.

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While a select number of companies is cautiously experimenting with CUSTOMER-MADE projects, the opportunities represented by the co-creation trend are becoming more massive every day. So here’s Part 3 of what is still the biggest, most promising trend in the world of business. Really!

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A year ago, we spoke about the READY-TO-KNOW trend: consumers increasingly depending on extreme transparency of information to empower their private and public lives. Twelve months later, with new spottings and insights flooding our research folders, we have renamed this trend (and upgraded it to) INFOLUST. Please scan and get going! ... For years now, we’ve been hearing about cyberspace moving from our desks and kitchen tables to our mobile phones, creating a truly ONLINE OXYGENATED world, in which INFOLUST will flourish. We’re not quite there yet, but the pieces are definitely falling into place: according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) and Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), there are now 1.9 billion+ mobile phones in use worldwide, more than the number of TVs and PCs combined. What’s more, by the end of 2008, more than 600 million mobile phone users worldwide will have mobile internet access.

Highlighted by piggex

Meanwhile, in Lewisham, UK, residents are helping to keep the southeast borough of London clean in CUSTOMER-MADE/LOCAL BRAIN style: after installing special software on their cameraphone, observant townspeople can snap a picture of graffiti or overflowing litter bins, enter location details, and send it to the local council. The picture is then posted on the council's website, and cleaning crews are sent to resolve the issue. Read more on this initiative on our sister-site Springwise New Business Ideas. And yes, this comes close to citizen journalism as well! So, to get started, what's stopping you from setting up your own ipodlounge.com, hiltonlobby.com, virgincabin.com, ingcounter.com, saabbackseat.com, safewayaisles.com, samsungcall-in.com, or vodafoneconnection.com, and inviting your customers to engage in CUSTOMER-MADE goods, services and experiences? Are you ready to open up (even as an experiment) one strategy meeting, one design process, one brainstorming session to the millions of consumers who may have an expert opinion, insightful suggestion, new business idea and so on, simply because they're your avid users, and, in the best case, biggest fans?

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This month's Trend Briefing on YOUNIVERSAL BRANDING is not for everyone. If you happen to be a business professional who is also deeply into online worlds, you should know most of this. As for the rest of our subscribers: please read on, and figure out how your brand can find its place in and contribute to MMORPGS, online worlds, being spaces, and metaverses.

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We felt it was once again time to share some trend watching tips and tricks with you. Find out about the ‘why’ of trend spotting, the mindset required, the resources needed, the process of embedding trends into your organization, and how to actually apply them.

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"Gaming's great benefit for gamers is escapism, within an alternate reality. Gamers all over the world are looking for the same thing: escapism—the opportunity to participate in an alternate reality. Within this alternate reality, fundamental human desires are satisfied—the drive to explore, with the promise of reward.

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ongoing rise of 'free stuff'

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side

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'consumer participation'.

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ad-driven

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Being in control of one's destiny

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ever-decreasing cost of physical production

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attention-hungry members of GENERATION C

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(read: to see through the BS and to understand the underlying workings of being marketed to).

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personal status.

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news

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news

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nothing ever applies to everyone.

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Does anyone under 18 (if not 36!) still pay for phone calls?

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The MediCafe vending machine (the name combines media and coffee) will play an advertiser's video for around the 30 seconds it takes to pour the drink and dispense a paper cup with an advertisement printed on it.

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free college textbooks in electronic form

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Apps | SELLSUMERS with application development skills can now make a few bucks at the iPhone App Store, Google’s Android Market, Blackberry's App World and the upcoming Palm App Catalog and Microsoft SkyMarket.

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Check out crowdsourcing product-improvement site RedesignMe, which gets paid by product manufacturers to establish 'RDM Challenges', presenting a new product concept and asking the site's 3,000 or so active members to respond. In exchange, members are rewarded with RDMs—RedesignMe's online currency, which can be converted into products such as MP3-players, game consoles and gift cards.

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Idea spotting | Oh, and last but not least, an in-house SELLSUMERS example: Springspotters, our sister-site Springwise's spotting network. Anyone can join as a spotter and accepted spottings and contributions are rewarded with Amazon.com gift cards and other products. Practice what you preach, eh?

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• Mail | BlueMailCentral lets users send paper mail directly from their computers. After creating a document in Word, Outlook or any other application, customers click 'print' to send their file to one of BlueMailCentral's printing partners, which prints the document and delivers it to its destination. More »
• Also check out California-based Zumbox, which has created an online mailbox for every residence and business street address in the US, allowing any US citizen to send and receive all-digital mail for free. More »

• Notifications | Telegram Stop lets customers compose classic-looking paper telegrams online—complete with the traditional “stop” in place of periods—and delivers them to any country. More »

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If there’s one trend that has taken longer to become mass than we expected, it’s TWINSUMERS. But we’re sticking with our prediction that one day, everything of interest to consumers will be evaluated based on experiences and opinions of fellow consumers with similar lifestyles (yup, their ‘twins’, consumption-wise). A recent TWINSUMER manifestation worth checking out:

• Q & A | Led in part by Flickr cofounder Caterina Fake, Hunch is an online decision-making tool that gets to know a user through his or her answers to seemingly random questions. Based on those answers, Hunch aligns users with other people that are like them—their twinsumers—and can offer personalized answers to complex questions like: "Should I go to medical school?" More »

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