This Week's Herman Trend Alert

Nail-Painting Robot Coming
to a Salon Near You

 

  The Herman Trend Alert

December 9, 2009

The Future of the Internet

Our phones will continue their evolution being our primary devices for online access. Improvements in voice-recognition will be significant---especially for those whose hands are less able to operate keyboards. Artificial and virtual reality will become more embedded in everyday life, and the very architecture of the Internet itself will improve.

These findings reflected the beliefs of selected Internet leaders, activists, and analysts reported by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that we will see major technological advances. The Project asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020. The panel of experts disagreed about whether this advancement will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives.

In previous Herman Trend Alerts we have discussed the important role of mobile devices. These experts believe by the year 2020, mobile devices will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world. For the last few years we have been reporting the rise of the mobile platform. In many countries where the infrastructure for landlines is less well developed, cell phones are the major medium for communication. The widespread established base of cell phone users will support this trend.

United States President Barack Obama has long touted the importance of transparency. Technology will support the possibility of that transparency. This Project forecasts that "transparency of people and organizations will increase". Unfortunately, that transparency "will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.

Other key findings include that by 2020, "voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the Internet will be more prevalent and accepted" and globally, intellectual property law and copyright protection will continue to be a challenge to enforce, while others continue to find ways to copy and share content---without payment.

Divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will further evaporate with mixed effects in their impacts on basic social relations.

Expect the changing Internet to have new and unexpected effects on many aspects of our lives, as its user interface evolves itself into more elaborate systems.


© Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. 1.336.210.3548 or https://hermangroup.com. To sign up, visit https://HermanTrendAlert.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc."

HEAR JOYCE SPEAK TOMORROW AT 11:30 AM EDT
Tomorrow morning, Joyce will be a Fireside Chat Speakers at the Brightside Business Women Empowerment Virtual Conference where she will talk about how business women can use the insights from her new, groundbreaking book, EXPERIENCE RULES, to be successful. Register for FREE at https://brightsideglobaltrade.org/women.

GET COACHING FOR YOUR PEOPLE FOR LESS THAN $1/DAY!
Gain access to dozens of coaches for the same low price. Find out more by visiting https://ingomu.com/joyceg

JOYCE IS ON THE RADIO EVERYDAY NOW
To listen to Joyce's TV shows on the radio, simply visit RadioFutures.com. Joyce's show is streaming every day at 3:00PM Pacific Time.

To read this Herman Trend Alert on the web: https://hermangroup.com/alert/archive_3-29-2023.html.


Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers.

New subscribers are always welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is read by over 30,000 people in 90 countries, including other websites and printed periodicals. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert.

Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Herman Trend Alert service.


Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert
View this week's Herman Trend Alert
Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         


[ Home · About · Products · Resources · Media ]

 

7112 Viridian Lane
Austin, TX 78739
Voice: 336-210-3548
Toll Free in US & Canada: 800-227-3566
E-mail: info@hermangroup.com


  © The Herman Group. All rights reserved.

Web site design by WebEditor Design Services, Inc.