Tara is getting on my nerves. She manages to write more interesting posts than I even find the time to comment on. Regularly she’ll write a great post that I’ll keep in a tab until I can re-read it and try to add something. Then, like now, I realize they’ve been there for a while and I haven’t taken the time. Dumb.
Anyway, to point readers that way without making them wait for me, and to close a few tabs. I’m simply using the old “quote and link”.
Boutique
This so “me and my friends”, perfect description. Couple of favorites from her 10 examples:
Enjoy shopping at your local pharmacy, grocer, clothing store where you know the owners and feel yourself going out of your way to give them business even if their prices are higher because you prefer to have the personalized service over cost reduction … Will not pay much attention to the prices at these stores because the experience is worth it … Prefer smaller restaurants that have a beautifully detailed menu who serve interesting wine pairings, have ’stories’ for each dish and are a locals best kept secret (said restaurants don’t have to be pricey, but aren’t really a bargain). The service is personal and you can’t have dinner there in under 2 hours.—Boutique Era
From a follow up post:
It’s a way to connect. To friends. To the environment. To your heritage. To your neighbors. To your senses…etc. And, it is a way to express yourself. We’ve understood that we have purchasing power. That if we use that purchasing power towards our passions and beliefs (sweat shop free, recycled materials, locally grown free from chemicals, etc.) or as ways to tell others who we are, we feel like we have a bit more control over this mad, mad consumption culture we live in…..or something like that.—What Boutique is: part I
Bite-Size Media
In this one it’s actually the second part that hit home for me, concerning the different types of brains:
Me, I’m an information broker. I reside somewhere in between the logical and the explorer never quite able to pioneer or to compute. But I’m really good at understanding, then translating the information into more actionable items. The opportunist/entrepreneurial brain is similar to the information broker brain, but it takes that translation and creates tools that help people cope with both ends of the spectrum. All ‘types’ of brains are necessary to get anything done, but the explorers are often undervalued and misunderstood (throughout history, they have often died penniless, having the opportunists and information brokers taking their ideas and profiting). I believe the outcry on the idea of continuous partial attention today is equally misunderstood and undervalued.—Bite-Size Media: Is Continuous Partial Attention really bad?
Growing Memes
Five trends / directions that are gaining traction, circles back to “boutique” with item 4.
The future seems bleak, indeed, but I have noticed some growing memes in the recent year that have led me to believe that things are actually changing…actually shifting towards a more Lorax POV. Each theme overlaps in a significant way and is fueled by Open Source principles and the Web 2.0 world spirit as well. They are: The Triple Bottom Line, The Science of Happiness, The Non-Zero Economy, Boutique, and Community.—Okay, we won. But what’s the prize?
Next time, I’ll make sure to react for real and not weeks late ;)
