January 4, 2005
cool hunters in reverse
I’ve been watching the conversation about BzzAgents unfold.
The conversation has been particularly meaty here, so far.
Sure, a lot of people hate the idea. I am currently unconvinced; but then again, I am unconvinced by most things, including most of what I’ve written in the past.
Who knows, perhaps the idea will mature from its current “Re-arranging deckchairs on The Titanic” schtick to some sort of credible business model that the big brands won’t mind paying lots of money for.
So I was trying to get my head around it last night, thinking to myself what it is that BzzAgents actually trying to do.
Eureka! BzzAgents are trying to be “Reverse Cool Hunters”. It’s that simple.
A “Cool Hunter” is a type of field researcher who goes to the markets, hangs out with people in the “cool” markets (the cooler the people the better, the cooler the market the better) and brings the “intellegence” back to the big-bucks client.
For example, a Cool Hunter will go hang out in a Brooklyn skateboard park, notice how all the kids are spray-painting their sneakers bright purple. Next, they’ll go back to their office and type out a report to their client, who happens to be Nike. Then next season, you’ll be in a shopping mall and there will be bright purple Nike sneakers in all the stores, selling like hot cakes. Cool Hunting at its finest.
BzzAgents is trying to reverse this process, from taking the cool back to the company, to taking the company directly to the cool, using the free labor of wannabe Cool Hunters, aka “Bzzagents”.
i.e. Reverse Cool Hunters.
OK, I get it.
Sure, I’m still unconvinced, simply because I’m not sure if the products being plugged or the BzzAgents plugging them are sufficiently “cool” enough for the markets they’re trying to infiltrate.
“Hi, I’m covertly and disingenuously pimping somebody else’s product to my friends because I want to be part of something” is hardly the most stable platform to start from.
Still, like the hippy chick said in the eco-friendly detergent commercial, “It won’t change the world, but hey, it’s a start.”
"Hugh's Daily Cartoon" Newsletter.
A new cartoon sent out every weekday morning to your inbox [RSS version here.].
A wee chuckle to start your day off right etc.
It seems to me that buzzagentry is trying to comodify what people do unpaid. I’m not sure if that will work. Eg my dad enthusastically told me about a cheap and reliable courier and I told a few people about them too. But this is from my desire to pass on good news instead of bad. Will people really believe Buzzagents if they know they are being paid to do it (rather like those people trying to get your bank details for chariidee on the street)? The reason why I started passing on the url of this courier is that I knew that my dad has high standards, had used the service and was very happy about it so I passed on the info to a friend who was moving. Can you PAY for integrity?
Hugh,
I think I’m on the same page with you regarding BzzAgents. I’m running my own little test of it right now. Check it out here (http://risleyranch.blogs.com/risleyranch/2004/12/more_buzz_about.html) and here (http://risleyranch.blogs.com/risleyranch/2005/01/the_pilgrim_cha.html) and here (http://risleyranch.blogs.com/risleyranch/2005/01/so_i_filed_a_bz.html).
By the way, I loved your post back to “Rose.” Curse on, man.
Sounds like the userbase Apple has managed to cultivate– a clamouring throng of Cuptertino-branded WE SHOP AT THE GAP BzzAgents running around trying to convince anything on the business end of a laptop, a dell, a whatever that they’re using shit– because Apple Is The New Black, etc.
Funny thing is, these Apple “BzzAgents” are paying a premium for the privelege.