Elaine Joli

Burning Cool Elaine Joli

Today, the platinum card of relevancy is Being Cool, Having Cool, Wearing Cool, Selling Cool and Explaining Cool. Arguably, Cool is one of the most powerful economic drivers since the evolution from the stamp pad to the mouse pad. It's about status; being accepted, elevated, rewarded, admired and recognized as something more than you are. There are plenty of opinions out there of what constitutes Cool, but all tap into the nostalgic and wistful idea that Cool is still about attitude, autonomy and individuality. We are told to be Cool you have to be unique, have a degree of the renegade, and an "I don't give a damn attitude." The problem is, it just isn't true anymore. We can get Cool with dollars and eyeballs. We don't need to do more than follow someone who's going to tell us what to shop for, how to look, what shorthand language we need to use on social media and whom to follow. And there are plenty of brands, pseudo-experts and evangelists directing the traffic. But we're evolving. This is the age of doing, accomplishing, participating, creating. The idea of Burning Cool is elevating and leveraging your power. It's about understanding that stuff is just stuff, and there is no magic in a logo or brand that makes anyone Cool. Living the verbs and consuming with consciousness is the New Cool. It's the things people do, and actions people take that have social value, clout, relevance and recognition. A New Cool is happening, and you want to be part of it.