Trendsletter #21 - Words of the year 📠
You were hundreds reading me every 28 days and then.. I stopped for a while. If you subscribed to this newsletter in the past years or so, or you are new here: Hello 👋 & Nice to meet you. I normally explore futures and fashion. If you don't remember the reason with your subscribed, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this letter.
Happy New Year or happy next trip around the sun. I am wishing you that it is an insightful and joyful one!
I am always amazed at the number of trend reports published the minute December hits. As if the moment the page of the calendar turns, all the "new" trends will explode. If you haven't seen it yet, this google drive folder includes the 200+ trend reports gathered by a team of volunteers. My technique to dissect the enormous amount of information is my rule of 3:
- Pick one that is related to the current work/ interest
- Pick one that is new (organization that do it for the first time tend to put all resources available and not neglect the analysis for the first year). Personally going with Depop since its their first ever trend report and I am interested in resale
- Pick a random one
Word of the year
- Rizz is Oxford's word of the year 2023
- Matilda inspired by soccer players (Tillies for short) is Australian national Dictionary Center word of the year
- Cozzie livs is Macquarie Dictionary word of the year. It's a humorous play of cost of living
- Authentic is Merriam Webster's word of the year
Also patiently waiting for Matt Klein to publish the Meta Report analysis on all of the trend reports. In the mean time, I thought I would share some words of the year to discuss what pressures are on current Western society.I made an in-house (very ugly Excel) analysis of words of the year and their shortlists:
Renewed relationships | new men's attitude | online reputation are some of the patterns that seem to surface, I can share 1 on 1.
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Recent projects
📠 Following a call by your 2040 to write a desirable urban future, I put my mind (and hands) to the exercise and wrote an essay who got selected to the Swissnex SF 20th anniversary exhibition. You can read the complete essay titled Hubject following this link- it is framed in the collective consumption. The compilation of essays will turn into a book in 2024.
📠 During an attendance of U+ Plurality University workshop from Adwaita Das, Beyond Binaries, I wrote a speculative piece around sound in cities. You can read my piece titled Healing Sirens
📠 I am also in the process of editing the biggest piece of writing I have ever done: a book! More news on that soon.
For the last 6 months I have been involved with the Experimental Realism annual mentoring programme as a mentor. Now completing its 3rd cohort, the programme offers 6 months free mentorship for students and graduates who wish to pursue creative works in the fields of speculative design and futures. I have been working closely with Thomas Euyang. We are just one of the 18 global partnerships that ExRe2023 has facilitated this year.
📅 On January 17th ExRe Public Showcase event where is taking place. We will gather together on zoom to share our experiences, lessons and insights. I'd like to invite you to attend as a special guest because it is very exciting to discover what new talents have been working on and thinking about lately. All details can be found on the event site, it's free to attend but booking is essential.
Marie-Michele Larivée
As the year wraps up, we often turn to language to help us make sense of the shifts we’ve lived through. Words of the year, chosen by dictionaries and cultural observers alike, act as snapshots of our collective experiences, anxieties, and aspirations. Today’s trendsetter is the "Word of the Year" (WOTY), but before we dive in, let me wish you a happy next trip around the sun. May it be an insightful and joyful one! From Oxford to Collins to the Australian Dictionary, these words give form to...
Alors que l’année touche à sa fin, nous nous tournons souvent vers le langage pour nous aider à donner un sens aux changements que nous avons vécus. Les mots de l’année, choisis par les dictionnaires et les observateurs culturels, agissent comme des instantanés d’expériences, d’anxiétés et d’aspirations collectives. Le WOTF est le sujet d’aujourd’hui du créateur de tendances, mais avant de nous lancer, permettez-moi de vous souhaiter un bon prochain voyage autour du soleil. Je vous souhaite...
Don't buy my book... borrow it! As the Black Friday frenzy fades and the Montreal Book Fair has just ended, I want to address an essential reflection. What kind of author would I be if I encouraged you to buy compulsively, when my message advocates thoughtful buying and sharing? During radio segment episode of Feu Vert, Catherine Perrin illustrated this tension: “Once again, I have just convinced you to buy a book, that of Marie-Michèle Larivée… and a second one!” (translated from french)...