Archive for Trends
Eyes to the future
We know that green and clean technology and the “Click Stream Customer” are two of many trends that will impact the way we do business in the future.
Trend watching has become a business in itself. Futurist James Canton is one of many business futurists who make a living by interpreting the signs of what will be in 5 or 10 years.
But what about translating those trends into a solid business strategy? Interpreting and then planning for the future is crucial to your innovation strategy. It’s one thing to have information on climate shifts or economic conditions that affect our bottom line, but quite another to interpret these signs in a useful way that will help your business ride the wave and come out on top.
Embracing Generation Y
As a parent I’ve had a lot of experience delving into the mindset of one of the biggest market segments in the world. Generation Y, sometimes called the Millenials or echo boomers, will significantly shape the way Boomers (like me) work, shop and play.
There are a lot of forces shaping this huge demographic group, which includes those born between 1977 and 1997. They are our teens and young adults. With more than 80 million members, The Ys outnumber those in my generation by more than 3 million people.
Here is how the generations align in our history:
1901-1924 “G.I. Generation,” came of age during World War II and was known for its respect for government and its patriotism.
1925 – 1942 “Silent Generation,” known for its post-war stoicism and its ability to take adversity in stride.
1946-1964 “Baby Boomers,” the largest generation of the past century, is credited for creating and defining the American middle class.
1965-1976, “Generation X,” a more independent and cynical generation.
So how do we define this Generation Y? And how are they shaping future trends for the rest of us? For one thing, we know that this generation is less likely to read a newspaper, subscribe to cable or satellite television or own a land line. They love brands and have an incredible purchasing power that those in other generations did not. They are more optimistic about their futures. They are techno-savvy and probably the generation best prepared for globalization, but their employment expectations and work habits tend to rub older generations the wrong way. (By the way, that last link about work habits is an excellent read if you are an employer.) Here’s a snapshot from this article about some common frustrations:
“They walk in the door on day one with very high expectations.”
“They don‟t want to pay their dues and climb the ladder.”
“They walk in the door with seventeen things they want to change about the company.”
“They only want to do the best tasks.”
“If you don‟t supervise them closely, they go off in their own direction.”
“It‟s very hard to give them negative feedback without crushing their morale.”
“They walk in thinking they know more than they know.”
“They think everybody is going to get a trophy in the real world, just like they did growing up.”
Each new generation brings its own challenges and unique gifts to the table, and understanding and relating to the emerging generation has always been the key to harmony. The reality is, we all need to do some research into this dynamic and unconventional group of young people who are leading the charge and changing the game.
Why trend-watchers may want to take note of Foursquare
I’ve been looking into the Foursquare application lately, noting that some of my staff seem to love checking in to venues they visit.
At first you might think it is easy to dismiss the mobile social-gaming phenom that awards the most frequent patron the title of mayor. (Then you hear that some dirty politics may be developing around Foursquare mayorship, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported.)
BusinessWeek recognizes Foursquare’s co-founder Naveen Selvadurai as one of the best young technology entrepreneurs.
Check out this video on his take about why so many people are checking in everywhere they go:
Is Foursquare a fad or a phenomenon? That’s what the folks over at Mindshare.com asked a few weeks ago. Mindshare says that if 2009 was the year of Twitter, then 2010 most certainly must be all about Foursquare. And with more than one million users, they might be right!
Those who want to understand how technology and social trends impact the face of their business might want to pay attention to Foursquare.
Audio waves will soon turn your cell into a hotel key
On this Memorial weekend, many people are traveling and spending time in hotels. Here is a Friday fun technology trend to kick off the holiday weekend: Some hotels are now allowing customers to use their cell phones as hotel room keys.
The customers are test marketing the idea in two Holiday Inn locations in Chicago and Houston.
According to reports I’m reading, the system is called OpenWays, which sends a unique and encrypted audio code to a customer’s phone before arrival and check-in. He or she also gets a text message with the room number, allowing that weary traveler to skip the hotel registration desk.
The designers say it is safe as a hotel keycard to use, and will be tested in more hotels in June—just a few days away!
OpenWays is available to users on iPhone, BlackBerry and “Droid” phones, and will soon be usable on other platforms as well. I haven’t downloaded the app yet, but I may have to check this out!
Solar Success!
Solar power companies are partnering with many top corporations to help power their offices, plants and retail outlets. Copanies like Kohls, Dell, Whole Foods, J&J and Intel are using the sun and the power of strategic collaboration to save energy.
You can read up on how each of these companies is finding solar success via a voluntary program called the Green Power Partnership, and it is changing the way many Fortune 500 companies track their annual green power costs.
Clean Energy Technology: Where are companies investing?
There is a lot of buzz these days about clean energy technology and where U.S. companies are putting their money.
A few hours ago Google Inc. announced that for the first time it is making a sizable investment in renewable power as a way to accelerate the deployment of the latest clean energy technology while providing attractive returns to the search engine giant. (Read about it here.)
Google’s $38.8 million investment in an incredible wind energy project in the North Dakota plains involves two wind farms owned by NextEra Energy Resources that generate 169.5 megawatts of energy, or enough to power more than 55,000 homes.
Not every company is investing locally. One trend we are noticing is that clean energy technology has globalized and innovation has followed suit.
One nation in particular continues to reap the benefits of this trend. Companies like GM, Dow and and Intel have constructed high-tech research labs in China. In fact the Chinese have 750 foreign-funded R&D centers in China—up from 50 just 13 years ago. Meanwhile the number of R&D sites in the United States dropped from 60 percent to 52 percent in the past decade.
