Social Technologies ) Trend Letter / Special Report
Special Report by Social Technologies
Contributing authors: Futurists Josh Calder, Chris Carbone, Laura Hudgins
Managing Editor: Hope Katz Gibbs
Outlook 2007
For this Special Report, I was the managing editor of Trend Letter, a newsletter by Briefings Publications. I commissioned Social Technologies founder Tom Conger and a team of his futurists (Josh Calder, Chris Carbone, Laura Hudgins) to provide information for this Outlook issue. They came up with the Top 15 Drivers for the Economy (see list below), and continued to flesh out the drivers’ applications in subsequent monthly columns by Tom—who continues to provide monthly columns for Trend Letter.
The Drivers:
• Aging—Pages 1-2
The world is getting older faster: Organizations that tap the “gray market” will profit, especially in the field of health care
• Family—Page 3
Post nuclear family debuts: Smaller families with diverse subcultures present sophisticated new markets
• Asia—Page 4
The ascendancy of the East: Prepare to compete—and collaborate—with increasingly influential Asian organizations
• Immigration—Page 5
Across the globe, people on the move: Migration will reshape teh world’s social, political, and economic landscapes
• Culture—Page 6
Culture exchange flows both ways: As more people cross physical borders, ideas and products will be absorbed, modified, and re-exported
• Time—Page 7
Time is the new currency: Consumers will support scores of new products and services to manage competing demands on their time
• Monetization—Page 8
Buying back time: Consumers will pay for goods and services once considered free
• Ethic—Page 9
Ethical consumptions drives choices: Niche trend gains traction as consumers buy what they believe in
• Transparency—Page 10
A future without secrets: Ethics and competition will force accountability, but result in some disinformation
• Personalization—Page 11
Customization is key: Organizations must market to individual consumers rather than demographic or psychographic groups
• Networking—Page 12
Digital skin covers the world: Networked information devices will create new industry paradigms, with telemedicine leading the way
• Health—Page 13
The focus shifts to wellness: Health-conscious consumers will snap up nontoxic, personal-monitoring and performance enhaning products
• Creativity—Page 14
Digital spotllight on the creative average Joe: Organizations, including the media, will turn to customers for innovation and insight
• Women—Page 15
The rising power of women: In the workplace, organizations must repond to women’s needs
• Simplicity—Page 16
Backlash against cognitive overload begins: Conventional wisdom that consumers want more choices will be proven wrong
For more information, contact Hope Gibbs.
Copyright by Briefings Publishing Group, a division of Douglas Publications, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of these issue samples in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. For more information, visit www.briefings.com.
Next: The Future of Love [Social Technologies]
Back: Trend Letter: February 2007 [Briefings Publications]