Based on the post about nanocars combined with programmable material I thought that in our future of 2050 all ugly buildings will disappear from the earth en masse. The current owners may go on vacation for a few weeks and millions, maybe even billions, of microrobots (nano/bio) will be poured over a building that's then broken down molecule by molecule, gets separated and deported immediately to be rebuilt into a new building with the same technology and recycled material. Completely automated. Or a complete city that wants to be moved because it's inconveniently below sea level. Or because the inhabitants would rather live by the sea. Or have some more sun. That's a weird world, isn't it? Or does everything think this is normal? Did it, done it?

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• 2050-2100: Pamper planet

This is one of the most special twists I've ever had. Money will disappear, and property will disappear. That sounds really crazy. Below my reasoning.

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• 2050-2100: Pamper planet

MIT student David Merrill has developed blocks, as big as a cookie, which respond to one another. For example, different videos in different blocks can react to one another, take over each other's colours, you can make a puzzle that needs to be solved in a specific time frame, play games like scrabble and make sums. Below a video.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

It looks like a game, and it is, but it also shows how all screens react to one another. Later, when we hold a mobile phone about a tv the video will slip straight into it. That’s how simple it’ll be. Piece of cake.

Aangetekend Bellen is a Dutch service which records telephone conversations. The caller and receiver both know that the conversation is recorded and can listen back to the conversation with a text-message code that's only available to them. To create this 'Signed Calling', you call 0900-226 43 83 53 63 with your mobile phone. The caller informs the person receiving the phone call of the recording at the beginning of the conversation and starts it with the # button. The recording is also ended with this button. After ending the conversation, the caller can listen to the phone call again immediately. After the connection is broken both parties get a unique code via text message with which they can relisten to the conversation independently from the other.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

We’re completely used to the fact that our emails get saved, but later on all phone conversations will be saved and then all video conferences. The big difference is that both parties get access to this communication. Through, what I call, the brand memory. It won’t be long before we can find our complete communication history in ‘my account’ for any brand. That’s text messages, mails, phone conversations and even, yes yes, letters (scanned and all).

Consulting organisation McKinney has turned searching into chatting. The opening screen starts with "Hello, It's Time for a New Conversation", then the questions appear on screen and we see the search box appear. In it is typed: "Ask us about us."

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

This is how brands are starting to see what the dialogue really means. The search box is made central, the place where you as consumer, visitor, can ask questions. The art will be answering questions correctly and that works best if you recognize the consumer and continue the dialogue where you left it off. This is again a step in that direction.

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• Brand-dialogue

The amount of people who use Skype is currently growing with 4 million new users in 12 days. That's almost as much as the entire population of Singapore. Almost a third of all registered subscribers now use Skype for their businesses.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Phoning someone is now disconnecting itself from the device. Later on we’ll be able to phone from any device (TV, computer, mobile phone, mediaplayer, PSP, e-paper, whatever) using, for instance, Skype. The model of telecom operators will be decimated to offering (very good) connectivity of all those devices.

Using Multicolor Search tool you can look for matching colours instead of subject. By means of a colour palette you can determine which colours you want and you'll immediately get a selection of images.

"Multicolor Search Lab is developed by the Canadian visual search software developer Idée Inc. Their tools are sold to companies like Associated Press, Agence France–Press and Digg, but you can use them for free on Flickr’s database".

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Currently limited to a few colours, but later on you can search exactly for those colours you want. Later on you’ll just have a megascreen on the wall and say “I want something like that, but then with people” or “Those people are all right, but now laughing or with animals”. You’ll get it exactly how you want it, but typing won’t be part of it anymore. This form of visual searching fits man really well.

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• 2020-2035: Mediacompletion

The Termina Kinshicho Fujiya Restaurant in Japan is experimenting with e-paper, here used as an electronic version of the menu. This allows, for example, the latest news to be shown while the order is prepared.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Paper will disappear and sometimes make space for e-paper. Currently as a separate device, but later on built into the table or the wall, in combination with many more screens to strengthen the experience and don’t disrupt like ads do. This is a nice example.

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• 2020-2035: Mediacompletion

LinkedIn, the professional social network, now lets you make notes that are only visible to you with your contacts.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

This shows how social networks develop themselves. We’ve been able to look up people quickly for sometime, people keep their own contact data up to date and now we can make notes too. Later on, we can just call Lise, LinkedIn’s brand agent, and say “I want to call that guy I met in January during that CSP unplugged meeting.” After a short dialogue you’re put through. Nice and easy.

