Briefly briefing you on brief trends...

I've always been an annual fan of TrendWatching.com. Once a year, we'll get an email from a lead designer pointing us to this year's Trend Report.

It's one of those websites that you'll forget about, not bothering to place into regular-surfing-rotation (considering you're far too busy with the important sites), then out of nowhere it'll ping your inbox and remind you that you only have 28 days to to buy your wife an Aveda store (seriously though, thank God for cyber Monday...yesterday, for lunch, I ate a big fat slice of previously amortized credit card debt).

Yes, this annual read is chock full of fun. First and foremost, let me baptize you about the site:

trendwatching.com is an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. For the latest and greatest, we rely on our network of 8,000+ spotters in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Most of our findings are aggregated in a free, monthly Trend Briefing, which is sent to 130,000+ business professionals in more than 120 countries. To read the latest edition of the Trend Briefing, please go to www.trendwatching.com/briefing/.

Basically, it's the bastard child of Best Week Ever, Consumer Reports, and the New Yorker New Yorker and Consumer Reports are in the midst of a very ugly paternity battle). It's funny, witty, very observant, almost borderline after-the-fact obvious.

I love trendwatching for coining the term trysumer. I've copied and pasted enough, so I won't even try to lift it from their site, so go here and check it out.

Too lazy? OK. Long story short: a trysumer is a daring consumer able to pick out new/exciting objects from a very saturated market of new and interesting stuff (seriously, go read their page...that was awful).

Trendwatching also calls us Generation Content. I love it.

But do you really need their lists? I'm not quite sure I would understand the report if I wasn't previously aware of current trends in the first place. Hmm. Tree falling in a forest?



This year's December briefing is just as good as ever, highlighting various issues (see: header picture) and touching on some should-be-obvious subjects. Renova black toilet paper even gets a mention, and we all know my feelings about that.

Once you're hooked on that, I suggest checking out all of their back-issues.

Here's an excerpt from this month's briefing:

..the rise of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) has an equally significant impact on consumerism. Consider the following numbers, from the 2007 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini:

-The number of HNWIs—individuals with net assets of at least USD 1 million, excluding their primary residence and consumables—in the world increased 8.3% to 9.5 million.
-The number of ultra-HNWIs—individuals with net assets of at least USD 30 million, excluding their primary residence and consumables—grew by 11.3% to 94,970.
-The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) continue to play increasingly important roles in the global economy. China and Russia were among the top ten countries with the fastest growing HNWI populations. China’s HNWI population grew by 7.8% to 345,000 people and Russia’s has increased by 15.5% to 119,000. Brazil (120,000 HNWIs) and India (100,000 HNWIs) also showed continued strength.

With so much (new) wealth and disposable income around the world, not only is there money to be made from selling premium goods, there’s also a constant need for redefining what constitutes luxury, for what constitutes status in bling-driven consumer societies. If millions have access to the same premium goods, to the same premium brands, these premium offerings lose some of their value...

-Trendwatching.com

When it works, it blows...

Wind-generated turbine technology has come a long way since the days of yore (sorry, I'm fascinated with the word "yore").

The last two decades have seen numerous advances in tech design, increased turbine size and manufacturing improvements...all of which have reduced the cost of wind power during the last 20 years to just 3 to 7 cents (on average) per kilowatt hour for utility-scale project sites. Turbines have even moved to the sea, generating energy from the waves and tides.

While that information sounds nifty (sorry about "nifty," too), those turbines have nothing on their vertical axis brethren. Take the windmill pictured above, flip it on its back, wrap two blades around each other, and let it rip. Something just got a whole lot sexier.

"Small wind" is the new big oil (only it doesn't use its powers for evil).

So why is the spiral blade design effective, given its smaller stature and relative efficiency?

First and foremost, they're like Cheney on a pheasant hunt...they don't need to aim at anything! With the rotor shaft running vertically and the spiral blades seizing wind form every direction, they can be mounted virtually anywhere. Check out the numerous applications offered by companies like Windside.

Pictured below: The closely-related Savonius Wind Turbine.

Still not sexy enough for you? Try the old-tech Darrieus wind turbine. Patented in 1927, these "giromills" have been around for quite a while, but continue to thrive in areas where the wind is consistently strong. The problem is, they basically need to be push started to get them going.

[Click on pic for larger]

Still not sexy enough? You little wind energy pervert.

Try award-winning hybrid Quietrevolution on for size.


Founded in 2000 by Robert Webb and Richard Cochrane, Quietrevolution is making the world take notice. They're taking a century old technology and morphing its DNA into an efficient, productive little energy machine.

So why vertical? You sure do ask a lot of questions.

Vertical axis wind technology has numerous advantages. Point-free directional capabilities not included, these units have their generators and gearboxes at ground-level, allowing acrophobic service staff to rest easy. And due to their compact design, models like the Quietrevolution QR5 can also be placed close to buildings and on top of towers.

Cost? The £25,000 sticker takes only 15 years to pay for itself.

Too much for your rooftop? Take it to tax dollars.

Why not line the center dividers of the freeway with thousands of these guys? Use the gas we guzzle to power our own greedy selves?

You know what it's like to almost be blown off the freeway by an 18 wheeler, so you know the power is there.

Still not enough? Time for craziness.

Take the whole vertical axis turbine concept and stick it on magnets (thanks, China).


Yep...magnets. Why not.

Maglev, a loudly lauded company with a now-defunct website (largely in part due to heavy Digging), is trying take friction out of the equation by borrowing from the high-speed train industry. The turbines are now floating.

Similar claims from other companies are heavily saturated in "could be" sponge water, but the concept itself makes want to open up my Hover Rink Rollerama.

Househacker has the best analysis on the claims I've seen thus far . Check out their updated analysis for a whole bunch of numbers/statistic talk I'll never understand.

Craziness.