Faithful FOPs know that I have long subscribed to the Surprise Marketing Theory that "Everything New is Old Again," which--in a nutshell--explains why Surprise is invaluable in a world where product life cycles are getting increasingly shorter.
As you ponder that breathlessly-delivered sentence, consider the vindicating words of the New York Times' columnist David Brooks, who bemoaned similar sentiments in an article that was bitingly subtitled "Today's intellectual leaders are identified by their email providers, not their ideas." Here are some excerpts:
"In this era, MySpace is the new leisure suit and an AOL email address is a scarlet letter of techno shame."
"To cement your status in the cultural elite, you want to be already sick of everything no one else has even heard of."
"When you first come across some obscure cultural artifact, you will want to erupt with ecstatic enthusiasm...Then, a few weeks later, after the object is slightly better known, you will dismiss all the hype with a gesture of putrid disgust...Remember, cultural epochs come and go, but one-upmanship is forever."
Ouch. But true.