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue

Koopinfo, a new Dutch comparison site, doesn't just compare electronic products, but also takes into account the consumer's personal situation. In the so-called 'Kijkwijzer' (viewing guide) the consumer can enter this situation pretty precisely. You can think of such things as the distance from the couch to the tv or the way the light falls in the room.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

It’s a nice example of how comparison sites are growing into coaching brands. Later on we’ll buy everything from such sites, but which ones? That’ll be the comparison site that knows most about us, that has helped us best in the past and which our friends have good experiences with. So with which we have a relationship. This example shows how that relationship is created.

In a next step, Koopinfo will combine with housing sites that know your house completely, including the furniture, and you see and hear the effect of a tv in 3D perspective. Through the computer, the tv, mobile phone or holographically projected in the store. This is a step in that direction.

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• Coaching brands

Timboodle is a musical search engine with which you can find music on 'state of mind' or based on scraps of lyrics. For example you can search for 40 emotions, like melancholy, happy, subdued or excited. Beside that you can refine search queries by giving additional criteria, like genre, timbre, tempo, meter and kind of vocals.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

In a next step, Timboodle will measure your emotions. For example because webcams (which are available everywhere anyway) or microphones process image and sound with which you emotions can be guessed. And then Timboodle can jump in carefully with music tailored to that. This is how Timboodle can grow into a valuable brand in audio experiences. This is a start.

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue

Xing saw its profits rise with a good 10 million euros to 35.3 million. Most of the money comes from subscription feels. Paying customers have more rights, for example to search for people, than non-paying members. Xing has 550,000 paying customers, 188,000 more than a year ago. That's 8% of the total members.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Slowly we’re discovering the real business models of the virtual world, the long-promised internet business models. We start for free and then add continuously more value. At some point, it becomes so valuable that people gladly pay for it. And that’s exactly what we see happening here.

And at the same time, advertisements will start to disappear. That model comes from a completely different era and is well past its peak.

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• Experiences

Emerce, the title for the Dutch magazine of the same name, website and event eDay has cut itself loose from publisher VNU Media through a management buy-out.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Stockholding companies will disappear. We’ll start to see completely new concepts in which people do share financial interests, but they’ll coincide with an organization’s right to exist: the addition of value to people’s lives. Only that can be guaranteed by a non-stockholding company. With stockholding companies those interests are disconnected and we see which problems come with that.

Small brands like Emerce and throw themselves into community facilitation entirely and ensure that people truly continue in the area they want to be good at. I foresee a beautiful future for Emerce and a somber one for VNU Media.

Babies make all kinds of noises with which they send signals to the outside world. Princilla Dunstan offers parents training to recognize those sounds and to communicate with their babies. The training is based on years of research.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Now that we’re getting knowledge regarding baby sounds, in a next step we’ll start to recognize them automatically. Then we’ll be aided by our social coaching brands, which are specialized in communication, and we can hear what’s wrong very early on. Then we’ll be trained on the spot. That’s the next step.

Justin TV lets you watch soccer together through the computer and you can chat to give your commentary.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Currently through the computer, later through your TV and, for example, you mobile as keyboard. Currently with everyone, later you’ll connect this with your friends. Currently just text, later with images too. Currently just with a dialogue, but later you can make transactions too: for example, making a bet. Who bets that there’ll be a goal in the next two minutes? And the ToTo, for example could facilitate that. And for this kind of experience, we’ll just pay money. Everything exactly as I described it in my book five years ago; we’re still on track for 2015.

Related trends

• Experiences

This demonstration of hypersonic sound shows a special kind of speakers that you only hear when they're aimed at you.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Currently as loose speakers, but later completely built into a screen. Currently we have to aim the speaker, but later the speakers can remain in place and the sound will aim itself at different (!) people who walk past a screen. And then sound won’t just adapt to passers-by, but also to images. So that it seems like we’re all watching one show, but from a slightly different perspective. And then it’ll be interesting when the screen isn’t a meter wide, but 10 meters wide and 4 meters high. And then the dialogue with the brand agent. It’s all coming. Step by step.