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TREND ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT. CIS Writing Mara Corey, Irondale High School. Basic Features of Trend Analysis. Presentation of Trend A Convincing Causal Argument An Prediction or Discussion of Future. For most people, the terms "trend" and "fad“ are used interchangeably.
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TREND ANALYSISASSIGNMENT CIS Writing Mara Corey, Irondale High School
Basic Features of Trend Analysis • Presentation of Trend • A Convincing Causal Argument • An Prediction or Discussion of Future
For most people, the terms "trend" and "fad“ are used interchangeably. • When the media tell us "what's hot" they label them as trends. • Someone who wears the latest fashions or has obscure new music on their iPod is called "trendy."
In other words, fads are short-term fanaticisms; a blip in culture time whereby it seems the whole world is joined in the same craze. Exciting and electric as they are, they burn out fast.
A fad is a fast and furious practice, product, or interest, fueled by tremendous hype and followed by a deep decline.Usually isolated to a few market segments, or particular demographic groups, fads are self-contained, short-lived phenomena.
Witness the short-lived era of the Trucker Hat (2001-2003, depending on whom you ask). Or Rubik's Cubes, virtual reality, grunge, pogs, and countless others.
We want fad amnesia, to forget them and bury them away. . . at least until the next generation revives them as retro goofs. That's because they stand for a certain point in time that we have moved past.
Trends, though, may represent long-term changes or movements that are substantial to society. They become part of our DNA, even though they may begin with just a few people, the trendsetters.
A trend is a slower, steadier development. Trends are characterized by new ways of doing business, new lifestyle practices, the changing needs of customers and new products or services that render older ones obsolete.
While trends don’t usually generate as much enthusiasm as fads and take longer to develop, they are longer lasting and far more widespread. Instead of plummeting to their demise, many trends evolve into permanent shifts in the ways we live, work, and interact with others.
Many types of trends exist, including industrial, economic, societal, cultural, demographic, and technological.
What you’re looking for . . . • Some service, product, behavior, or value that extends in one direction, follows a course that is traceable over time. • A line of movement that shows a prevailing inclination, a statistically detectable change. • A shift or veer in a new direction that is more than a current style or preference.
Fads span several categories as well as, most notably, entertainment, fashion and lifestyle.
Both trends and fads begin on the fringe and move toward the center (the mainstream), but fads fall away, while trends continue to penetrate larger groups with lasting effects.
Uncovering the epiphany - Fads create a frenzy and fade; trends spur a transformation in our culture. More fascinating still, many fads are the byproducts of larger, looming trends.
Take the portable music trend spurred by the eighties boom box, which then evolved into the nineties walkman and matriculated into the millennium with the iPod.
While the hardware has been replaced with devices that are more popular and portable, this trend has rocked steady for decades (and may already be classified as a permanent shift).
Trendsetters get the ball rolling, like the first geeks who began file sharing on the Internet in the mid-nineties. They led to the digitization of music, which has built new industries and changed the way most of us consume music.
Or JFK, a trendsetter in many ways, who was credited with influencing men in the early sixties to go hatless. Since then, practically no one outside of a costume party, swing band, or Mafia film wears a Fedora.
Trends have staying power. No matter how long since their initial popularity, they still matter.
Take hip-hop music: • It could have been labeled an early eighties fad given its centrality on the streets of NYC. • Now it's at the foundation of our popular culture. • From Billboard and MTV to ad jingles, with the look and fashion adorned by Midwestern high school kids. • Hip-hop and urbanization of culture was a trend that took hold over the last twenty years.
Real trends have depth. Something causes their popularity and acceptance. In the example above, hip-hop must have fused itself to our culture for a reason.
Understanding that is the job of sociologists, trendwatchers, market researchers and other professionals who are sought to analyze society and forecast the trends that will change the game.
Real trendwatchers . . . • Use analysis to understand what is behind the fad. • Examine why the trend is here. • Predict its potential to develop into a trend. • Are wary of the latest hype and media spin, which often portray minor movements as national sensations.
Presentation of Trend • Introduce engagingly • Prove existence of trend through anecdotes, statistics • Provide details, background, current status • Thesis: identify both the trend and the main reason or reasons for the existence of the trend
Track the trend’s progression. Is it progressing or regressing? Trends steadily progress and build momentum over time.
In order to effectively analyze a trend, as opposed to simply reporting on a trend, you must consider the effects of the trend on the culture.
Research A.Confirms your own hunches about the trend B.Suggests other causes for the trend C. Provides evidence in support of your proposed causes D.Suggests effects of the trend E.Suggests problems/solutions for the trend
How do you start? • Valuable information is everywhere you look. • Read magazines, newspapers, and web articles; and watch TV news shows to spot recurring themes. • Scan Web sites, forums, and chat rooms. File away information for future reference. • Examine whether the fads around you add up to the deeper, wider trends. • Recognize that the obvious often isn't so obvious. You may see something in front of you, but when you analyze it, you see it's really something else. How many people go out and jog for an hour, then go home and eat a pint of ice cream? That's fitness and fatness in the same person.
