Not sure I get exactly where you're going, but it's definitely observable, especially in terms of photo sharing sites such as flickr and fotologue, that there's a fixation on gear and trends based on a camera's inherit qualities and/or limitations. While it goes without saying that cameras can have a unique quality based on bad or good optics (toy cameras are only one example), and there are certain marks of 'prestige' that add to identifying oneself through the camera's output (such as printing or scanning a Hasselblad negative - and it's less expensive variants like the Bronica - that show's it slight rebate), camera lust can easily become just another accessory of self definition: I'm in the Diana camp, the Mamiya camp,the pinhole camp, etc., which frames the vision, instead of the vision determining choice of gear.
Ultimately we would hope we're selecting the camera that suits the project or assignment - and removing oneself from "shooting for the trend." In that vein we would simply be looking at formats, films, subject matter and such when preparing for a shoot - even if it's just a stroll through the neighborhood...
Shooting for the trend is what we see a lot of... Makes me sometimes never want to look at a photography book, magazine, or photo sharing site.
So what do we actually need? An audience is good, since ultimately we're trying to communicate something through our work - but more so we need a vision of what we're trying to communicate...
