Today I have started to here and there promote Chatbots.org, where you can find an overview of chat bots on the web and in Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger). In my old website the chatbot page was a popular page, but it didn't fit in the concept of Erwinvanlun.com. When I launched Erwinvanlun.com I kept the chat bot page, only separate from the site. And now I had it restyled. What is nice about this website is that the content is maintained by the chat bot suppliers themselves. This is actually pretty logical, as it is in their interest too to show the size and the growth of the market. For me, it is part of my mission: help marketers add value to the lives of consumers. And if you want to add value, you have to first start listening. We are slowly discovering the art of listening, and Chatbots.org illustrates this development.

Dutch radio channel Radio 538's logo has been animated. In a so-called Ident the two Radio 538 balls bounce and then stop. Brands more and more often have their logos animated. To draw extra attention, and especially to add personality. Traditional brands are used to using a fixed logo, and don't 'dare' to touch it. Media brands know they can add associations to the brand when using animations. This field will keep developing over the years to come. In the end all logos will animate, and react at interaction. Only in very specific situations it will still be fixed. On a cardboard box for example, or at an invoice. It then will be a derivative of the animated logo, like the black-and-white logo often is a derivative of the full-color one.

Dutch housing site Funda's New House Plan goes beyond just buying real estate. Financing, remodeling, moving, and aspects like the interior are discussed as well (following mf). Starting at the primary comparison of houses, Funda now is also offering other products in cooperation with partners. The consumer however doesn't want to be bound to one supplier: he or she wants to have a choice. In a next phase Funda will also compare mortgages, title companies, movers, contractors, and energy suppliers. That will be the moment the consumer starts paying for these services. As a subscriber, per advice, or by paying commission. Information about the rates will have to be shown openly. Broadening the supply is a small step in that direction.

Heleen is Dutch energy company Essent's new virtual employee. Heleen gets her answers from a central database, guaranteeing that Essent as well as her customers get their information from the same source. Heleen also shows emotions: for example if she can't answer a question, a disappointed Heleen appears on your screen. If she gets a 'naughty' question, she appears lightly shocked (cb). This way dialogues through brand agents further develop. Now still through a photo session with a real person, in the future with an animated person who can have all kinds of emotions. Now still through typed text, in the future spoken through every possible display. This is another step forward.

I recently had a meeting with Dutch magician Ramana, or Wouter Bijdendijk. Ramana acquired international fame by his levitation act in front of the White House, and before that in the Netherlands through appearances on TV with Jensen and Paul de Leeuw. Hij also did a levitation act for insurance company RVS. In a very surprising conversation, lasting for many hours, I was able to sharpen my thoughts about the future. Below are my notes.

I had no idea what to expect from this meeting. Did Ramana possess powers that most people have too, but just are not able to use (any more)? Is it all just one big illusion? How does Ramana handle critique? How does he see the future? What kind of person will he be? And maybe there would be a way we could cooperate. We met at Pacific Parc, close to the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam.

The popular Dutch weather radar site Buienradar has launched some innovations, among which showing clouds and storms six times as detailed, for mobile phones, on Google Maps , and even in Google Earth(mf, Dutch).

We imitate the physical world completely 3D and realtime in the virtual world. Service brands, like buienradar, also contribute to that. Out of 'practicality' we eliminate any insecurity out of our lives. So that we know exactly what time the rain starts, when the sun breaks through, or if it will be freezing. Future generations won't even leave the house without this information, afraid of insecure situations. Just like we as westerners are very scared to walk through the jungle by ourselves. Let alone having to navigate by the sun and the moon. We keep moving further away from nature (although we do move closer in a different way, which is not in this scope however). This practical development adds to that trend.

Google integrates consumer profiles it earlier made for Google's social network Orkut, Google's weblog environment Blogger and Google Groups. YouTube will follow undoubtedly. With their profile, consumers can also place a picture. Then, based on this one profile, they can use all services under the same name. If someone publishes something public, the pseudonym is published instead of the real name (dc, Dutch).

Brands will recognize people, irrespective of product groups. A centrally operated CRM system with a central vision about consumer contact is necessary. New companies, based on IT, can easily make these kinds of changes. For existing companies, this is a little bit harder. In the end all brands will directly recognize us, and connect us to other people. Under our own name, or if we want under a pseudonym. Google takes the lead in this.

New Dutch dating site Paiq matches people with artificial neural networks, a form of artificial intelligence trying to imitate the way human brains work. People who register first have to enter personal characteristics and a picture. Paiq then matches people based on intelligent rules, which in their turn our based on psychological insights. At the first contact the picture is made very vague, so that the dating partner can't see it sharp. Only after the users have been talking to each other for a longer time, they can see who they are dealing with (via em, Dutch).

