Of course, I completely buy into the notion that markets are conversations. Or, more simply, markets are driven by what’s “cool to talk about”.An example: Back in the 1960’s, bubblegum companies started competing by offering free trading cards inside their packaging. Soon kids started trading those cards, and the cards became more valuable than the gum itself. Soon companies were selling a whole pack of cards with just one stick of gum, and a new industry was born for cards with images of sports stars.
The cards were more successful than the gum itself, because they provided a richer context for interaction… Kids can only debate the merits of one gum over another for so long before getting bored, but can discuss the stats and merits of one player’s card over another for a lot longer.
See, the cards aren’t ends in themselves, they are the basis for human interaction… or as Douglas Rushkoff puts it “Social Currency�.
This is very much the foundation for what is being referred to today as “Viral Marketing� – or marketing that works in much the same way as a virus does – by self-replicating and being passed on person to person because it is so catchy (e.g. chain emails). And it thrives on what is cool and trendy in the moment (e.g. anime comics, Apple i-pods, Chuck Norris jokes etc.)
What I have recently discovered, is that there is a scientific basis for these ideas, originally put forward by a British Zoologist in 1976! Curious? Stay tuned, all will be revealed in subsequent posts.
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