Watching the trends

Being in a very consumer driven profession, it is important not only to follow trends, but also to try to stay ahead of the curve. "Futurists", the apparently new PC name for trend spotters, claim that they are cultural anthropoligists for the modern day, tracking how, when and why society grabs on to certain ideas or themes. They watch societal movement and translate it into what will be the next cultural "must-have". I wonder, do the advertising and media folks listen to the culture, or does culture only respond to what they are being told is good?

This article in the LA Times Sunday edition has some interesting points in following fads. What's hot right now? Conscious living, hot land values, hip parenting, and "curation nation" - everything customized. According to the author, "Life is being captured, repackaged and sold back to us as quickly as we live it." Who knows, maybe the next big fad will be buying someone else's life. Oh, wait, we already have that.