Grant McCracken has a great post today entitled, Who Killed the Cool Hunter?. I especially like this passage:
Who killed the cool hunter? I think contemporary culture did. It got more complicated, in the process outstripping the cognitive abilities of even those who claimed guru status. And the knowledge of contemporary culture became more distributed. Increasingly, even the corporation had a clue.
Useful in their brief moment, cool hunters would eventually be remaindered by historical forces beyond their control. Those who live by the trend, apparently also die by it. And somehow I think that's fair. Surely contemporary culture is too interesting, important and difficult to be represented by catching phrases, exclamatory declarations and a haughty self importance. Cool hunters, you are now removed from fashion.
Grant has got it right. Culture is too complicated and moves to quickly. If contemporary culture is a river companies, including news organizations, can no longer sit on the bank and watch the river go by relying on a few swimmers to describe what it's like to be in the river as they quickly float by.
In order to keep with contemporary culture today, no company or brand can survive by leisurely sitting on the bank. It's dive in and either sink or swim.
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