I saw this link on Mark Sayers blog and jumped over to read the full article in The Austrailian. I love the stuff futurists say, not because I agree with it all, but I find the whole profession fascinating and many of their predictions are not just guesses but based on hard research, maybe speculative is a better word than predictive? But the points made below are interesting. Obviously the whole article expands on each point in far greater detail.
Richard Watson, a brave man who has been persuaded to make 10 predictions for 2009. As a futurist, Watson makes a living by advising big companies on future trends. A Brit of 47 with a background in advertising, design, headhunting and publishing, he lives in Sydney but commutes regularly to London.
Here are Watson’s predictions.
ECO-CYNICS: Are you getting hot and bothered about global warming? Does a cup of carbon-neutral cappuccino or a packet of environmentally friendly crisps make you go environmental?
SERIOUSNESS: In times of economic upheaval and anxiety people can resort either to escape (everything from movies to virtual worlds) or find out what’s going on.
UNPLUGGING: Digital technology has reduced the need for face-to-face contact. But as those who boast of having 150 “friends” realise that most of them are merely digital acquaintances[…]
DITCH THE DEBT: The piggy bank is back.
AUTHENTICITY: When life around us is uncertain, we want authenticity to give us a sense of safety and control.
IMBYS: Nimbys are people who object to things happening in their local area (not in my back yard); Imbys (in my back yard) are the opposite. They want things to happen locally because they support local production and consumption, and they will campaign to get their way[…]
WE, NOT ME: To get through this mess, we will have to stick together,
DELAYED GRATIFICATION: We have had 20 years of instant gratification, and as the mood changes, incomes drop and values shift, some aspects of life will become slower.
FEAR AND LOATHING: We are living in nervous times and the result is a new age of insecurity. Things are out of our control, and someone, somewhere, is to blame.
ANGER: We are entering a nasty period, possibly as much as a decade, in which economic uncertainty will become a catalyst for some unpleasant attitudinal and behavioural shifts.
Full Article Here
No Guarantees 