How To Spot Trends

Before even beginning, it is useful to understand why so many trend reports that are already out there don’t really

offer that much value. To me, it comes down to three big tips I would share that help me when trying to make my

own trend reports stand out:

1. Don’t make it superficial – Talking about how social media will “be everywhere” in 2013 isn’t really a trend, it is

more of a statement of fact. Too many so-called trend reports just share a fact that is far too obvious and doesn’t

dig deep enough.

2. Find real proof – Every trend I share comes with multiple examples. I do use the principle that you need at least

three strong examples before something is really a trend … but often I find many more.

3. Avoid being self serving – It is understandable to want to find a trend that supports your business. If you own a

cupcake shop, for example, the easy trend would be to say 2013 is the year of “Cupcake Explosion” … but usually

self serving trends are easy to spot (and lose you credibility instantly)
Step One: Collect Significant Ideas
The aim here is to find ideas that describe a new sort of behaviour that is happening today with increasing

frequency.

Step Two: Group Ideas By Theme

In this phase, my goal is to find individual ideas that have similarities and try to group them into clusters.

Step Three: Consolidate Ideas

Multiple clusters may be related to the same bigger concept – this phase is where I go from over 50 ideas to my final

15.
 Step Four: Name The Trend
Part of the fun of trend hunting is naming each concept. My book Likeonomics, for example, was a leading trend

from 2011.

Step Five: Create Presentation

For me, a visual presentation is where I can share each trend along with reach examples of visuals that illustrate it.

So there you have it – a visual description of my process for spotting trends. Now that you know how I approached

it, here’s a short roundup of the first 7 social media focused trends that I shared during my presentation, along with a

short list of the examples that I used for each. These will be included in the full trend report which is coming out on

December 5th, and tomorrow’s blog post will be about “Shoptimization” – the first trend in my report.

7 Social Media Trends That Matter In 2013 (Sneak

Peek)
1. Shoptimization – The growing suite of technology, apps and business practices designed to make shopping

quicker, easier and more convenient. (Examples – Slice, Dashlane, GoodRx, ShopSavvy, Wish Want Wear, Key

Ring, Rent the Runway, Macy’s in-store GPS)

2. Partnership Publishing – Sitting between traditional publishing and self publishing is this “DIT – Do-it-together”

model that pairs aspiring authors with publishing experts on an independent or boutique basis. (Examples – Paper

Lantern Lit, Net Minds, The Domino Project, and LayerGloss).

3. Human Banking – In the works for some time, this trend of financial institutions finally using more human language

and simplifying their offerings is set to take off in 2013. (Examples – Ally Bank, Mint, and FoundersCard)

4. MeFunding – Crowdfunding gets personal as individuals turn to this model to raise money for everything from life

changing trips to paying for health costs after tragic accidents. (Examples

– GoFundMe, indiegogo and GiveForward)

5. Hyper-Local Commerce – The money follows this hyper-local trend as tools emerge to instantly create ecommerce

sites and apps help you keep money in your community. (Examples – Goodzer, Sears

Local, Popularise, Fundrise, and Shopify).

6. FriendSourced Travel – Your friends are your greatest source of inspiration for planning travel, and a suite of apps

and new travel services are making it easier to make your travel more personal than ever. (Examples

– airbnb, Vayable, trippy, Dine with the Dutch, and Tripbirds).

7. Degree-Free Learning – The eLearning trend starts to take shape as more than a way to learn about hobbies – and

begins to finally present itself as a viable alternative to a college education for some. (Examples – creativeLIVE, Inc.

Advisor, Jack Welch eMBA, UnCollege, E[nstitute] and Soundslice

Firstly, what is a trend, and why should I be spotting them?

A trend is the general tendency or direction in which something’s going to move, develop or change.
It’s defined by a shift in mentality or behavior that then influences a significant number of people.
Not to be confused with ‘fashions’ or ‘fads’ which increase dramatically followed by an almost
immediate decline, trends last much longer and have a much greater impact on society.
It’s important to be on the lookout for the newest trends so you can plan more effectively for the future
and introduce more successful initiatives to your business. By focusing on what will happen next, you
can make more informed decisions in less time, saving a lot of energy and money in the long run.

