Dutch restaurantsite Iens has, beside its mobile site, an application for the iPhone. You can search on location and kitchen and then get the restaurants with address, grade, and – useful – phone number you can click and call immediately. The iPhone application also shows you photos, the chosen restaurants on the map and the route from where you are at that moment (using GPS).

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Leisure brands are ideally suited for mobile applications. Currently we have to call the restaurant, but later we can reserve immediately. Currently we’re seeing everyone’s reviews, but later what our friends thought of it. Currently only in the Netherlands, but later this’ll work everywhere in the world, in all possible languages. If you’re in Nairobi and get hungry, you’ll go to Iens and look for a nice restaurant in the neighbourhood. All developments that are waiting to happen and ceased being hocus pocus long ago.

Using Facebook Connect brands can discover whether their customers really know one another. Firstly it's a means for site manages not to do any identification of site visitors, but to let Facebook do it. For example, who registers on video community site HowCast clicks on the 'FConnect' button (or: 'register via Facebook'). Then an extra screen is added in which have to enter your Facebook username/password and then returns you to the main screen. Your name and photo have now appeared and your gender has been entered too. Useful, easy, and quick.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Yet it won’t stop here. Facebook claims ‘real identity’. Of course there’s no sign of that. On Facebook too you can pretend to be whoever you want and you can take that weird identity with you everywhere. Later on you’ll really need to verify your identity on Facebook, using a copy of your passport and Facebook will make a distinction between ‘authenticated users’ and ‘registered users’. And later that won’t be good enough either and you’ll need to identify yourself in a physical office to make a connection to a social networking account. Every social networking account, not just Facebook. And that world-wide. And then we’re not even talking about password security. Actually you should be connected through your webcam, Facebook can look into your eyes, have a small conversation with you (all automated of course) and only then let you join. If we’re talking about ‘real identity’ there are still some steps to take.

But for brands this already offers gigantic opportunities. Finally you can understand what role your customers play in social life. Which consumers are connected? How do they (and exactly they) pass things along? Brands can finally start to think tribally to get access to the customers social life.

Related trends

• Tribal

Netlog, a European social network, is now also available as iPhone application. The application allows you to upload pictures directly to your Netlog profile. Furthermore the application uses GPS and if you indicate what you're doing, your friends will also see where you're doing that. The application is available in English, German, Spanish, Finnish, French and Italian.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Brands are creeping very close to the consumer, namely in their cell phone and in their friends list. Furthermore, they speak your language. Currently only in a few languages, in time all the languages in the world, in all accents, and furthermore social coaching brands, of which Netlog is a primal form, will know exactly those words you and your friends use, and know how to play with those. We might talk about customer intimacy, but in comparison to what’s coming, everything that’s been pales.

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue
• De-nationalizing

In Japan, men who consider themselves too fat can be assisted by virtual women (Okusama) through the mobile phone. Subscribers to this free service can choose from four types: a cute waitress, a cool and dominant business woman, a motherly nurse, or a fashionable nail stylist. You can choose her name yourself. Then men enter their length, height and lifestyle habits and the ladies get to it.

Then you get four emails a day from your virtual dietitians which subtly remind you not to fall back into bad eating and drinking habits and suggestions for reaching your ideal weight. All in a tone which fits the character. The service also has a 'meal management tool' in which you can enter a menu yourself and find out how many calories it has.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

This example hides two trends. First brands are taking on the role of coach more and more often, start to stand by our side 24 hours a day and study a specific area, like in this case health. Furthermore brands are letting themselves be represented by virtual characters, brand agents or chatbots more and more often.

The next steps are predictable as a result. The link to our shopping list, recognition of products before we even buy them, and the spoken dialogue. And after that it just goes on. The world is progressing step by step, and you can see it by this kind of ‘gadgets’.

Related trends

• Coaching brands
• Brand-dialogue

Weather Pro is a new weather application for the iPhone that's been unbelievably popular the last weeks. Weather Pro makes complete use of the iPhone's GPS-abilities. For example it shows you the weather forecast for your location, wherever that is. A database with over 300,000 places across the globe are available for this. The forecast is shown in detail for every three-hour period up to seven days in advance, with images and figures. It also has radar-images for the US, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, and it has satellite-images for Europe. The images can be downloaded and played in movies that allow both zoom and panning (moving the entire displayed image with your fingers).

from mc

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Brands are working increasingly more global. If you’re somewhere else on earth you no longer need to ask which brand can coach you in a specific area. You just always choose the same. So that you can later be warned of a specific kind of weather you don’t know yet. And especially how you can best deal with it at that time. Coaching brands are at your side anywhere in the world. This creates a nice thought-direction.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Midomi recognizes the music being played in your environment, recognizes what you hum and the title or artist that you pronounce. The song found can be played and bought directly from Midomi or the iTunes store; you get information about the artist and can play the video clip on YouTube. Midomi is now also available on the iPhone, so everywhere you hear music, think of music or talk about music, it's available with a press of a button. (tip: Hans Ruinemans).

