Trends Set to Continue in 2017

Trendsetting is an interesting concept that is organic at the core. People have to want to demand a trend for it to continue. That demand is within all of us, and with this article I take a look at the reasons behind our demands.

Each year a set of trends reoccur each month. Some trends have been staying consistent, and some fade away.

The technology and entertainment industry has become so redundant that we might subconsciously realize that these trends are taking place, but we are not giving them much thought into why they reoccur in comparison to the trends that die off.

One piece to trendsetting is the source of the trend. To track down which entity is responsible for setting the most trends; a starting point was looking up the definition of the word ‘trend.’

The word has several meanings from fashion; the general course or prevailing tendency; and digital technology. To be widely mentioned or discussed on the Internet, especially in posts on social-media websites. Additional meanings also makeup the definition of the word trend. 

Fashion designers would be one source of trendsetting in mainstream culture. A force or demand could be considered another. In comparison, publications often set trends that take place online in social media.

When someone says that a topic is trending, they usually are referring to a trend on Twitter.

Major media outlets pay large sums of money in advertising to have their narratives pushed across social media platforms everyday. In some cases the media outlets with the most revenue set the trends on social media. To take it a step further, the media outlets with the most corporate connections set the trends. Furthermore, the major corporations pay the media outlets to help set the trends to meet their agenda.

The technology industry follows these same protocols to meet demand from shareholders looking to make more money on their stocks within the company. In some cases the shareholders make a major of the decisions where the raw materials are gathered from by setting budgets and goals for corporations.

With that being said, I want to breakdown trends that have taken place in the past, and use the crystal ball to look into the future at the glass ceiling of mediocrity.

Journalism Trends

  • Major media outlets will continue to write negative articles about Donald Trump for the entire year of 2017. They will focus on how bad of a job he is doing to mask the horrible job their doing overall. It is like going to Facebook to see someone that has a more screwed up life than you. If major media really cared they would write one story a week on Trump and use the other time of investigative journalism.
  • Fake news will continue on Facebook. Spoiler alert, get ready for flagged content.
  • Major media will continue to report on deaths, murder and crime without taking responsibility. There is a saying, ‘negative in, negative out.’ The way to break this trend is to stop paying attention to the glorification of violence.

Technology Trends

  • The iPhone market with Apple will continue to decrease. Despite Android’s failed attempt with the Galaxy Note 7, they will continue to rival Apple for the smartphone market. The Google Trend below shows the search data between Android and iPhone. A way to break away from buying a new phone every year is to pick up an Android device that has expandable memory, and use external storage.
  • Software technology. Web coding will continue to rise in popularity in 2017. Scan over the top searched forms of coding in 2016 below.
  • Facebook’s stock will continue to go down during 2017. Publications will continue to flock to other social networks to grab a piece of the online traffic.

Top 20 Trends in 2017 Trend Report - Futurist Keynote Speaker Jeremy Gutsche