Step 1: Know your objectives

Firstly, you shouldn’t dive into spotting trends before you know why you’re spotting them and what
you want to achieve. For example, are you looking to find an idea that will make you money, or that
will encourage your existing target audience to spend more with you? Who are you targeting?
Establish your goals and chosen industry before you move forward.
Step 2: Understand the Landscape

The Innovators: These are your quirky, open minded and extravert people who innovate new ideas,
try new things, take big risks and generally don’t care about what people think. Only 2.5% of people
are innovators, so you may not even know one personally. If you do, it’s recommended that you get to
know them, find out what they do, where they go and generally feed off of their thoughts and habits.
Early Adopters: They’re considered to be a ‘go to’ person for new information and early trends. They
take the trends early on and encourage others to join in by reducing their fears. Often have
disposable income/more free time to invest in trends at their early stages.
Early Majority: Take their time to asses products and new trends before they take them on – need to
know that they won’t be considered strange. Willing to embrace new trends as long as they
understand how it will fit in with their lives.
Late Majority: Adopt in reaction to peer pressure, emerging norms, or econimic necessity. Any
uncertainty and fears must be resolved before they adopt the trend.
Laggards: Traditional, make decisions based on past experiences. Often economically unable to take
risks on new ideas. Into specific hobbies – could potentially be the innovator of a particular concept
or industry.

Step 3: Look & Observe

Once you have a clearer picture of who you should be talking to, and where you should be hanging
out, what you should be reading and watching – do it. Immerse yourself in information from your
chosen areas, research as much as you can.
Handy Research Tools:
 Twitter Search
 Google Alerts
 Google News
 Kickstarter – a great website showcasing the latest products, inventions and trends.
 Newspapers, magazines & blogs
 Email Newsletters & Facebook Pages
 Market research, surveys and polls
 Everyday observations and conversations with industry experts, innovators and anyone else on the
innovation curve

Step 4: Connect the Dots

Once you’ve collated information and the latest news from your chosen area, you can start to group
articles together, assess and find connections between the elements.
Tools for collating and bookmarking your findings:
 Evernote – A great tool that lets you assign photos, docs, scans, notes etc for future reference.
 Pinterest – A great content sharing service that allows members to “pin” images, videos and other objects to
their pinboard for future reference.
 Delicious – An online social bookmarks manager that lets you save, organise and discover interesting links
on the web.
 Freemind – great free tool for creating mindmaps
 Old fashioned pen & paper, sticky notes & white boards!

Step 5: Assess & Test

Once you have connected the dots between your findings and found re-occuring themes and
connections, you can then assess the potential trends to see how they are doing in the current
landscape, and make potential predictions for the trends future using the following:
Google Keywords: By using google keywords you can see the average number of searches that your
potential trend is typed into Google each month, and compare them to other trends and keywords.
Google Trends: Google Trends is really good for seeing the fluctuation of trends, how well they’ve
done in the past, how well they’re doing now and make predictions of how well they’ll do in the future.
Then ask yourself the following:
 What are the needs that the trend satisfies (is it a trend or fad)?
 How many people won’t be able to or be interested in taking advantage of the trend?
 What will affect the speed of the trend?
 Where is the trend now – who’s currently using it on the innovation curve?
Once you have a solid idea that’s on trend and that will survive within the current landscape, find out
the following:
 What demographics are you targeting (get to know them and ask them questions)
 What is the investment required and how profitable is the idea?
 What’s the longevity of the concept?
Intuitive Thinking (NT) Style
Intuitive thinking is the ability to understand a topic, a situation or a person without the need for conscious or logical
reasoning. Intuitive thinking is strategy + experience + senses + feelings. When learning, the Intuitive Thinking learner
prefers:

 Making connections in a reasonable and logical way.

