Coolhunting

Ever since reading Pattern Recognition and realizing that Cayce Pollard is basically me + 15 years, I have been desperate to learn more about coolhunting. You see, Cayce Pollard's character in the book was a coolhunter by profession (amongst other things). In effect, she would hit the streets and catch emerging trends, then sell her knowhow to interested clients. Man, I would kill for that job. Pattern recognition? Careful observation? Subcultural fluency? Delicious!

Here's the thing though- does such a profession exist? First, I hit up Wikipedia. Lo and behold, there was an entry :

Coolhunting is a term coined in the early 1990s referring to a new breed of marketing professionals, called coolhunters. It is their job to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends. The word derives from the aesthetic of "cool".

The entry also explains that many bloggers serve as online coolhunters, which completely makes sense, as I have been following several.

At any rate, coolhunting is more or less a recognized profession, and I want in! But how does one get started? Does one first work for a marketing or consulting agency while researching youth culture? I've actually read in some of my business textbooks that some companies, such as Target, have in-house coolhunters that they send all over the place to catch wind of the upcoming trends, and Wikipedia backs me up on this, but how to people get the experience to merit such amazing positions? I mean... I don't see any coolhunting majors out there.

Back in 1997, Malcolm Gladwell wrote an article called The Coolhunt that details the background of two influential coolhunters: DeDee Gordon and Baysie Wightman, and they got started with retail and the shoe industry. It seems they kind of ended up as coolhunters, but didn't go for it directly.

Well, all I know is I need to know more!! Coolhunting is way too fascinating to cast by the wayside, even though there's a crapload of other things I should be doing. Bother.