Year-end lists are hazardous to your health
This article critiques the annual media trend of publishing year-end prediction lists. It argues that these lists are a repetitive, self-serving compulsion for analysts and bloggers rather than genuine foresight.
Why it matters
It highlights the performative nature of media trend-forecasting and the potential fatigue it creates for readers.
They are a pretty diverse group that spends most of the year frantically differentiating themselves from one another: forecasters, branding and creative agencies, analysts, consultants, bloggers, columnists, and technology gurus. But come December 1st they all share a particular affliction, a kind of creeping trend eschatology.
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