Web Archaeology

1. Find three people who were associated with the trend you are looking at. Briefly describe their relationship. Can you identify them as Connector, Maven or Salesman?

2. Find a reference to one advertisement from the time of your trend. Describe any messages or tag lines that exist in that advertisement.

3. Find a physical picture of the item you are researching for its trendiness [cut and passte the graphic into your report]. Provide a physical description of the item in question. Are there any particularly noteworthy aspects of the item’s design.

4. Name one other historical trend or simultaneous trend that is occurring while your item is trending?

5. Describe in your own words the correlation between the events surrounding your trend and the trend itself. Find one source that describes the events surrounding your trend. Paraphrase that source. [If possible, find a source that corroborates the correlation you have made between the events and your item.]

6. Look for item on eBay. How many listings are there? Are all of the listings the same or is there some variance between them (i.e. can you find knockoffs of the item you are researching?] Can you do the same for Craig's List?

7. Are there any user groups through Yahoo or Google that might apply to your trend? Is there more than one relevant user group? Do a search on a relevant term in one of your groups. Copy and paste one of the threads you discover.

8. Document any changes that occurred between the time the item was originally created and the time when it “tipped” Were any of these changes responsible in helping more people interact with the item?