Trend observations, analysis and future predictions since 2005
Category: Media Evolution
The media context slowly matures: a media world in which every individual can send the highest quality text, audio or video. A media world which evolves into a virtual world, a real, made-up or mixed world experienced from a distance. Part I of the book describes the maturing of the media context in detail. Below you’ll read about the small steps in the evolution we already see today.
Wikipedia mobile
Wikipedia has a mobile site. You can also click on spoken articles.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
With everything we see we’ll get answers to all questions. Currently by starting Wikipedia, but later we’ll call out “Hey, Wik! What kind of tree is that?” and then we’ll be answered immediately. It’ll be the ultimate for kids whose parents sooner or later won’t want to answer the ‘why?’ quesstions and increase the intelligence of a new generation enormously.
iPhone as game console
iPhone as remote control
By plugging a small adapter in the iPhone's headphone plug and installing the application UIRemote an infrared signal is sent which can control any device in the house.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
Remote controls will disappear. This is the first stop. After that, screens will become interactive: we can make choices on our cell phone to operate, for example, the tv. But it’ll become even more interesting around that time: the tv’s content will be transmitting signals too. We can choose our own programs and, more importantly, the programs react to what we do. This makes tv truly interactive, outside the stations’ involvement.
iPhone as clock radio
IClockRadio turns your iPhone into a clock radio. You can listen to a good 100 radio stations with your iPhone. iClockRadio functions as a clock which, at a set tme, will automatically start to play a radio station. With this, iClockRadio adds 2-in-1 functions to the iPhone, since the iPhone itself doesn't have an FM-receiver or digital radiotuner. iClockRadio uses the mobile internet for the radio-reception. Very unique is that reception is also possible on the older, first generation iPhone, using GPRS (3G/UMTS-reach is not a necessity).
General disadvantage of this kind of data-eating applications (streaming music) are the still high roaming tariffs, making the use abroad limited for the time being.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
We’ll do everything on every screen. Calling on tv, gaming on the cell, listening to radio on the navigation system and internetting on our game console. Each screen will become a window to 1 virtual world and this is a nice example of it.
Related trends
Barack Obama on a time line
On TimeRime.com you can design your own interactive time line (try it). For example, the time line of Barack Obama, your own time line, evolution, the development of painting as an art, or the development of your company. You can compare time lines to others and, furthermore, you can place those time lines dynamically on your own website. If you change something in the time line, it's automatically edited on every website. If you look at the time lines you can zoom in on a specific time or get the complete overview.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
It’s the ultimate for the history lesson, but especially for people who want to compare connections from the past. So to for brands which want to show their roots, that want to participate in the brand coming-out trend, that want to show their authenticity as much as possible. For them is this a beautiful aid. Currently with pictures, later there’ll be an on-the-fly movie of the life of made for us. And a step further than that we can step into that period and feel what really played at the time. And make contact with people from that time. Compared to that this is just a piece of cake.
Related trends
Belt with built-in camera
This belt buckle has a built-in camera, microphone, USB port and a slot for a micro SD card.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
It’s described as a spy gadget, but it can sometimes just be useful to remember what you see. For example if you’re on a tour or make a verbal agreement with a car dealer or if you want to enjoy your vacation again. You’ll see details which you’ve never noticed before. It’s about reliving experiences. The trend is: we record the physical world the way it is now to be able to travel through it again later on. A lot more cameras will follow and a few other examples are already on spycamera.
Age check by calling school
The American company Guardian checks the identity of young social network members by calling their school.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
The internet isn’t designed for the mass consumer use of today. We’d never have made it so anonymous if that was the case. We’re currently in a transitional phase. We’re moving from anonymous to a pseudonym, where there’s always a party which identified you and let you in for a session on the internet. Then you can roam everywhere under a pseudonym, but you can always be traced. That’s where this development contributes to.
