The book

Trend or Trash: how to distinguish real digital trends from online noise

The new volume by Raffaele Bifulco and Anna Paterlini published by Il Sole 24 Ore, in bookshops from 22 May and on newsstands for one month from 23 May 2026

20 May 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In the age of endless scrolls, viral memes and aesthetics that are born and die in the time of a reel, understanding what is really a trend and what is simple digital noise has become increasingly complex. It is from this reflection that Trend or Trash was born. Come le tendenze plasmano mercati, consumi e cultura, the new volume by Raffaele Bifulco and Anna Paterlini published by Il Sole 24 Ore, in bookshops from 22 May and on newsstands for a month from 23 May 2026.

An essay that traverses the languages of contemporaneity to analyse how algorithms, digital platforms and internet culture have transformed the very concept of trend, making the boundary between authentic cultural phenomena and mere passing fads increasingly fragile.

Through examples ranging from memes to '-core' phenomena, from digital micro-communities to the attention economy, the authors recount an ecosystem dominated by speed and overproduction of content, in which everything can go viral but almost nothing really manages to settle into the collective culture.

The book deals with central themes of the present day such as the fragmentation of attention, the role of algorithms in the construction of contemporary languages, the relationship between identity and social platforms, the transformation of advertising and the risk of communication being increasingly crushed by emotional immediacy. At the heart of the analysis is the paradox of our time: being exposed to an infinite number of signals without really being able to interpret them.

According to the authors, in fact, the real crux is not to chase what appears in the feed, but to understand the cultural, social and economic tensions that generate contemporary phenomena. A reflection that concerns not only the world of communication and marketing, but more generally the way in which we construct meaning, belonging and imaginary in the digital era.

Ample space is also dedicated to the subject of trend hunting, an increasingly strategic discipline for companies, brands and professionals called upon to orient themselves in an ever-accelerating context. In the book, Bifulco and Paterlini propose a method for distinguishing signals that are destined to really affect collective behaviour from those that fade away within a few days.

Also enriching the volume are contributions by Cristina Foddai and Frank Pagano, who explore the relationship between digital culture, the interpretation of contemporary phenomena and the construction of meaning in the online ecosystem.

In the preface, Cristina Foddai - a professional active in the field of trend hunting and cultural analysis - describes the work of the trend hunter as the ability to read contemporary chaos and identify the truly significant signals within the continuous flow of digital content. Through examples related to generative AI, discoverability and contemporary marketing transformations, Foddai tells how the real value of trend analysis is not to chase virality, but to understand in advance the cultural, technological and social changes that are redefining the behaviour of people and companies.

The afterword signed by Frank Pagano, an author and analyst attentive to contemporary languages and digital cultures, focuses on the need to build new interpretative tools to orient oneself in a context dominated by acceleration, hyperconnection and information overload. His contribution extends the book's reflection on the relationship between digital languages, collective identities and cultural transformations, dwelling on the contemporary difficulty of distinguishing between authentic phenomena and simple algorithmic noise.

Raffaele Bifulco, a Literature and Philosophy graduate with a Master's degree in Management and Marketing from Luiss Business School, is managing director of NEWU, a consultancy company that develops international projects for brands such as Sony, Prada, Amazon and Ferrero. Anna Paterlini, with a background in cultural heritage, marketing and an MBA from the London School of Business and Finance, is NEWU's client director and collaborates with major international media, innovation and research companies.

With Trend or Trash, the authors propose a reflection on the present that interweaves digital culture, marketing, sociology of consumption, communication and innovation, offering useful tools for understanding how trends influence today's markets, consumption, languages and collective behaviour.

Trend or trash

How trends shape markets consumption and culture

Raffaele Bifulco and Anna Paterlini

Il Sole 24 ORE

Newsstand release: 23 May 2026 € 12.90

Bookshop release: 22 May 2026 € 16.90