Trendscape 2004 and trendsetters.com were the brain children of Michael Tchong, who was also the founder of Silicon Valley start-ups MacWEEK, Atelier Systems, and Iconocast. 

I was an assistant researcher and editor on the Trendscape 2004 print publication and a copy editor for trendsetters.com. Not only was it great experience to work behind the scenes on a print piece, I also cut my teeth as a web content editor and strategist. I edited newsletter and website copy, read every single word of the print edition, and made coffee runs for the higher-ups.

The final print publication featured over 100 pages of trend analysis, definition, and data on everything that was hot in 2004. Covering everything from pharmaceutical market trends and the buying habits of America's burgeoning Latino population to clubbing and cutting-edge smartphones - remember the Blackberry Pearl? - the book was a compendium of early Aughts cool.

In addition to proofreading the copy, I spent a lot of hours combing through newspapers, trend publications, OMB numbers, Gallup polls, and LexisNexus articles to come up with specific data points in support (or refutation) of each topic's thesis. Did you know that iTunes sold 14 million songs during its first six months of operation in 2003?

I was conscripted to write all of the definitions for the publication's glossary. It was a fun, creative way to crystallize the learnings for each trend category, and the project marked my first big, shining moment as a budding copywriter.  

Click on any image to view it larger so that the entries are readable. Bear in mind that this was written in 2004, so it was necessary to define OMG, blog, and metrosexual. How quaint.