 Working alone in an unstructured environment.
 Asking and answering "why" questions.
 Examining the big picture.
 Listening to lectures.
 Responding to Socratic questioning.
 Gathering and analyzing facts.
 Analytical thinking is powerful. It is focused, sharp, linear, deals with one thing at a time, contains time,
is deconstructive, contains no perspective, is subject to disorientation, is brain centered, and tends to the
abstract. Analytical thinking is efficient in the following conditions – sufficient time, relatively static
conditions, a clear differentiation between the observer and the observed. It is best suited for dealing
with complexities, and works best where there are established criteria for the analysis (for example,
rules of law). It is necessary when an explanation is required, seeks the best option, and can be taught in
the classroom to beginners.
 Intuitive thinking has contrasting qualities: it is unfocused, nonlinear, contains "no time," sees many
things at once, views the big picture, contains perspective, is heart centered, oriented in space and time,
and tends to the real or concrete. Intuition comes into its own where analytical thinking is inadequate:
under time pressure, where conditions are dynamic, where the differentiation between observer and
observed is unclear. It works best where the observer has experience in the particular situation, is
difficult to teach in the classroom, eschews seeking the ‘best’ option in favor of the ‘workable,’ and is
prepared to act on feelings or hunches where explanations are either not required or there is no time for
them. Intuition is experience translated by expertise to produce rapid action.
 Intuition is limited where the task is complex and uncertain, where the observer lacks experience, or the
observation is distorted by biases or fixed ideas. Its weakness is a tendency to produce a fixed attitude or
mindset that ignores new data; that is why the analytical thinking of the Enlightenment was so
revolutionary. Intuition is ineffective for predicting the stock market, or for discovering that the heart is
a pump, or for dissecting a legal problem.
 When analytical and intuitive abilities are combined, the result is ‘holistic.’ In order to effect settlements
and resolutions, it is necessary to move people out of a rights/obligations/win-lose mindset into a
needs/interests/mutual gain mindset, which is what mediation is all about – this requires holistic thinking
abilities.

ANALYTICAL INTUITIVE
Time No time
Static Dynamic
Linear Non-linear
One thing Many things
Small picture Big picture
Focused Non-focused
Deliberative Instantaneous
No perspective Perspective
Classroom taught Experience taught
Objective Subjective
Best option Workable option
Needed when explanation required Needed when action required
Deconstructive Constructive
Object differentiation Pattern matching
Objective/subjective differentiation No clear objective/subjective
Brain centered Heart centered
Disoriented Oriented
Abstract Concrete
Historically new Historically old
Lawyers Firefighters
Who among here are TH (tamang hinala)

A network is a group of people whom we interact daily. Our relationships are networked. If
you look at nature, networks are everywhere. The cellular network in the human brain, for
instance, is an amazing network that makes human life possible.

But what are networks? Networks are a ‘set of nodes and set of ties’ (Brass, 1994: 42).
The things that are connected are usually called nodes. A node might be a person, a computer
or even a hyperlinked text. The connections between hubs are called “associations” and here
and there called “edges”. They are relations that bind the tie or even make the ties suffer. It
is imperative for leaders and managers to precisely see the system relations that associate
individuals and to effectively oversee them. Awareness concerning social networks is important
to the extent that people are uncertain who is connected to whom. It is a means of developing
contact and exchange of information. It provides us the opportunity to interact with people
outside of our regular social circle. It is vital also to entrepreneurs, professionals, and job
seekers.
Networks are analyzed in terms of density, hierarchy, multiplexity, interdependence and
embeddedness (Kilduff and Tsal, 2003, pp.3off).

1. Density- The density of a network is based on the number of connections between and
among the actors. According to Kilduf and Tsai, the higher the number, the denser the
system.The density of a network depicts the potential associations in a system that are
genuine associations while a potential connection is an association that could possibly exists
between two “hubs” paying little respect to regardless of whether it really does.
2. Hierarchy- Actors in the network can pull their investments in social relations by
establishing relations with a diverse set of groups in the community (preferably groups
that are not connected to each other), rather than establishing all of their relationships
with members of one group.
3. Complexity- Complexity is the extent to which a link between actors served a multiplicity
of interests in the community. The more complex relations have considered have higher
tie strength. Complexity also represents the extent to which two people are bound to each
other in different social grounds.
4. Interdependence- The ties in the network can be useful in facilitating change and reform.
The interdependence of social ties in a community produces benefits for actors and
members. Interdependence facilitates cooperation and creates social capital necessary for
the progress of the community. Social capital is the accumulated benefits as a result of
the maintenance of a positive relationship between different groups and associations in
the community.
5. Embeddedness- The networks of relations within each person is rooted include family,
friends, and acquaintances. To be sure, business associations themselves are held together
by formal relations of power as well as by casual connections that interface individuals
crosswise over departmental and progressive limits.
Intuitive Thinking
Intuitive thinking is the ability to understand a topic, a situation or a person without the need for conscious or logical
reasoning. Intuitive thinking is strategy + experience + senses + feelings. When learning, the Intuitive Thinking learner
prefers:

 Making connections in a reasonable and logical way.

 Working alone in an unstructured environment.
 Asking and answering "why" questions.
 Examining the big picture.
 Listening to lectures.
 Responding to Socratic questioning.
 Gathering and analyzing facts.