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Currently it’s a little restricted in the amount of numbers recognized, but later Midomi will be able to recognize everything ever created, anywhere in the world, in any language. At first we actively have to tell it we want to identify a song and actively indicate what we think of a song. In time we can just enjoy the music and let Midomi watch (and especially listen) along with us continuously, 24 hours a day. Afterwards we can ask Midomi what number we danced to so wonderfully while we were on vacation. Midomi will play it for us immediately and, if desired, also project the tape that was playing holographically. That’s the meaning Midomi will have in our lives. A real digital troubadour that’s always with us to entertain us musically.

Social network Hyves is now available on the iPhone. This allows you to se if your friends are available for chatting, texting, leaving a message or calling someone directly by touch. Before the end of 2008 another (java) application suitable for other cell phones will be released as well.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

This is the essence of social coaching. Hyves facilitates not just the exchange of text messages, but also of speech by letting users call each other. In a next step you’ll be able to leave voice mail and Hyves can save the conversations in a file, even type it out for you. All automated. Hyves will then be our contact to ‘calling’ others instead of a box in a car. We just call out ‘John’ (an example of Hyves’ brand agent), John appears and we ask John to connect us. Then Hyves can analyze the emotions in your conversation, give you tips about wording your thoughts and feelings and in this way help you manage your relationships with your friends. We’ll be twenty years along then, but that’s where Hyves will slowly be offering added value. Not as a fun tool, but as a brand that will take a special place in people’s lives.

Happenr.com is a vertical search engine that gives Europeans insight into which events (concerts, exhibitions, plays, sport matches, etc) take place in their home town or their vacation address today, tomorrow or in the near future. Through a special map they can even look on street level. The company says that they currently have complete coverage for Germany, Ireland and Flanders, and also for 100 tourist spots (usually large cities) in all of Europe. The site is available in German, English and Dutch.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Sometimes you just want to get away. Do something else for a while. Wherever you are, wherever in the world. The leisure coaching brand knows exactly what can be done where, what your friends are doing, and most importantly: what you like to do. Happenr is the primal shape of such a brand.

Google is launching a web service that can map a potential flu epidemic in an early stage: Google Flu Trends. The company assumes that people who feel sickly will google words like 'flu', 'symptoms' and 'muscle ache'. If the term is entered in the same region multiple times that region will be given a different color on Google Flu Trends. Stopping an epidemic with Google Flu Trends. Furthermore the company thinks they'll be faster than officials.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Brands are aiming their sensors at consumers, and combine what they see. Currently with pictures, but soon they’ll be listening to our coughing and we’ll be carrying biosensors which are permanently connected to our health coaching brands. This is a step in that direction.

Google's Gmail recently added a voice and video chat function which makes it possible to video-chat within Gmail. With this new function you can start a video conversation without first having to open a separate application or making a new account. And if you don't have a webcam, you can chat by voice. Google recognizes from your email traffic with a person who your friends are and gives you access to your online status so you can chat with this. You can also turn this option off (Automatically allow people I communicate with often to chat with me and see when I'm online). Keeping a contact list is no longer needed.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Social coaching brands understand who your friends are. Not because they’re registered elsewhere, but because we have ‘hot’ contacts. Currently based on the amount of contacts, but soon based on the contact of the contacts: do we say nice things or is arguing all we do? Is it purely business? Then maybe we shouldn’t be disturbed in the evening or weekends. That’s the next step. To afterwards analyze the (spoken) conversations and really help us with starting, maintaining and breaking off relationships. This is a start.

