Silk & Shadows

What’s cool and what’s not? More importantly, who says?

My parents always encouraged me to follow my own path, which was great until it actually came to dealing with the world at large. Knowing what’s “in” is helpful. Even the individualist has to function in a social setting, like public school. Nature invented camouflage for a reason.

That doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to poke under the hood of what makes something “cool”.

I love Faith Popcorn, a marketing guru who has written a number of fascinating books on this subject. Her website has a number of short pieces that go into why certain things appeal , the impact of demographics on buying trends, and so on. She comes up with great definitions for consumer behaviour. “Clanning” explains the urge to find like-minded people at conventions–whether it’s for business or comic books. My favourite is “down-aging” or the nostalgic desire to revisit the familiar products and activities of one’s youth.(maybe this is why we’re seeing adults eating kid’s cereals and watching cartoons?).

If this stuff interests you, I recommend her work.

When it comes to trendy products, there is an obvious interaction between marketing and the prevailing mood of the day. What’s a hit might be due to relentless advertising or to the emotional state of the public at that particular time. Probably it’s both. In any case, it makes for fun speculation.

But rational theory still doesn’t explain to me certain items–like cheese in a spray can. I do believe there are such things as works of pure evil, frequently lurkin in the grocery aisle.

Is there something out there that’s popular, and you can’t figure out why?