Seth Godin’s 14 Trends for a Meatball Sundae-Free World

I just sat in and listened to a seminar by Seth Godin where he talked about the 14 trends present in his new book Meatball Sundae.

“Meatball Sundae,” is a buzz word created by the author, are something you want to avoid. They are new tactics put on commodity products. Meatball Sundaes are like WallMart trying to create a social network. WallMart sells meatballs, things everybody needs and can get almost anywhere. They tried to put some toppings on the meatballs. Some sprinkles and whipped cream in the form of new media tactics like web 2.0 and social networking. Meatball Sundaes are destined to fail, they are done for the wrong reasons and have consumers confused. To keep your company from creating its own carnivorous sundae Seth detailed 14 trends for companies to consider for 2008.

1. Direct Communication - you should have direct channels of communication open with your customers.
2. The Consumer - the consumers voice is now loader than ever.
3. Speed is everything - we no longer wait for the morning paper to hear the latest news. The world is now a much quicker place and information moves fast. This means you need to be able to react fast as well.
4. The Long Tail - the Long Tail is not fading away it is as important as ever. Amazon still makes half its money from book titles not found at Barnes and Noble.
5. Outsourcing - there are business opportunities by using people’s abilities all over the world. Don’t be afraid to outsource.
6. The Dicing of Everything - companies like Google have taken the worlds information and diced it up into little pieces making control of the information impossible.
7. Infinite Channels of Communication - remember when there were three TV channels? Well now there are an infinite number between cable, satellite, radio and the web.
8. Consumer to Consumer relationships - companies like Kiva are finding it works to connect people in need with people who want to help.
9. Scarce and Abundance - things that used to be abundant are now scarce and vice versa (things like water, labor, packaging)
10. Big Ideas - big ideas spread fast
11. Who is more important than How Many - how many isn’t nearly as important today as “who,” and “why,” and “what brought them here.”
12. The New Rich -todays wealthy class are much different than those stodgy old folks in their Rolls Royce. The MTV generation changes how the rich behave.
13. Features vs. Stories - the stories are more memorable than the details so make sure the story is authentic.
14. The New Gatekeepers - companies like Fox now own Internet properties like MySpace, but they can never control it. Great ideas can go viral.
15. Scarcity vs Ubiquity - Seinfeld reruns can be found all over the world on most stations but seeing him Live in Las Vegas is a scarce event. Try to be both