Fads and Second Acts

The thin line that separates fads and sustainable trends

Beanie Babies, Tamagotchis, fidget spinners, heelys, silly bandz, pogs, pet rocks, mood rings, cabbage patch kids… Every generation has its share of fad products, fashion statements, and hairstyles. But what separates a fad from a sustainable trend? Understanding the difference between the two can be challenging. Emerging brands are difficult to analyse. But there lies a great opportunity for those willing to wade through swill. It’s not as easy as one might think. Once upon a time, there were individuals who branded the internet as a fad. Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, once said the following about the internet, in 1998:

“The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in ‘Metcalfe’s law’—which states that the number of potential connections in a network is proportional to the square of the number of participants—becomes apparent: most people have nothing to say to each other! By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy…