Is that a self promotion or what? Well, I think it’s more of an observation.

Part of what I do is to get a view of more than one angle of society and industry as well as demographic. So it affords me the opportunity of comparing (sometimes) one set of mores/attitudes from one group vs the other….

Some of my observations which I think point to more significant data:

1) The social media guys are happy, somewhat insulated & employed. Suddenly they are the new messiah of the world.

2) The mainstream media is having a very bad moment and they aren’t happy, their news is sad and they are sad, their empires are falling.

3) The fashion industry is in some pretty dire straits. Even with sales figures, at least at the lower end, showing some resilience for holiday, they still face an entirely uncertain future. Their industry too falls into the category of empires falling….print media for them doesn’t have the sway it used to; those in control are working fast and furiously to catch up with where they think the rest of the world is. Problem is those decisions are still being made by the same minds that got them to where they are right now, so their attempts while in some cases noteworthy (Showtime and Alexander McQueen’s live streaming Womens SS 2010 video), it’s still pretty tepid. Sending school aged bloggers to sit in the front row of fashion shows? Back in the Day (that would be yesterday), people would accuse such gimmicks as a ratings scheme. And I can tell they have a lot to learn about Social Media. The best of the best on Twitter and Facebook have a personal style and interact with their followers. Fashion is still shouting about how beautiful they are, still shoving celebrity down our throats. That’s still the old way whether using it on Twitter, Facebook or your own website.

4) If it’s true what they say, you are what you eat, then the same can be applied to you are what you read and I’m feeling the need for reading some Henry David Thoreau (a whole book and not a 140 character or less quote from it).

5) I tweeted that content isn’t king, but that context is king and I find that depending upon who is doing the definition several very important verbs and nouns take on some pretty different meanings: and that would be transparency, authenticity, and engagement. Meaning I guess definition is in the mind of the teller. The efforts though, in the first part of January have been
noteworthy though in trying to understand it. That’s a good thing.

6) Design is on hold (no significant developments, not in any industry), the information mill is full of drek and that includes the ivory halls of mainstream media who supposedly do an incredible job of sussing out the “hard news and real facts,” and my theory of this period being like the wild, wild, west is sadly on par. As consumers of anything, I hope we can soon start demanding quality and not quantity and while giddy (myself included) with excitement over some of the new tech directions and developments, lets hope it doesn’t color our standards for fill in the blank subject matter at hand.

There are several reasons for my writing what some may deem a stinging blog post. One is that there is an article being tweeted in large numbers right now that lists the qualities and skills required for the next generation of journalists. While I have my criticisms of Mainstream Media, I also know some of these people have worked incredibly hard and long at their professions and just because someone understands SEO, doesn’t and won’t ever make them a good journalist. Somebody’s drinking too much Social Media Koolaid.

The other reason is that we are in a vicious cycle of supply vs demand with no real leadership taking the reigns to set the ship aright. On the one hand, the banks seem to be coming out of their freefall but are coming back to repeat the sins of the not so distant past and reaping the rewards while Joe Schmoe is still trying to dig himself/herself out of the trenches….what’s that about? I’d like to start seeing news about entertainers, sports figures, celebrity journalists, talk show hosts or anyone that Joe Schmoe collectively has made very very very rich and what they are doing to help create jobs so that said collective can continue to make them rich. I want to see who is doing what by name and actual numbers to improve the current condition our condition is in. Because I posit that those who are still making money by and large are clueless to what a significant number of people in THIS country are going through right now.

Let’s get real here, the consumer is still the one who holds the key to making things right and while I see all the social media geniuses out there right now capitalizing on this new movement (while they are making money), I see them being focused on social media specifically. They don’t know enough about any one industry except tech to help industries outside the tech industry become successful with it…ergo the insulation. More people in general, marketers specific to their industry, need to have a voice that is not cluttered with SEO, analytics, and ROI and more on strategy per se to show how it does work and can work for small businesses, personal brands, corporations not there yet, and so on. (although honorable mention has to go to the CMO’s who are tweeting in a personal style but for their companies on Twitter right now….).

Let me be clear here, social media is part of the marketing matrix, not all of it. Designers still need to design good things and know what their customer wants, CEO’s still need to lead with vision, and bankers still need to help their customers make money.

While we are getting back to basics, lets get back to some of these.

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I haven’t disappeared, I’ve just been undercover or it feels like it.

Let me explain. Now having a Twitter account, @kimbrotoo, I have gotten onto what seems like a virtual merry go round, and I like it. You gotta use some skill to both jump on and jump off. Once on though you can play all kinds of games to keep yourself from getting bored (and dizzy) by just going around in circles (heard of Foursquare?).