Werkplekzoeker.nl allows flexible workers an easy way to find an alternative working or conference space like a café, a restaurant or some other public occasion. There are also offices which offer 'an empty desk for (part of) the day'. The idea of the site is 'for and by users': everyone can come up with work space and share their experiences regarding them.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

In the network economy that’s being created, everything is about flexibility. Currently ‘working long-distance’ means reading mil, writing documents and other computer work. In a year or ten we’ll be actively working with our colleagues in the virtual world. They’ll be life-sized and we’ll have creative sessions that completely dwarf the e-mail exchange or chat conversation we have today. While you’re at home, on your vacation, or at a flexible working location. Werkplekzoeker fits neatly into this development. Currently the model seems to be financed by ads, but soon Werkplekzoeker will be paid per reservation. Or for amount.

Related trends

• Network economy

TomTom is launching a free Online Route Planner. With this travelers can plan a route before leading and receive exact traveling and arrival times which take into account current and historical information regarding traffic flow during the day. HD traffic with 500 billion historical speed measurements of roads across the world is integrated too.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Brands are disconnecting from screens and enter the dialogue through every possible one. That dialogue goes on. Where a conversation ends on one screen, it continues on another. Currently for two screens (nagivational system and computer screen), soon for every screen you can imagine. You just call ‘TomTom’. You’re recognized immediately and the dialogue is continued. This is a nice example of this development.

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue

Two iPhone application, Trein (Train) and iNap, will start to work together. Using Trein you can see up-to-date time timetables for your stations, you can look up disruptions and construction work and plan train journeys that are remembered. iNap wakes you up (gives you a signal when you reach your final destination). The integration means you only need to tell it your final destination and you'll get a signal when you need to get off or switch trains.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

This is how the travel coaching brand is slowly shaped. Currently as an iPhone application, but soon you’ll plan your journey from every possible screen. And if you need to take a cab ride too, you’ll be helped with that too. Whether the brand is called ‘Trein’, ‘iNap’ or something else, eventually there’ll be a buddy for traveling from A to B across the whole world. A buddy we’ll be happy to pay for. That’s the big development.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

At EZ My Styling, a Japanese company, consumers can upload a photo and then try out different hair styles.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Ever more brands are starting to personalize their advice. Eventually we’ll have an exact 3D replica of ourselves and we can try all sorts of possible hairstyles, clothes and accessories. We can make our virtual self walk, exactly how we walk, and then ask our friends how it looks. While you’re lying on the couch. This is an example in that direction.

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue

Social business brand LinkedIn makes searching for people easier. As soon as you type a letter, the names from your network appear automatically. If you make a typo (for example when you search for 'Edwin van Lun' LinkedIn offers the suggestion: Are you perhaps looking for 'Erwin van Lun', 'Edwin van Loon' or 'Edwin van Lit'?)

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Brands do everything they can to understand our language. And just like in a human dialogue, half a word is enough for them. People also often don’t hear half of what’s being said, but our brain glue everything together seamlessly. Slowly we’re learning to automate this. Soon well just call to the car ‘Call Vincent, please!’, that’ll be enough. If there’s any doubt about which Vincent the return question ‘Which Vincent?’ will come automatically. This shows nicely that brands are also starting to get to know our personal network better and keep this in mind in their communication.

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue
• Tribal

VisibleBody allows people to travel through the human body in 3D. The demo starts with the skeleton and then allows you to turn layers on and off separately, like the digestive track, the nervous system, organs, lungs or blood vessels.

Future vision by Erwin van Lun

There are two developments in this example: a media development and a brand development:

• The media development shows that, in the virtual world that’s being created, we map everything that walks on Earth (in general: exists, drives, moves etc, and also what’s beyond that). Third parties will later be able to add layers to this model (although it’s not yet supported by creator Argosy Medical). For example, photos, documentaries about operations, exceptions or treatment methods. And of course: commercial entities that offer services to the body. Don’t just think of surgeons, but also of masseuses, physiotherapists or beauty specialists.
• At the same time a possible health brand is being created. This type of brand studies health, knows everything about it, what’s for sale in the world, and know everything about it. This is a generic model of a human being, but soon it’ll be exactly our body. And every time a change occurs (for example, we start to stand differently thanks to a visit to the physiotherapist) that’s taken into account. Or a new filling in our teeth. We can see the impact of every change immediately. And our life expectancy. What would happen to our body if we lost ten pounds? That’s the domain of health coaching brands and this could be a start for VisibleBody.

We could put this development directly beside Google Earth (or Visual Earth). So that you can, for example, come into immediate contact with a specialist anywhere in the world if you have an SL distortion. And the EPD can be connected to this effortlessly. Worldwide, immediately. Enough chances for marketers to link up new services. (Now we just have to wait for the APIs )

Related trends

• Brand worlds