ANALYTICAL/STRATEGIC INTUITIVE
Time No time
Static Dynamic
Linear Non-linear
One thing Many things
Small picture Big picture
Focused Non-focused
Deliberative Instantaneous
No perspective Perspective
Classroom taught Experience taught
Objective Subjective
Best option Workable option
Needed when explanation required Needed when action required
Deconstructive Constructive
Object differentiation Pattern matching
Objective/subjective differentiation No clear objective/subjective
Brain centered Heart centered
Disoriented Oriented
Abstract Concrete
Historically new Historically old
Lawyers Firefighters

A network is a group of people whom we interact daily. Our relationships are networked. If
you look at nature, networks are everywhere. The cellular network in the human brain, for
instance, is an amazing network that makes human life possible.

But what are networks? Networks are a ‘set of nodes and set of ties’ (Brass, 1994: 42).
The things that are connected are usually called nodes. A node might be a person, a computer
or even a hyperlinked text. The connections between hubs are called “associations” and here
and there called “edges”. They are relations that bind the tie or even make the ties suffer. It
is imperative for leaders and managers to precisely see the system relations that associate
individuals and to effectively oversee them. Awareness concerning social networks is important
to the extent that people are uncertain who is connected to whom. It is a means of developing
contact and exchange of information. It provides us the opportunity to interact with people
outside of our regular social circle. It is vital also to entrepreneurs, professionals, and job
seekers.
 Networks are analyzed in terms of density, hierarchy, multiplexity, interdependence and
embeddedness (Kilduff and Tsal, 2003, pp.3off).

1. Density- The density of a network is based on the number of connections between and
among the actors. According to Kilduf and Tsai, the higher the number, the denser the
system.The density of a network depicts the potential associations in a system that are
genuine associations while a potential connection is an association that could possibly
exists between two “hubs” paying little respect to regardless of whether it really does.
2. Hierarchy- Actors in the network can pull their investments in social relations by
establishing relations with a diverse set of groups in the community (preferably groups
that are not connected to each other), rather than establishing all of their relationships
with members of one group.
3. Complexity- Complexity is the extent to which a link between actors served a multiplicity
of interests in the community. The more complex relations have considered have higher
tie strength. Complexity also represents the extent to which two people are bound to each
other in different social grounds.
4. Interdependence- The ties in the network can be useful in facilitating change and reform.
The interdependence of social ties in a community produces benefits for actors and
members. Interdependence facilitates cooperation and creates social capital necessary for
the progress of the community. Social capital is the accumulated benefits as a result of
the maintenance of a positive relationship between different groups and associations in
the community.
5. Embeddedness- The networks of relations within each person is rooted include family,
friends, and acquaintances. To be sure, business associations themselves are held together
by formal relations of power as well as by casual connections that interface individuals
crosswise over departmental and progressive limits.
Industrialization is the process in which a society or country (or world) transforms itself from a
primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Individual
manual labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production and craftsmen are replaced by
assembly lines.
Globalization is the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international
influence or start operating on an international scale.
Thus, it is clear that industrialization leads to technological advancements which in turn helps to
enough surplus. So what do we do with sudden surplus? We sell it to someone else who needs it.
Trade relationship leads to interactions between two societies or countries. That’s what Globalization
is.
GLOBAL NETWORK
MIGRATION-is the movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of settling,
permanently in the new location.
TYPES OF MIGRATION
1. INTERNAL MIGRATION-process where migrants look for a new residence within their own
country, state or continent.
2. EXTERNAL MIGRATION-moving in a different country, state or continent to a new residence.
3. MIGRATION-leaving one country to move to another.
4. IMMIGRATION-moving into a new country
5. FORCE MIGRATION-this happens when the state or authorities forced its people to migrate for a
reason.
POSITVE EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION
1. GLOBAL MARKET
2. CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
3. FOREIGN TRADE
4. RESOURCE IMPERATIVE
5. FOREIGN INVESTMENT
6. COMPETITION
7. CULTURE
8. LEGAL EFFECTS
9. POVERTY ALLEVIATION
10. EMPLOYMENT SITUATION
11. TECHNOLOGY
12. EDUCATION

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION

1. JOB INSECURITY
2. FLUCTUATION IN PRICE
3. UNEMPLOYMENT
4. WESTERN CULTURE