I subscribe to a terrific web newsletter at Trendwatching.com. Their September 2006 Trend Briefing just came out and it dissects a growing consumer and business trend that they have been covering for months. Trendwatching has been following the consumer segment dubbed "Generation C " (consumers who want to acquire and share "C"ontent and "C"reativity), as well as the trend toward "Customer-Made" goods. They have melded these ideas into the business concept of providing consumers with "status skills":
"In economies that increasingly depend on (and thus value) creative thinking and acting, well-known status symbols tied to owning and consuming goods and services will find worthy competition from 'STATUS SKILLS': those skills that consumers are mastering to make the most of those same goods and services, bringing them status by being good at something, and the story telling that comes with it."
They assert that this trend "opens entirely new markets for providers of skills." Numerous examples of companies who are helping customers acquire skills and then enable the customer to "show off their skills" are highlighted. Really worth a look . . .
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