“The future is here- it’s just unevenly distributed,” said William Gibson in a 2001 Economist article. At the Future Trends Conference earlier this month, the future was everywhere: in presentations, at our tables, and on our minds. From market researchers to anthropologists to trends analysts (me), our crowd was as multi-disciplinary as the trends and themes we follow. We all came to Future Trends to discuss two things: observation and change.
The majority of the attendees make a living by observing human behavior. Traci Milholen from Westfield Malls shared a name for the “NINJA generation” (NINJA: no income, no job or assets) and how this affects family structure. Andrew Benett, co-author of the book Consumed, shared stats about how mindful spending is linked to mental wellbeing. Rick Holman from GM looked at the difficulties of urban mobility and showed how GM would find solutions without making itself obsolete.
If these observations had been found in isolation, they would have been inconsequential. The significance of an observed behavior or trait is when it becomes some sort of pattern. Grant McCracken, author of Chief Cultural Officer, talked about how the characters in the TV show “Portlandia” demanded to know the name of a free-range chicken they were about to eat (his name turned out to be Kevin). We, the audience, found the joke hilarious for two reasons. First, many of us remember mystery meat in the school cafeterias of our childhood. Then, you didn’t ask what was on your plate; you just ate it. We also laughed because the Kevin example is something that we could actually imagine happen in real life. We could easily be those people; some of us already are, to an extent. Although on the extreme side, getting acquainted with one’s dinner is part of a food movement with many names: authentic eating, conscious consumption, social consumerism, locavorism, and artisanal heritage.
Kevin is a small incident that ultimately leads to something far more impactful: change. In 25 years, will menus show soil samples from the chef’s vegetable garden? Will you be able to buy hibernating fish at the store to “awaken” before your party for fresh ceviche? What will make tomorrow different from today?
Change is what we’re all curious to understand. We want to know what a chicken named Kevin will mean for our brand, for our organization, for our industry, and for our society at large. Trend- and insight-spotters can identify and analyze a major societal shift, but that knowledge does nothing unless someone chooses to do something with it.
You don’t have to study trends or attend conferences to imagine what the future holds. Like Gibson said, little pockets of the future are everywhere. It manifests itself in everything from foodie fads to TV sitcom jokes. Gibson was right: the future is here. It could be sitting on your dinner plate, if you look hard enough.