Dutch foundation Korrelatie made it possible for its clienst to chat with a psychologist, educationist, or a social worker (mf, Dutch). Brands start to fully support distant communication between employees and customers. First just through speech (phone), now with text, later with images. In the end the conversation will be almost as real as in the normal world. The difference though is that we will be able to communicate from any place in the world, and if we want we can eliminate any disturbing element (sound for example). A world on command. And a consumer who determines the way he or she communicates with brands. This is a small step in that direction.

Microsoft has developed a beta version of Live Search for Windows, which can be operated through spoken commands (dc, Dutch). In the future we won't just search on the computer, but driving in our car, we will also yell 'call John', or 'contact Citibank'. Then the spoken dialogue continues, with a real person, or an artificial brand agent. This is a small step in that direction.

In its first Mobile Fashion Store in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, telecoms retailer The Phone House shows the latest trends in fashion, lifestyle and mobile phones. Samsung uses a special part of this shop to present its newest design phones (am, Dutch). Mobile IT becomes a commodity. Technology is not the most important factor any more for these products: in which way the product can add to personal identities is a more important question. The same development has taken place in making clothes: the first people scraping bear skin probably didn't worry about the looks of the bear skins, as they were just interested in their functionality. Much later, design started to come up. Similarly, brands making mobile electronics will evolute into fashion brands (which buy technology). This is a small step in that development.

Hypolife is an intermediary for mortgages, pensions and financial planning, working with fixed rates. The provision Hypolife receives from insurance companies are given back to the customer, and then a fixed rate is billed. The rates therefore are much lower, according to Hypolife. This development is seen in many more fields. Products and services are easier to compare, provisions are made public, and with that the original added value of the intermediary (and its financial rewards) disappears. Coaching brands take their place. They compare all products and all services in a certain field, in a personal context. This is largely automatized, and sometimes a specialist connected to a coaching brand will jump in to help. For this service must be paid. In these kinds of developments, coaching brands originate.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Dutch telecoms provider KPN introduced its service KPN OpWeg (KPN On the Road), a navigation service for mobile phones. The phone needs to have a GPS function, or make a connection with a GPS receiver (ab, Dutch). A virtual world is developing, which we can see through various screens and displays. Now we are still used to certain functions belonging to certain appliances (like phone, remote control, or TV). In the future we will be able to do everything through every screen. The only limit will be the size of the screen. But having spoken dialogues with brands will go through any display. Even through the display around our wrist (that now just shows the time) we will be perfectly able to do so. This is a small step in that direction.

Through RobotReplay brands can record and watch the way consumers move their mouse over their website (dc, Dutch). RobotReplay is an analyzing tool, but this principle uncovers a lot more opportunities. Like in a shop the (good) seller keeps an eye on the consumer's interest (at that moment) and takes advantage of that, brands will now do the same thing online. Earlier, brands did this by looking at what we clicked on, or what we bought. Now they look at how we move our mouse, and later brands will also consider what we say, what we look at, and what our hands reach for. This way the virtual world becomes more and more real, and brands start to understand us better and better.

Dutch character 'Meneer De Uil' (Mister Owl) soon will present De Fabeltjeskrant ('the fable newspaper') in 'Twents', a regional dialect. Regional broadcaster RTV Oost has already translated a couple of episodes in the regional dialect, and hundreds of episodes are to follow soon (bm, Dutch). Brands are starting to speak the consumer's language. And not just the general language: they will also start using the accents, and the specific individual word choices. Brands in this are assisted by technology that allows them to do this more and more. Brands this way learn to listen to the consumer as a psychologist, or as a senior account manager. Only automatized. This is a small step in that direction.

The European Commission has its own channel on video sharing site YouTube: EUTube. This channel provides videos about the most important issues for the residents in the European Union's 27 member countries, which are being addressed by the European Union. At the moment there are almost 50 video clips, covering various subjects: from historic pictures about the start of the European Union to contemporary concerns about environment, immigration, and the fight against global warming. Most of the content is in English, but there is room for French and German clips. Other languages will be added 'if possible' (ab, Dutch). This way European citizens get more involved with the European Union, their emotional barriers very slowly disappear, and Europe will start to feel like one country. A next step will be for Europe to ask its citizens to translate content. Or to provide content. Very, very slowly, in very small steps, everybody will feel like a world citizen in the future. But that will take at least another fifty to one hundred years.

Related trends

• More involved

American Social Network MySpace splits off its video sharing to MySpace TV. Its structure strongly resembles YouTube (dc, Dutch). This way coaching brands get more focus. Facilitating contact, the main focus of social coaching brands, is very different from entertaining people, the main focus of home entertainment coaching brands. This split-off makes it possible for both brands to really focus on their core activities.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Tokyo-based optical component maker Active Inc. has developed a new composite LCD display that allows a user to clearly see objects through the monitor's viewing surface (eg, tip Heini Withagen). We develop more and more screens as windows to see the world. This way, the world we see becomes clearer. From every object all details will automatically appear, we can zoom in on certain details and interact with them. And this is also true for objects developed by product brands. We will encounter these kinds of screens as windows in various places: in museums, as shop windows, or as a replacement for normal window glass. This is a small step in that direction.