Don’t know that that justifies the telling of the experience or not. I interact with people I follow and who follow me to make things more interesting, plus there’s soooo much info to take in. And I’m on a platform, Tweetdeck, that allows me to see both my facebook and my LinkedIn status at the same time I’m keeping track of my Twitter stream. That said,

What I’ve learned:

1) Technology is changing at an even more alarming rate: Google is declaring all out war on every other tech company regardless of what it is or produces and looks to be winning
2) Twitter is declaring all out war on Facebook: outcome TBD
3) Conan O’Brien may be a reflection of the movie character Conan and be able to bring down NBC, Jay Leno and the Tonight Show with one fell letter.
4) $10M has been raised through Twitter for Haiti and shows once again how Twitter can be a driving force when there is something overwhelming happening in the world. And as a side note, I am now following @redcross (thinking forward to 2012….)
5) Some say blogs are dead, Seth Godin says libraries are dead and how we get info has changed forever, so better keep blogging (I’m in that camp) some say facebook will get gobbled up, some say Twitter will die, some think the laptop will be replaced by the smartphone (I am one of those), and many don’t agree with Pantone’s color of the year this year, torquoise (I am also one of those).

Whoa. Jumping off… gotta get my breath….so, see why I love the merry go round? For someone who needs to keep up on all kinds of information to observe patterns that speak to trends, there’s nothing like Twitter. Did I mention the interesting people you meet on there too?

And, it lets me multitask…at the same time I am collecting info, I am also giving my own brand of info out AND, and this is a big AND, I was able to announce the launch of my new company, for my bff, an eco friendly Made In the USA pet bed manufacturing company housed right here in St. Louis.

for my bff, saving the planet one pet bed at a time.

I connected to the people who are making the ingredient that makes the foam some 10-20% soy based, Cargill’s BiOH polyol, also on Twitter, who helped me announce for my bff’s launch and I was also able to announce on both LinkedIn and Twitter at the same time the feature the local news station did on the pet shop where for my bff got into and we got some local news love at the same time: Go Green: Owning Pets.

What you are witnessing is a convert to the social media medium for communications…..it’s fast, it’s cheap, and the more you work at it, the better it works for you.

But, this year I do resolve to manage my time on it better…..

I’ll be back with links to the info above so you can understand more of the details of above, if you want to, or link to me and you’ll see what I’m seeing….@kimbrotoo.

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I’ve been busy this morning calling and sending emails to the Senators of Missouri, both Republican and Democrat, to give them my two cents worth as far as the stimulus package is concerned.

I encourage all of you out there to do the same thing. As long as this is being done, let’s be sure it’s done to effect since not only is the United States as a whole counting on us, so is the rest of the world.

This is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country…..and call and/or send an email to your senators to tell them what or how YOU think the stimulus needs to work.

I’ve kept up plenty with the papers and how THEY think it needs to be done. Don’t think they are wasting their pen and ink and the time…they’re putting their two cents worth out there into the public to let you know how they want it spent with unbelieveable authority I might add, but now it’s your time.

We count, you count, at no other time in history has the voice of America needed to be heard as much as it does now. While the Presidential election this year meant every vote was needed and counted so too does what and how Congress plans to implement this gynormous stimulus package (although, now I’ve heard it called a recovery package?). I’ve never seen so many people without the background, without the expertise, without the knowledge working on such an important piece of legislation in my life. If we don’t give our feedback now, when it is so very needed, then when will we? After? After its passed and our country remains broken, unfixed and our economy in further decline?

Buck up America. Stand up, call and email your senators what you think and what you know, and help put this country back on track. Do it now, do it tonight, do it this afternoon before they stop answering phones.

Please let your Congressmen and women know what you want. They are here to represent you not themselves. There will be another election cycle in two years, you can bet if they don’t hear you now, they’ll hear you then!

Use this link to find your senator/s to contact him/her/them. Trust me, you’ll feel a lot better for having done so. I know I do.

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Analyzying the Google data on Trendbites dashboard was an interesting exercise this morning. I wanted to know what was on people’s minds not just for the month but for the whole year and then their patterns throughout the year. Of course you have to take different things into consideration but let’s use some lists to cut to the chase.

Top Searched subjects for 2008 on the Trendbites blog:

1) Tattoos
2) Eco friendly water bottles.
3) Sarah Palin’s Wardrobe, designers and where can get it
4) Suzanis
5) Fretwork

Each one of these search terms can be elaborated upon because people used various terms to find info on these subject matters plus I would say that there were related items that fell into a sidebar of those topics, such as in fretwork also came Asian ornamintation….cloisone, champleve, etc., and they searched Benjamin Crutzfeldt’s name or his porcelain which is based on 18th century Chinese porcelain techniques but modernized.

As well several of these were either spiked by the news media, i.e., Palin’s wardrobe and this summer’s newsworthy research on the chemical in plastic water bottles being unsafe for people.

The very interesting one is that the tattoo subject is pretty consistent (throughout the year) as is fretwork, and suzanis…..a more recent though I expect timely for several reasons is the new Spring pattern for Pfaltzgraff’s dinnerware, Fruit Bounty. The Macys/Rwanda Project is also a big search item for December.

The remaining five of the top ten had to do more with star power, i.e., angelina jolie (who had more searches than Brad Pitt, fyi) but most of those searches came when they were getting ready to have their twins.

Then there was Heidi Klum’s red dress by John Galliano for the American Heart Association and Coke Sweepstakes promotion during the Oscars….again news timing.

