After reading all of the articles by Barabasi, Rice, and Gladwell, I’ve been a bit more aware of “cool” people around me. I recently heard my roommate talking about certain people called “hipsters”. I didn’t really know what this term meant, so of course I turned to Urban Dictionary. Their definition is as follows: One who possesses tastes, social attitudes, and opinions deemed cool by the cool. The Hipster walks among the masses in daily life but is not a part of them and shuns or reduces to kitsch anything held dear by the mainstream.” Apparently, hipsters are what most of the above authors would call the “innovators”, the first people to start a trend or fad. The part of the definition that says the hipsters “walk among the masses in daily life” also gives a sense of mystery and disconnectedness. In order for these people to be considered “cool”, their overall ways of life must reach a hub, who must “spread the word” and influence many other people. If these trends catch on, they are accepted by other “cool” people.
Also, the fact that the hipsters “walk among the masses” seem to connote that they are difficult to spot. Gladwell would agree with this notion, and would say that it is actually impossible to truly observe “cool” kids because “the quicker the chase, the quicker the flight”. Just as “cool” is being accepted and becoming the norm, another hipster or innovator is producing some other “cool” trend.
Overall, I think the idea of “catching cool” is tired and somewhat impossible. There are always new ideas being formed and new people to accept them. Although I admire the effort of cool hunters like Baysie and DeeDee, who ultimately record random observations, I don’t think I could base my job on something so unstable.