Spittoon - Holiday Catch-up Edition
Fish Tacos - Oh hell yes.
Gmail Java App for Mobile Phones - Oh hell yes.
Kevin Federline - Hell no.
Dying in the Snowy Mountains - Much more popular in 2006!
Dodgeball.com - supposedly on the way out. That said, if The Magician can make a comeback, anything’s possible.
Open blog warfare - I personally don’t approve of this trend, but I must admit it’s been a trend. But, of course, it’s got nothing on that Daily News - NY Post fight that’s been going on for years…
Excessive Egotism By Way Of Blogs (And Blog Memes) - the entire trend of “365 pictures of me”, “5 things you didn’t know about me”, and “Here’s some pictures that a pro photographer took of me” (when it’s not career-related) is completely on the way out. Talking about yourself is no longer a major entertainment or community theme by default - a lot of people have established themselves in this sector, but it’s currently being obsoleted by way of the standard trend life cycle. Most mature bloggers will be expected to keep a syndication feed of modest personal updates, but the self will no longer be the focus in most up-and-coming mainstream projects. (This is due, in no small part, to that very stupid choice of Time Person Of The Year) 2007 will be about curation and intelligent aggregation, especially in the video sector. There is still major potential for a few self-oriented projects, but most of the others will need to mature from their current state of look at me projects. Someone will figure out a clever way to discuss themselves that won’t bore everyone to death.
Dethroner - hot hot hot.
Gawker - aside from the imbroglio that I thrust myself into earlier this week, here’s what I have to say about the mothership in general: first, I feel like they’ve stretched their editorial content thin by trying to put out 30 posts a day with a minimal editorial staff. Their freelancers are writing goofy, offbeat columns that belong more on a site like CollegeHumor. Their trend of breaking gossip stories - and getting a jump on the print world - is no better or worse than it ever was, except back in the day they were doing it fine with 12 posts. Also, there has been speculation - which has been denied but remains possible - that a major editor at Gawker will be changed in the upcoming months, likely by means of a resignation. They have diversified their staff enough such that they won’t have a repeat of the Coen incident (they were clearly caught with their pants down on that one), so at least that’s going for them. Meanwhile, even if traffic has plateaued on the mothership, the accompanying properties are all doing quite well from both a business and an editorial standpoint. Plus, they won’t have Calacanis to kick around anymore (that’s a joke, folks; Calacanis’ split with the AOL folks represents a big step forward for a man that you can never count out). But as long as Perez Hilton remains alive and scribbling, he’ll be besting them in traffic.
Perez Hilton - meanwhile, karma’s a bitch for the Queen Of All Media. Sued by photographers out of existence, unless he takes it in the ass from another round of highly speculative investors. Goodbye, motherfucker!
Carbon Emissions - trendy! After all, China’s increasing their energy consumption by double digit percentages every year (and it’s not solar power), Americans are completely blithe about MPG ratings, and the glacial melt is already here. They’re thinking of putting particulates in the upper atmosphere to simulate a volcanic eruption, since that might temporarily salve the effects of global warming and save the costal cities from inundation. Sure, we love Al Gore again, but does that count for anything? Do you see a slim Democratic majority in Congress really changing our energy policy in this country after 40 years of drooling on themselves? (Notable Republican Presidents who have defeated Democratic opponents since the Kennedy Assassination: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush - TWICE - and his spook father. Democratic Party incompetence is not a new or deniable trend.) Also, do you really see fat lazy me-first Baby Boomer Americans doing anything inconvenient for environmental responsibility? If I were a betting man, put $3,000 on black skies, I want a press on Category 5 Hurricanes, and spin that wheel!
Pictures of Party Folk - Never a dead trend, but it’s no way to really make a living or a difference. 2007 is all about creating something better than that - especially something better than blurry snapshots of coked-out hipsters at overpriced, boring nightclubs. If someone really REALLY wants that, then fine, it will be done. For a price, starting now. I fully admit to looking through my photo collection and being dismayed at the sight of 25,000 clubland pictures that are completely worthless and unimpressive after the fact; I resolve to change in the new year and have something better to show for my efforts. But will you?