In this video you can see how a robot does some kind of dance with fighting movements.

We make robots more and more real. However, recognition of the world around them, and communication with people living in it, still is a challenge. Earlier or later these problems will be solved though, and then we will see robots on the street, at work, and even at home.

Nokia adds GPS coordinates to pictures made with their phones (mc, Dutch). We thus all together map the world very fast. In a couple of years every camera (including all mobile phones) will have this as a standard function, including the direction in which the picture was taken as well as the zoom factor. We directly upload the pictures to the internet (as every camera will always be connected to the internet) and can then directly see other pictures taken at the same time from a different direction. Combining these pictures, we can directly see a 3D view on our 2D screen, and can travel back in time without trouble. That is how the virtual world evolves. This is a beginning.

The Epoc right and left ear hearing aids from Oticon work closely together to strengthe the sounds from the environment as natural as possible. Through this, the user can hear exactly what direction a sound is coming from. It doesn't stop here though: via Bluetooth these smart ear plugs are aslo connected to a mobile phone, MP3 player or navigation system, thus forming a personal communication center. Because of this, Epoc already is a gadget for music loving youth in the USA (vo, Dutch). Ear plugs are becoming a standard accessory, used even more than glasses. Visible, as (costly) jewelery, or invisible in our ears. With that, we get endless possibilities for communication with the (virtual) world around us.

E-Fitzone is a fitness center completely focused on interactive training. Apart from well-know movement games like the Nintendo Wii and Sony's EyeToy Kinetic there are lots of other games to play. This development perfectly fits in this era. We will be more and more challenged on an individual level. We will be able to learn certain sports without having been in the real environment. We will be personally coached without having a personal coach. We will play with other people from all over the world, form virtual teams, and compete against others. Against real or virtual people. Today's obesity, caused by too much media usage, will get a whole new perspective in tomorrow's world. By offering a series of experiences we can transform to be real top athletes in a certain field in the course of years. Or develop certain physical skills we would normally not be able to find a teacher for. With that, the experience economy in the long term will change into the transformation economy. It still has a long way to go but this is a nice start.

Related trends

• Experiences

It is now possible to play piano on the iPhone (mc, Dutch). The virtual world develops to be a full equivalent of the physical world. Now specifically for the iPhone, but soon we will be able to get a piano on any screen or display, from big to small, including a piano teacher who trains us. And we will be able to start a session with people who are somewhere else, and who can then be seen through holographic projection.

It is now possible to send an MMS to the Parrot DF7700. Thanks to a built-in SIM card the device has its own phone number that can be used to directly communicate with it (mc, Dutch). All hardware products get their own number we can use to directly communicate with. And not just us: when we start a dialogue with the brand, the producer of a device, it directly is clear what copy we are talking about. Products will no longer be anonymous, and producers will always stay connected to their products. No matter if they are with their original user, or the second or third user. Five, ten or fifty years later. This is a development in that direction.

Via Yahoo Live every webcam now can be seen live at the internet (dc, Dutch). Thus another sort of live-TV evolves. Now through the webcam. Soon we will make live television productions which people can tune in to. And in the long run, they will pay for this. In the short term these initiatives will keep growing rapidly, we will get access to cameras in mobile phones (or is this already possible?) and we will also be able to get live views at the mobile phone. Especially the live reporting of news then gets a totally new dimension.

At a forum in Sydney about the future of Search Engine Marketing somebody from the audience asked Google Australia's General Manager: 'When will Google start to not only show search results, but also the protocol that is used to generate the search results?' The Google manager a little giggly answered that of course that isn't possible, although they are working on other forms of openness. I however do think this is possible, and to take it even further: Google will have to do this.

It now is possible to use the Apple iPhone as a touch pad. The user can move the mouse, click and drag with it (eg).

Hardware with various screens give us access to one virtual world. Gestures seen near one screen lead to changes on another screen. And soon the other way around too. Then we drag a picture through the air to a TV screen, and can walk away while the picture stays there. Or we 'pull' a video from the wall, right in our phone. It will soon be as logical and easy as 1-2-3. This is only child's play still.

Amazon.com from now on shows the total amount in your own currency. Not knowing the exact in your own currency proved to be a burden for international customers (em, Dutch). Brands start speaking the consumer's language. Every sales person knows it: use exactly the customer's words, his own languages, his own habits. Then you create real contact. This is no different for the automated dialogue. This step by Amazon is a logical one in this perspective. Soon any amount at any website, in any e-mail, in any chat dialogue, will automatically be shown in your own currency.

Bulgaria has started rolling out the WiMax network, a wireless high speed internet network. In first instance only the ten biggest cities will get the network, but in 2009 there will be a ninety percent coverage. Bulgaria will then be one of the first countries to have this technology available almost everywhere. Cisco states there is a lot of interest in WiMax in upcoming countries, from Africa to the Middle East, but also in parts of China. This is especially true for areas that don't have existing communication infrastructure like copper. For Bulgaria this is the quickest and cheapest way to roll out broadband internet (em, Dutch).

Dutch restaurant site Iens introduces a paid membership, a sort GoldMember, which offers extra possibilities (em, Dutch). It is the typical development of business models for coaching brands. First all service is free (for example gathering information about certain products or services), then more and more value is added. So much, that at some point we are willing to pay for it. After all, it adds value to our lives. Paid membership is one of the possibilities.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Dutch professional soccer club PSV sends HD images straight to its fans, without intervention of broadcasters. It is the first time a soccer team is doing this (pv, Dutch). The experience economy is only beginning.

In the new economy to come it is all about virtual experiences, experiences from a distance, experience we are willing to pay for (a lot). This is only an experiment. You could say PSV is building the third ring over the stadium. In a next step we will determine our own viewing perspective (from any corner you can think of), and the screen will follow whenever we turn our heads. We will hear the sounds 3D, and hear our (virtual) neighbor to our right yell. We can record our own comments, or tune in to any other person doing that. It will be easy to tune into older games, add virtual audience in empty stadiums, and even experience a game live, while it has already finished. And the real soccer lover can practice certain techniques himself, with his personal sports brand on his side. These will be experiences we'll never forget.

Related trends

• Experiences

Apple's new laptop, MacBook Air, reacts to finger movements on the touch pad. Of course you can move the cursor with your finger, but apart from that you can scroll with two fingers, and with three fingers you can browse through the website. The laptop also reacts to turning, pinching, and stretching movements. Brands will soon start using these applications. On their websites we will be able to point at things, to quickly browse through their offers, and drag things together. First on the touch pad, later on the screen and after that from a distance of the screen. And after that, even our speech and posture are included. Then we really get into the dialogue. This laptop with these possibilities contributes to that evolution.

Mensmerk.nl, the Dutch origin of this website, has been added to the long list for Dutch Bloggies in the category best design. This is fun! . More info about the development of this site you will find here.

Mensmerk.nl, the Dutch origin of this website, has conquered the 8th position in the Dutch Marcom top 100. About a half year ago Mensmerk had the 13th position. Then the Technorati Index was added to the scoring. As I seemed to score low on that index, Mensmerk fell to place 18. Last month the MarketingFacts editorial team graded Mensmerk with an 8 (only 4 sites in the Netherlands are given that grade), and with that Mensmerk again rose to place 13. My call for my fans to vote for Mensmerk last month resulted in conquering the 8th place: the top 10 position I've been aiming for. Even so, I can improve a thing or two...