A trend is something that somehow becomes popular within mainstream society over a long period of time. It is the direction of a sequence of events that has some momentum and durability.

A fad is something that is very popular with a small group of people for a short period of time.

A craze is a product, idea, cultural movement, or model that gains popularity among a small section of the populace then quickly migrates to the mainstream. Crazes are characterized by their lightning fast adoption and swift departure from public awareness. Crazes and fads are also characterized by their unusually high interest and sales figures relative to the time they are active in the marketplace, as compared with other similar products, ideas, cultural movements or models.

Despite the negative or counterproductive results of crazes and fads, some companies still in business today began by purposely or accidentally creating a fad or craze. Examples include:

• American coffeehouses such as Starbucks Coffee and Peet's Coffee & Tea: Howard Schultz admired coffee bars in Italy and, along with others like Geroge Howell, "re-introduced" the concept to Americans. Due to the novelty of buying an expensive, robust coffee product in a comfortable cafe, Americans quickly spread positive word-of-mouth, creating a craze.

• Hula hoop In 1957 the hula (also frequently spelled "hoola") hoop was reinvented by Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, founders of the Wham-O toy company. The idea came from an Australian who had visited California who told Knerr and Melin about children twirling bamboo hoops around the waist in gym class. The new Hula Hoops were made possible by Marlex, a recently invented durable plastic.

See also

Category:Popular culture

• Bandwagon effect
• Epidemiology (the mechanics of the spread of fads is similar to that of contagious diseases)
• Memetics, which posits that ideas are subject to evolutionary pressure analogous to that in population genetics