Marlene the sock pattern

I'm going to hold my hand up, confess AND shout it outloud confessional style:

I WANT TO MAKE IT BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD ALREADY HAS OR IS AND I FEAR I'M THE ONLY ONE NOT AND I'M LEFT OUT AND I WANT TO BE PART OF THE EXCITEMENT!

ok.
looks now for someone to help me DOWN from this tall step.
but finds everyone has FLED.
come back.

I can't be the ONLY one? .. can I? ..
to have seen a small flurry of excitement gathering and building over a certain pattern, a technique, a fabric a yarn or a design and thought MOVE ASIDE CROWD LET ME IN I NEED TO SEE THIS WHERE DO I SIGN HOW DO I JOIN STAND BACK I'M FALLING FOR IT!

Unless I've DREAMT it I even had an email/newsletter thingie come in with suggestions on strategies for avoiding falling into the "trap" of becing compelled to JOIN IN but I must have somehow scrambled for the DELETE button and got rid of it shoving the screechy tone of accusation that this is somewhat a WEAK WILLED form of sheepiness in following the herd ..
I wants to join the herd! if there something yummy at the bottom of the cliff then I'm for hurling myself off clutching needles and yarn too!

But is this RIGHT?
Ought I take steps to avoid this?
What is it about the power of internet groups that begin with one or two people vaguely mentioning in passing a particular pattern or technique and voila before you know it there's a KAL formed in a group and someone has designed a pattern and the yarn that goes with it is now selling out and has doubled its PRICE - someone WHISPERS that they have used a pair of posh needles? where's everyone GONE? apparently websites are crashing about the place as everyone has GONE apparently to BUY these needles .. and I'm left thinking WHY DIDN'T I SPOT THIS SOONER!?

Alright. I'll let you into a secret.  I've just bought Marlene.
but THEY made me!
I was quite happy to glance at mention of Marlene but I couldn't resist it any longer after I saw a pair hanging in the SHOP WINDOW and now of course I wants a pair too - EVERYONE has got this OTN's? and I want it too!

Exactly the same is happening with shawls.  I didn't even want one until I saw that everyone has got them and now I want not just one, but all! why is this? whats the matter with me?

Please tell me I'm not the only one??
(and better still, please tell me NOW the NEXT latest must-knit ..)