The brand Paiq thus becomes a little smarter every day. In fact this brand evolves to be a smart friend, who understands who you are, thinks along, your coach. Someone who can introduce you to other people. A valuable brand. Thus new technology is used to make a brand, and Paiq can grow to be a coaching brand. And this is only the beginning.

Johnny Chung Lee shows the near future of 3D television and games. With a smart adaption of his Nintendo Wii, he turns a regular television into a 3D display. The video is very interesting, but the real results are shown at the end. There Johnny looks at a television screen showing a soccer stadium, and gets a really different view if he looks from a different angle: the images moves with him, like he is watching through a window (pe).

Thus the 3D world really takes shape. Later we will also be able to watch TV this way, or walk through a virtual world like Second Life. In a next step we won't have to wear special glasses anymore. Our heads then will automatically be recognized and if we say something, that evokes a reaction too. This is how the virtual world takes shape, and this is what brands will have to get ready for.

Related trends

• More 3D

Binck bank sends 8 Mb videos to bloggers, as well as links to videos in a campaign sent via YouTube (I received them myself). Brands discover mavens: people who want to know everything in a certain area. They provide them with the right information, in the right way, at the right time. We used to get press releases of sites going live two days later. That doesn't make sense: you can't write about it or link to it. Online journalists are happy with pictures, videos, and live websites. In the end we want to have real-time image communications, as that is most suitable for humans. The campaign by the way wasn't relevant enough for Mensmerk.nl, but it does deserve a posting because of the way it was done.

New Dutch holiday website Vakantieoordeel.nl searches all big national and international holiday review websites, and publishes all information in one spot. Vakantieoordeel claims to be independent because it is not owned by a tour operator. Besides, bad reviews are not removed. To have a review removed, suppliers will just have to do better (dc, Dutch). Coaching brands, a type of brands in development, have a couple of shared characteristics, among which completeness in the field they are serving, openness, and independence. Only this type of brands in the future will have access to the consumer. Transaction brands, tied to locations, a certain type of service or packages, will have to make sure they offer top service. The development of travel coaching brands has taken off, and this is an example of it.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Through LiveContacts you can see on the map (on your mobile phone) where your friends are. It works with a small program on their mobile phones that passes on their location. It works through place determination through mobile network masts (dc). The next thing we will share is our location. First based on GPS and then based on Galileo, so we can even determine the location within a building. Once we permit other brands to see this location too, working, family life or a night out will get a whole new dimension. And the expression 'people close to you' will get a whole new meaning.

Mijnsportwereld.nl is a new Dutch network site for active athletes. Apart from central and user-generated sport news like game reports, pictures and videos. it is possible to follow leagues and (in the long run) even start a new league. Besides, members can make their own profile, chat, and apart from friends also add team members and club members. After that, tools will follow for team management, schedules for the bar, and washing the uniforms (mf, Dutch). Thus sport coaching brands slowly develop. First by taking care of many practical issues, but later this type of brands will become our ultimate personal coach by guiding us to top achievements on an individual level. This is only the beginning.

For the first time the group of 16 until 24 year olds in Europe use the internet more often than watch TV. 82 percent of this younger target group use internet between 5-7 times a week, while only 77 percent watch TV just as much. This is the outcome of research conducted among 4,000 internet users in ten European countries. The most popular online activity is finding information (87 percent). Shortly after that follow e-mail (81 percent), and communicating with friends and acquaintances through profile sites (42 percent). Instant messaging follows with 38 percent (em, Dutch).

Google launches 23 translating chatbots for its Instant Messaging program GoogleTalk. This makes it possible to chat with someone who speaks a different language. For example in a chat between an American and a Chinese, 2 chatbots are added. The first chatbot translates English texts in Chinese, and the second chatbot does it the other way around. Google Talk thus further develops as a social coaching brand: a brand that facilitates mutual contact between people. In the future all communication barriers, big or small, will be removed step by step. The brand then stays in our lives as a kind of relationship coach. We won't be able to do without it any more then.

Business-social network LinkedIn shows what your colleagues have read lately. It combines the contact list with news on demand. The amount of job offers rises at the same time (dc, Dutch). Because of this you don't just see the important events in the world, but especially the important events in your surroundings. After all employees are not just employees, but especially humans. And humans are involved in their surroundings. Now for news, later also for participation in events, reviews of books or education. LinkedIn thus further develops to be a career coaching brand, a brand that helps you during your whole career.