Jumping Into The Fray Again At gapingvoid: "the market for something to complain about is infinite"

Maybe the action is picking up again over at gapingvoid as reader revolt spawns conversation about "what will be the next big thing?" Hugh has been remarkably successful with his English Cut venture but increasingly, his recent press release format has alienated readers who look to him for visionary savvy and cult cartoon humor. Hey, even Hugh admits today that he's a little bored by the recent bespoke suit frenzy. Not to worry, though: now that the question has reared it's ugly head the comment section has gotten fairly lively. I'm fairly pleased with my own little contribution, so I figure what the heck, I may as well reproduce it below. For the full context, it's worth clicking over to hugh's site to check out the fray. Actually, reader complaints aside, it's worth checking out gapingvoid anyway if you haven't already done so!

Asking what's next *is* basically what imagination is *for*. There is always a "next," regardless of whether we're comfortable or postioned for it. Thinking about what the next thing will be is generally considered to be more creative than happily tucking into the monument of the moment and considering history to be at a standstill. at least, that's my opinion...

That said, there are pretty much always precedents. Conversations and word of mouth existed long before Cluetrain. The first caveman who said, "hey, *these* berries don't make my tummy hurt like those bad berries over there," was engaging in word of mouth. All he needed was rudimentary language... heck, hand gestures would have done it. All that's really new about Cluetrain is the application of long-known, time-tested evangelism to readily accessible global communications networks. And maybe the idea that truth, honesty, passion and authenticity work better than BS when it's so easy to fact-check... In any small village, this has been true for centuries.

Cluetrain and Hughtrain have not yet outlived their novelty, nor really hit the mainstream so deeply as to dull the edge past usefulness. But the day is in sight when we may find "conversations" to be as ubiquitous and annoying as commercial radio.

So what's next? I expect it will be a new flavor, on a new scale, of something we were pretty much aware of already. My theory? Bespoke everything. The tech pretty much exists to have anything and everything custom fabricated at a price nearly in line with mass-manufactured products. Once we move beyond micro-brands to designing, producing and consuming everything on a personal level, I suppose the only brands worth talking about will be which fab shops have the best pricing, turnaround, tech support and customer service.

Not everyone has the time or inclination to design their own socks and toasters etc, so there'll still be room for exceptional designs from people like Philippe Starke, or whoever. On the other hand, when 200,000 *have* designed their own toaster, I wouldn't be surprised to see open source and file sharing of product design specs flood the bulk of the market. Whether these will be free or just really cheap is up for grabs. Probably both.

Now that I've laid all that out, I suppose I should be getting over to Amazon and looking for some Chinese language tapes, eh?

Comments

[hugh macleod]

"Reader Revolt!" Heh. I like that phrase.

Also, yeah, "conversation" as a marketing metaphor is getting a bit tired, as well...

Hugh

[johntunger]

Hey Hugh,

Thanks for swinging by...

"reader revolt" was alright. My favorite morning alliteration was "monument of the moment."

[Alan Gutierrrez]

Hi, John.

Quote please. When you do, reference Software as Jazz:

http://engrm.com/blogometer/2005/04/15/software-as-jazz.html

Also, I've hashed out with a friend a plan to assemble an sculplture that is an inter-city collaboration, co-ordinated via Web 2.0. Something worth discussing?

[johntunger]

Alan, thanks for swinging by. I really dug your comments at gapingvoid today.

re: the sculpture project: I've been working out some open-source public art concepts over the last couple years that I think might be very similar to what you're thinking, so, yes, I'd be VERY interested in discussing your project.

I had intended to kind of get a prototype site up and running before doing much public discussion of the idea, but lately it has occured to me that I just don't have enough time and code-writing skill to realize the vision on my own. Duh. That's why open source exists, right? (I was just scrolling down your blog and get the impression you may have more geek cred than I for sure. How's your php?)

I'll post some of my basic concepts here over the next few days and you can see what you think. If you and your pal have anything I can look at regarding your ideas, let me know!

Incidentally, I'll be making trips down to Rochester hills every weekend through May, so if all seems copacetic, maybe we can meet up for a coffee or beer? You're in A2, yes?

[Alan Gutierrez]

Beer is good, I'm in Ann Arbor, yes. ABC, Ashley's, Bab's, etc.

I don't work in PHP. I'm working in Java and XML, same direction. Yes, it requires a new look at software.

I'll have to point my friend here and get her motivated.

[johntunger]

Cool beans, Alan. Beer it is.

I'll try to get the open source art text onto the blog tonight... I'm suddenly doing 6 things at once, and I'd kind of like to edit it a bit to remove some of the grant proposal vibe.

[Alan Gutierrez]

Ah, here's a grant proposal for you...

http://engrm.com/blogometer/2005/04/15/ex-urban-art-appreciation.html#spatial-annotation-keeps-the-conversation-going

Spatial Annotation

[johntunger]

A few more thoughts on bespoke everything, inspired by the trackback from "A Consumer Reports"

Aside from customization, I think the other thing we will start to see much more of is unique manufacturing. As a metal worker, I often make my own specialized tools to accomplish a specific task for a specific job. Some of them are useful long-term and others really only get used once for some odd task that never comes up again.

I'm now gearing up to micro-manufacture some of the more broadly useful tools and market them to niche markets. Ten years ago, or even five, it wouldn't have been possible to turn a profit on such small numbers. Between the manufacturing cost and the cost of finding the market for them, I shelved a lot of good designs as more trouble than they were worth. It's really exciting to see the combination of the web and new fabbing technology make it possible to bring some of these projects to market.

[Alan Gutierrez]

A few more thoughts...

I did want to call attention to the idea of spatial annotation. I'd like to find an artist that could kick this around with me. Think about it if you can.

I've been programming much, lately, and I'll try to pull together some of the more interesting postings of the sophomore blogging class of 2005 over at The Blogometer.