For a meme-junkie such as myself, there is no better time of year to catch up on microtrends than the New York Times Magazine’s annual Year in Ideas. Reading year-end pieces such as this one, and GOOD Magazine’s, feels like an naughty idea binge.
While they’re good for reading up on trends you may have missed — like Left-Hand Turn Elimination, genius! — they are equally good for a gloating over the memes you have already embraced and thrown to the curb. Lite-Brite Fashion? No big surprise to anyone who read the introductory issue of O’Reilly’s spin-off of Make, Craft. In 2006.
There are also typically an entire cast of “winners” at the end of each year. Why? Because marketing & PR pros in virtually every industry know that a bestowing a clever or timely award is great way to create noise for your organization. Those taking advantage of the calendar’s end include:
Oxford Word of the Year: Locavore
Time Magazine Invention of the Year: iPhone
Sys Admin of the Year: Matt Timken
Information Week CIO of the Year: Tim Stanley
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: Brett Favre
Though I tend to prefer the more intellectual bent the New York Times takes with their 2007 wrap-up, their editorial process is basically identical to how the more broadly appealing awards are selected. Whether we’re talking about the winning memes, or the winning people, it’s still fun to sit around the table making lists such as these. (Just ask your nearest Nick Hornby fan.)
And who knows — maybe 2008 will bring a client whose product speaks to the larger Community Urinalysis conversation. Arm thyself, PR pro!
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