HOW TO BE A TRENDSPOTTER

One of the most interesting subtopics from our lessons on Trends is the ‘Characteristics of a Trendspotter’. From this, I was able to discover how far more complex studying trends is than what we realize. Spotting and discovering trends take critical thinking and analyzing. It takes careful efforts, and actually studying the things we see around. I have recently discovered, through once again studying this topic, that spotting a trend is a big risk if you do not learn about it enough. It becomes a big gamble because you cannot completely predict whether something will be the next big thing. From what I have learned, there are 9 characteristics a trendspotter must have and I plan to describe each one of them from my own opinions. The first one is Adopt a beginner’s mind. This will help you remove any prior knowledge on a specific thing; you must discover how to unlearn certain things that might hinder you from understanding it from a trendspotter’s mind. The second one is Know why and what you are looking for. It is not easy to just blindly look for possible trends; it is important that you establish the reason why you are looking for a trend then actually finding one. The third one is Move and search in many places. Going out of your comfort zone applies in this one; your thinking should be far from who you personally are. You should learn how to think differently, look for trends in places where you don’t usually go or food you don’t usually eat. The fourth one is Beware of the obvious. Most people who are struggling to discover trends usually look at places where everyone has already looked at. You should be able to learn the most eccentric and unusual place where you could discover a possible trend.

The sixth is Never judge something as good or bad. In this characteristic, your personal opinions should be far from what you’re doing. Never let your biases interfere with the things you plan to discover. The seventh is Look for shifts rather than novelties. Have a keen eye for every little thing you see. People’s behaviors, the way they react to a certain thing, the number of times you see a specific product in a person’s hand. This comes in handy, helping you finally spot a trend. The eighth is Spot for combinations of things. Trends are not always singular in quantity and in quality. Most of them are accumulated actions or products that are sensationalized by people. Lastly, Find the reason for something. It is not enough that you spot a trend but you should also know all the background information about it. Know why this specific event happened, know why this product was made, know why the behaviors of the people suddenly changed.

From these characteristics, I have realized how difficult it is to spot a trend. It takes all these characteristics to understand how different your thinking should be, how you must stray away from your usual routines, and go about your life differently. Trendspotting is a very interesting but difficult activity. It takes an adventurous soul, a very creative mind, and an active personality. It’s not enough that you think of possible trends, but it is also important that you understand any societal, economical, and political concerns surrounding them.  Spotting a trend may seem like a very minor thing for some people, but with the age of technology we have now, trends are one of the most major aspects of this generation. These characteristics not only help people in spotting a trend, but look at it in a different angle and it also helps us become more analytical and critical in general. It helps us develop our minds, our opinions on certain things, and it also helps us put ourselves in perspective. Accept it or not, our world is vastly changing. We must learn to adapt to what is happening, we must learn to become accustomed to every activity and every trend that comes our way.