Trendwatching

MARCH 2004 | As promised last month, when we introduced GENERATION C, here are a few more telling observations related to this massive trend of consumers creating content, and companies equipping them with the required professional tools at amateur prices.

• Apple demands (and deserves) the main GENERATION C spotlight this month. The company recently launched GarageBand, which is an integral part of iLife 2004, Apple's suite of creativity software. GarageBand is everything from a home recording studio to a practice tool for musicians. It complements Apple's iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD programs, and definitely deserves the award for GENERATION C software of the month. A good one for FEEDER BUSINESSES too, but more on that in April!

And in a series of brilliant moves combining GENERATION C, retail and the Experience Economy, Apple opened up yet another one of its flagship Apple Stores, this one in San Francisco (long overdue!). Definitely a big event for Apple lovers in the Bay area: an estimated 1,200 people were in line at the 10 a.m. opening, and nearly 6,000 more passed through the store later that day. Besides showcasing Apple hardware and software, these shrines to creativity offer popular in-store workshops and presentations, helping customers make the most of Apple's latest content creation applications. So, for our San Fran subscribers: there's a GarageBand workshop every Friday at 1:00 pm!

• Want to feel the power of GENERATION C in the world of travel? Spend a few hours this weekend perusing sites like trekshare.com, which allows travelers to post travelogues, and which boasts 10,000 members, 75,000 photos and 15,000 postings. The site is enjoying a monthly 20% growth rate. Of course, you could also travel vicariously by checking outigougo, sharemytrip.com or mytripjournal.com (source: Newsweek). TRENDWATCHING.COM would be willing to pay a few bucks for some of these postings, as they deliver the holy grail in travel content: exclusive, up-to-date, real-world travel tricks and tips, from real travelers. Our hunch: GENERATION C is about to get paid!

• And finally, for stats lovers: the Pew Internet & American Life Project recently released a study showing that 44% of US adult internet users (53 million people aged 18 and over) have created content for the online world through building or contributing to web sites, creating blogs, and sharing files. Some quick findings: 21 percent of internet users have posted photos on web sites, and 20 percent say they have allowed others to download video or music files from their computers. Seven percent have webcams that let others see live pictures of them over the net. Now imagine what these stats will look like once the younger crowd (a digital generation if there ever was one) turns 18!