Facebook lets brands connect people
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
Screens that react to passers-by
Eye Flavor is a column with a large screen and a built-in camera that can be located at, for example, malls, conventions or airports. It's used to get demographic information from the passers-by, but also to show them specific ads. It shows if the public glanced at it, watched it, stopped or ignored it. Passers-by can also print out discount coupons in the form of QR codes which are recognised by cell phones. With all these possibilities, advertisers can see exactly which ads work for which public.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
We’re getting more and more screens around us and brands will try to advertise for a while longer. Currently on the basis of demographic characteristics, but later you can pull up the profile off a social network site, recognise the passer-by and address them by name. Our brains are extremely sensitive to this.
Brands that let themselves be tempted by this kind of practices will become exactly like people that continually interrupt you during a conversation. Brands that build on the the dialogue, on the other hand, those screens we can call ourselves, and then recognition is useful. And it’ll be clear which brands will eventually be the strongest.
Related trends
Masterpieces Del Prado on Google Earth
There are now 14 masterpieces, 14 quality pieces, from the Del Prado museum in Madrid visible on Google Earth in great detail. The paintings have been photographed with a resolution of 14-gigapixel (1400 times as much as the average consumer digital camera). Anyone who looks up the museum on Google Earth will see an icon. By clicking on it you get to see the masterpieces. Clicking again brings the user to the painting.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
We’re mapping the world in ever more detail. Now the paintings, later we can study the whole museum, every room, every panel, every piece of the floor in the greatest detail. We start with the most important things. But it’s only a beginning.
Related trends
3D metal printing
Anyone who makes their own design can now let it be produced three-dimensionally in metal by a 3D metal printing technique developed by the company ShapeWays. Actually it's not really 3D printing in which the model is built up sphere by sphere, but it's burned out by a laser. So you start with a massive piece of metal and burn exactly the shape you want.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
It’ll only speed up the mass-customization trend: later on you’ll be able to choose models created by others, adapt them just a little for yourself and have them produced. Of course this is marvelous for art objects, but what to think of, for example, spare parts for old-timers? If car manufacturers publicize their (3d) drawings, you can reproduce everything. After 15 years, after 50 years. Manufacturers’ll have to focus on supporting products from the past for this, however, even if they don’t really want to think about that anymore.
Related trends
Wireless internet in Thalys
From now on all Thalys-trains (which connect Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Köln) are equipped with wireless internet. In May the first carriages were equipped with wireless internet for commercial use. According to Thalys, over 60,000 travelers have used the service since then.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
Wherever we are in the world, we’ll find a fast wireless internet connection. It’ll be in contact with all devices near you effortlessly, without any technical knowledge, without you realizing it even. That’s the infrastructure. And that’s only the beginning of communication. With each other. With brands.
Visible Body gives layered 3D model of human
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
Following runners from home
People who stay at home can follow the participants of the Zevenheuvelenloop (Zevenhillrun; Dutch) using the internet, thanks to ChampionChip GPS Tracking (Dutch). Each runner has a special tag on their shoe. This technology is used for the first time in the run. People who run with a team can only see how others have done on the internet afterwards. You can see all kilometer times, speed, progress and the class of others walking with a GPS Tracking.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
We’re mapping everything in real time. Soon we’ll stick cameras everywhere with ease. They’ll be configured in such a way that we can follow their faces like we’re running along with a camera. And then coach them through the ear piece they’re wearing. If they allow it of course
ANP news 1937-1984 available
The Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Dutch royal library) has made the typed out texts of the ANP radio bulletins between 1937 and 1984 available through a special site. The collection of ANP Radio bulletins covers 1.5 million typescripts from the period 1937 – 1984. The years of 1939 – 1946 are missing. It's possible to search through the texts.
Future vision by Erwin van Lun
And so we’re mapping the world of yesterday ever more precisely. Soon we can travel through time and relive everything nicely. That’ll change the history lessons in schools fundamentally. Digitalizing our past is part of this.