Now for the year’s toughest challenge: nominating a trend that somehow defined 2005. The mavens and influencers who push forward the Zeitgeist have had a frantically innovative 12 months, and all night The Times’s sharpest analysts have been huddled in Trendsurfing Towers to work out what it all means. With no white smoke yet emerging, we can now go over live to listen in to the conclave’s animated voting discussions…

"It has to be the year of the mash-up – you know, the hybrid artform which used to refer simply to songs combined to create a new dance track, but which now includes everything from home-made video remixes to inventive ways to re-programme online maps. It’s about ordinary people taking control of the creative process, which is now open to anyone with a decent PC. Just as it’s become fashionable to hack around with toys or trainers to turn a production-line item into something personal to you..."

"Interesting, mate, but nowhere near as influential as the trends we’re seeing coming out of ad-land. With videogames and iPods clamouring for consumers’ attention, marketers are desperate to get their sales pitches noticed. So they’ve given us new genres such as ‘skinvertising’, the use of human flesh, from foreheads to pregnant bellies, as prime commercial real estate. And what about the promise of media coverage to lure businesses to sponsor weddings, or even to buy the naming rights to entire animal species? It’s part of a wider business trend about being inventive to cut through the media clutter – which explains why that 21-year-old student from Wiltshire has made £500,000 selling ad-space on his web page one pixel at a time."

"Pah! The internet trend that gets my vote is this extraordinary growth in non-commercial networking sites. Look how many have taken off this year, from websites that let you share your couch with travelling strangers, to those that help give away your unwanted goods to anyone who can ‘freecycle’ them for their own uses. And didn’t you see the Trendsurfing column about online ‘promise exchanges’, where you can pledge to do something worthy on condition that others on the network agree to do so as well?"

"Worthy, schmorthy! Next you’ll be asking us to back some fluffy ecology trend!"

"Well, why not? Since we all bought into the organic bandwagon, there’s been rising demand for greener businesses. This year, we’ve had enormous growth in local clubs that let members hire cars by the hour, environmentally safer dry-cleaning, fashion brands promoting their ethical credentials – even ‘organic’ funeral services..."

"Guys, guys, stop living in the real world. The year’s liveliest action has taken place in virtual worlds. Haven’t you noticed the huge sums people are spending on ‘property’ in role-playing computer games? Or the virtual pets that have every kid hooked? Heck, I’ve got myself a virtual girlfriend. She didn’t even demand a Christmas present."

Eventually, the conclave settles on the boom in swapping home-made video clips online as the 2005 trend that’s most likely to be remembered – one which combines sub-trends ranging from viral marketing to the amateurisation of media. But then what do we know? According to current trends, you the reader are in charge. Happy New Year.

david.rowan@thetimes.co.uk

All 2005’s columns are archived at www.davidrowan.com

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