And lots of searches for different industry color trends, a few in general trends for 2009-2010, BTS/BTC Dorm info searches, and finally named designer searches i.e., Oscar del la Renta, Dior, Moschino, Ralph Lauren and Nau (menswear for 2009 and the color of orange was searched specifically). I had a few for the timourous beasties wall paper and Scott Hill furnishings, the wallpaper or even furnishings from the movie Lucky #Slevin, and a few for the artists Damien Hirst and Richard Prince.

These searches can all be qualified by #1, I write about these items, #2, these are the things on people’s minds either professionally or because the news has spiked interest (TREND), or, and this one is special just because I went through the same thing, #3, very little otherwise is written about them such as Mumenshance the mime troupe from Switzerland. So they are one of the top five consistent trends but I know that that is a very special interest topic, not a trend per se.

Those top five as I listed them above are worth your consideration. My own bottom line is that if I wanted to make this a blog just about color trends and color per se in many industry categories, I would do very well with the blog….but hey all you out there I do write trends about color in depth and that info can be gotten in a much more specific manner, i.e., I use acutal pantone numbers by industry or even can create palettes!

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Do you believe in the laws of the universe? I do. While covering the runways for Spring 2009 in New York, London, Milan and Paris, African prints and tribal elements surfaced as a universal trend. At the same time, PBS aired the movie Casablanca while the United States declared Wall Street was crumbling. Casablanca is in northern Africa and of course you can’t discuss the movie without noting what elements of Moroccan culture are becoming mainstays in U.S. interior design and now fashion. That same week, Maryam Montague of MyMarrakesh blog embarked on a trip to Rwanda and came back with a personal story of Vestine’s plight during the horrors of Rwanda’s mass genocide. She took it upon herself to create a foundation to begin collecting money for the Rwandan victims. At exactly the same time, Macy’s sent me notice of their extended Rwanda Path to Peace Project into Shop for Now which updates the Rwanda offering for Winter 2008 as well as combining offerings from other countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia with the same mission in mind.

I blogged about Maryam’s site first for those who were interested in making a cash contribution (Maryam says they are just $700 short for Team Vestine, all of which goes to a group as a micro loan to help them set up their own business). I highly recommend visiting Maryam’s blog, My Marrakesh, to learn more about Team Vestine as Maryam continues to journal about her trip to the area.

At the same time, I couldn’t ignore the timing of Macy’s announcement, which meant to me, here’s another way we can help support the women and children of Rwanda–Macy’s Rwanda Path to Peace Project exclusively at Macys.com.

Here is Macy’s Official Statement:

In 1994 the Rwandan people suffered a horrific mass genocide losing almost 1 million people to murder over a course of 100 days. This genocide left many widows and orphans in its wake with little hope for a happy, stable future. Four years ago, Rwanda Path to Peace established a viable, sustainable export business that provides economic stability, and promotes an environment of peace to positively impact the future of Rwanda’s eight million citizens. The Rwanda Path to Peace project began to offer a means of income for Rwandan genocide survivors by selling exquisite, hand-woven baskets made from sisal, sweetgrass and other natural resources found in Rwanda exclusively on Macys.com. The graphic designs on the baskets are inspired by traditional Rwandan artwork and culture.

Some of what you can find exported from Rwanda:

Scarlet Sun Fruit Bowl, $40
Resembling the deep, red, warmth of the sun, Scarlet Sun captures this power found in the Rwandan skies.

Nova Fruit Bowl, $46 (black and white bowl top image)
The bold, geometric design of the Nova Fruit Bowl is inspired by the celestial and sometimes inexplicable events of our universe and is sure to make a statement anywhere in your home.

The success of this program has enabled macys.com to launch Shop for a Better World (www.macys.com/betterworld), a site that features one of a kind gifts, home décor items and life style accessories handmade by artisans in countries like Indonesia, Cambodia as well as Rwanda. The sales of the product featured on Shop for a Better World employs the women in these countries that continue to recover from some sort of disaster.

Shop for a Better World is a vertically integrated program; all steps of production take place in the origin country using only raw materials sourced from the region. The program employs a large population of women who live in the rural countryside, allowing them to maintain their current residence and avoid the often costly and disruptive process of relocating to cities in search of work and allows them to provide for their families in terms of education, healthcare and many other necessities.

Temple Serving Tray, $50. With a design aesthetic perfect for use in an Indonesian temple, the traditional hand carved and hand‐painted wood Temple Serving Tray can brighten any table.

Shop for a Better World is a partnership between Macy’s and Fair Winds Trading, which was founded by Willa Shalit, a social activist and entrepreneur who recognizes the great vitality, ambition and optimism in these areas of the world, which are emerging from the devastation of war and natural disasters. The program generates income and employment opportunities for the citizens of these countries, providing them with a platform to utilize their traditional skills and craftsmanship.

Focusing on trade not aid, Shop for a Better World seeks to make the greatest impact possible within a region. With a commitment to sustainable business as well as a belief in going deeply into a region with long-term commitment, Shop for a Better World creates a job market for artisans with an empowering opportunity to change their own lives. The initiative also offers employees with life skill training, such as rehabilitation, health and hygiene in addition to education on nutrition and financial management.

The site just went live and will be adding additional product through the holiday season.

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