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Narcissistic Gifts

The Applause Machine

— November 25, 2008 — Art & Design
The Applause Machine is a perfect gift for the admiration seeker in your life. Push the button and the clapping begins...and doesn't end until you decide you've received enough praise.

Designed by Martin Smith, the clapper comes in five bright colors of powder-coated steel with a sturdy wooden base. The apparatus is battery-powered so you can take it wherever instant approval is required.

Implications - People need to feel gratified and celebrate their accomplishments on a day-to-day basis, so products catered to doing just that are all the rage. Why fish for complements when you can control exactly where, when and how you receive them with products designed to make any person feel special.
Trend Themes
1. Personalized Praise - New products designed to give individuals control over where, when and how they receive praise offer opportunities for disruptive innovation in the fields of self-care, personal development and mental health.
2. Attention Economy - The rise of 'narcissistic' gifts highlights an increasing demand for products that cater to people's need for attention and recognition, presenting opportunities for innovation in marketing, advertising and entertainment industries.
3. Crowd-sourced Validation - Crowd-sourced validation has become an important part of modern society, leading to potential opportunities in industries such as social media, technology, and customer feedback management.
Industry Implications
1. Personal Development - The increasing popularity of personalized praise products presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in the personal development industry, where new products and services may aim to improve people's mental health and sense of self-worth.
2. Marketing and Advertising - The trend towards 'narcissistic' gifts highlights a growing need for attention and recognition, offering opportunities for innovation in marketing and advertising industries that can create and promote products that meet these needs.
3. Social Media - The need for validation and recognition is a fundamental aspect of social media usage that can lead to opportunities for industries to innovate ways to provide crowd-sourced validation and recognition within social media platforms.
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