You can read more about this phenomenon in a new Business Week article titled America’s Green Innovation Problem. The report does a good job explaining the numbers, and showing that as many companies are becoming truly global in their R&D, manufacturing and marketing, they’ve been collaborating even more with foreign companies and governments.
College “on-demand”
With two sons now in college, I’ve had some great opportunities to see how the traditional college scene is not what it was when I attended!
It’s exciting to see not only how conventional learning has evolved, but also how a new way to learn is emerging for those students who don’t consider themselves a traditional tuition-paying, degree-seeking member of a university.
All you need today to be a collegiate learner is a computer. A number of schools have created on-demand downloads and videocasts of their content. The OpenCourseWare movement from MIT and many other universities around the world is one example. iTunes U is another.
An effort known as Project TUVA us under development by Microsoft where online they making available lectures given by some of the brightest and most well-known scientists. Although the lectures themselves may be conventional, they are being enhanced with written captioning, expert commentary, and a note taking ability that can be synchronized with the lecture.
In Project TUVA one can easily navigate within the lectures, and the application even allows transcript searching and skipping directly to that point in the lecture. For their first demonstration they have provided a series of very interesting lectures on physics given by Professor Richard Feynman of Cal Tech in the 60’s. Feynman had the fascinating ability to make complex science fun and interesting. Even though the lectures themselves are old they are worth checking out.
All of these offerings provide a wide range of courses, but generally they are not complete in any specific degree area, and there is not as of yet an affordable selection of advanced or graduate level courses. There is still much improvement to be made in the quantity of content.
Obviously the thought is that universities don’t want to give away their product for free, only samples of what they provide. But even if they don’t provide them to the public, why wait to start building a potentially valuable “library” of lectures? Colleges and Universities could start recording much of their content now, and not just let it slip away in the memories of their students.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someday all of that content could be incorporated into a repository like Project TUVA to be accessible by youth all over the world – especially by those who will never be able to afford or participate in a conventional college education? Perhaps this is one area were available public funding could be used to better invest in our future.
The application of new technology to education is requiring creative thinking around user interface design, storage, and media searching and indexing. There is so much opportunity to bring more powerful experiences to the process of learning and allow more people to participate in the learning experience.
It is a highly exciting time. We are beginning to be able to subscribe to the learning outlets that we want. Take advantage of it where we can. Download a free e-book or watch a lecture. You don’t need a specialized reader like a Kindle or an iPad; all you need is a computer or a smart phone (and of course some spare time!).
Top 50 Innovators: Is a new world order emerging?
Aside from being a taxing week in the U.S., mid-April is also when BusinessWeek Magazine publishes its top 50 list of the most innovative companies all over the world. This year’s rankings are definitely pointing to a trend I’ve talked about before: That a majority of companies recognized as top innovators are based outside the U.S. Check out this video for some insights:
In the 2010 Bloomberg/BusinessWeek annual rankings of Most Innovative Companies, 15 of the Top 50 are Asian—up from just five in 2006.
The list is dominated by companies from Europe, Asia, and for the first time, South America.
Bloomberg/BusinessWeek’s Most Innovative Companies report has been published each April since 2005, although in the beginning it was the Top 20 list. The results are based on a 21-question poll to senior executives around the globe. The 1,590 respondents, who answered anonymously, were asked to name the most innovative companies from outside their own industry in 2009.
What many will find surprising, I think, is that when Bloomberg/Businessweek started ranking innovators in 2005, only six of the Top 20 were headquartered outside the U.S. A third of 2005′s American champs (3M, Starbuck, eBay, etc.), no longer make the Top 50.
Check out the article & the Top 50 list here.
Are You a Brand Fan or Follower?
Why do consumers follow brands on Twitter or Facebook? It depends on which social media they’re using, according to a new study out this month.
According to the report published by market research firm Chadwik Martin Bailey, Facebook users were more likely to show their support for a company they liked by becoming a fan of the brand on the social network while Twitter users were more likely to follow a brand to receive real-time information and exclusive offers.
It goes on to say that consumers were nearly 70 percent more likely to recommend or buy products from a brand after following them on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Consumers said that their number-one reason for becoming a fan of a brand on social networking sites was to receive discounts from the companies. Other reasons for following a brand included previously purchasing a product from the company, wanting to show others they supported the brand or to gain access to exclusive content.
Innovation and Games Galore On Display
A lot of game-playing going on in San Francisco this past weekend, as thousands of game designers, programmers and executives attended the Game Developers Conference. The attendees gather each year to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry.
From an innovation standpoint it was interesting to note the top buzz was around motion controls and social gaming. (I confess I personally don’t spend a lot of time on gaming apps for my iphone, but I think it’s important to keep up on trends in an industry so pivotal to the emerging generation!)
Sony introduced its PlayStation Move, a new wand-shaped PlayStation 3 motion controller system that will rival Nintendo’s popular Wii. Move’s system includes a PlayStation Eye camera to detect players’ movements. As designers and developers discover more capabilities with the hardware, they will no doubt find new applications for the games.
Social gaming was also a huge draw. With the success of games like Facebook’s “FarmVille” and the role-playing “Mafia Wars,” several conference sessions were dedicated just to these popular venues.
Then there is the VirtuSphere, a huge hamster ball-like virtual reality machine that allows users inside to control a character by walking around inside.