Ion’s blog

Cybersnoops, aspiring Web detectives and electronic voyeurs searching for a new kind of fix might find it in an emerging form of e-book fiction with a twist: the digital epistolary novel, or DEN. Created by Greatamericannovel.com, a DEN reveals its story line through a series of simulated e-mails, Web pages and instant messages.

“E-books spend too much time looking like paper; they need some device,” said Eric Brown, a former literature professor and founder of Greatamericannovel.com. “This is the story of stuff we expect to see on the screen. It’s compelling and fun.”

Upon downloading a DEN from Greatamericannovel.com, a reader advances through the story by clicking through chains of e-mails between main characters. The reader also witnesses instant-messaging conversations in progress, sees which websites the characters visit, and views the wireless text messages they send and receive. Through these simulated communications, the events of the story unfurl.

Both the title of this work and the image of the dome with a lone figure inside refer to Kiefer’s view that there is no single system or belief, such as Marxism or Christianity, that is appropriate for all people. “Each man has his own dome, his own perceptions, his own theories,” Kiefer has noted.

Q. Could you describe some of the major reasons marketers need to have trend watchers?

Mr. Welch: You want to build empathy between your brand and the people you’re selling to. If you don’t try to tap into how they spend their time, who they are, it’s just another brand. If you don’t understand the changes they undergo, you can’t communicate effectively with them. And it’s not necessarily right for every brand, every product, every category. It has to have resonance with the brand and the brand values.

Ms. Lazarus: You’re looking for leading-edge trends that will eventually filter into the mainstream in one to two years’ time, changing patterns in leisure behavior, holiday destinations, music choices, as well as fashion trends.

Mr. Welch: It’s important to look at the periphery, because that’s where trends start.

Ms. Lazarus and Mr. Welch (almost in unison): Piercing, tattoos, the Internet.