The Future of the Internet

I liberated this from today's AMN.com. I've never been one to "live in the moment" very well, and as the year draws to a close, I tend to think about the future more and more - waiting for this year to end, and anticipating the beginning of a new year with new opportunities.

This article discusses changes that are brewing in the way we connect as a society. One conclusion I drew from it is that it is expected we will have significantly more sophisticated connectivity in the future, but this will not necessarily lead us to be more connected to each other. In other words, we'll have all kinds of ways to reach out and touch someone electronically, but this may not automatically lead to an actual physical connection that could encourage brand loyalty, friendship, integrity or any other aspects usually attributed to a solid friendship or business relationship. I would conclude that these changes in technology may make it more difficult than ever before to get the right message to the right market. Interesting times ahead!

Herman Trend Alert: The Future of the Internet


December 10, 2009, By Herman Trend Alert



Expect the changing Internet to have new and unexpected effects on many aspects of our lives, as its user interface evolves itself into more elaborate systems.


Our phones will continue their evolution being our primary devices for online access. Improvements in voice-recognition will be significant -- especially for those whose hands are less able to operate keyboards. Artificial and "augmented" reality will become more embedded in everyday life, and the very architecture of the Internet itself will improve. These findings reflected the beliefs of select Internet leaders, activists and analysts as reported by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The Pew Project asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020. The panel of experts disagreed about whether this advancement will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives. In previous Herman Trend Alerts we have discussed the important role of mobile devices. These experts believe by the year 2020, mobile devices will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world. For the last few years we have been reporting the rise of the mobile platform. In many countries where the infrastructure for landlines is less well developed, cell phones are the major medium for communication. The widespread established base of cell phone users will support this trend.


President Obama has long touted the importance of transparency. Technology will support the possibility of that transparency. The Pew Project forecasts that "transparency of people and organizations will increase." Unfortunately, that transparency "will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance or forgiveness. Other key findings include that by 2020, "Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the Internet will be more prevalent and accepted" and globally, intellectual property law and copyright protection will continue to be a challenge to enforce, while others continue to find ways to copy and share content -- without payment. Divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will further evaporate with mixed effects in their impacts on basic social relations. Expect the changing Internet to have new and unexpected effects on many aspects of our lives, as its user interface evolves itself into more elaborate systems.

About the Author
Herman Trend AlertHerman Trend Alerts are written by Joyce Gioia, a strategic business futurist, Certified Management Consultant, author, and professional speaker. Archived editions are posted at http://www.hermangroup.com/archive.html

$200 a Barrel?

Newsweek just devoted a page in this week's issue to provide a snapshot of what life in America might look like if/when oil goes to $200 a barrel (tho thankfully it fell $6 today before trading ended.) Michael Lynch, of Strategic Energy & Economic Research provided the estimates of changes we can expect. Here are some highlights:

Gasoline Prices: UP 53%
Number of Airlines going bankrupt: 8
Motel stays: DOWN 5%
Sales of Long-distance Bus Tickets: UP 8% (rumor has it that Las Vegas is setting up a special Greyhound bus terminal specifically for the AAPEX and SEMA shows to bring in all the SoCal jobbers and technicians) I know the cost for a Continental flight to Las Vegas from Cleveland is $100 more today than it was a month ago.
Hummer Sales: DOWN 13%
Corn Prices: UP 25% ($.45 each at this past weekend's local farmers market)
Dow Jones Transportation Index: DOWN 15%
NYSE Energy Stocks: UP 12%
Hybrid Vehicle Sales: UP 40%
Consumer spending on gas is projected to exceed spending on food about the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2009. Can't wait!

Delphi Recognizes Future Technicians

Yesterday, Tomorrow's Technician editor, Ed Sunkin and I drove through a driving rain to meet with Delphi representatives, Marissa Sura and Doug Vidler, at the Tennessee Technology Center in Jackson, TN. Through the generosity of Delphi, we were able to bring the future of the automotive aftermarket to life for Instructor Ronnie Bush and his automotive class at TTC-Jackson. Tomorrow's Technician selected the class as the winner of our monthly pop quiz, and Delphi awarded the class with $3,500 in tools and equipment. Delphi gave them a new Air Conditioning Diagnostic Tool and a J2534 Universal Reprogrammer, as well as individual "goody bags" for each student. We presented them with an attractive plaque for their classroom, as well as the tools and equipment, followed by a training seminar presented by Doug Vidler. Then, to the delight of everyone, pizza and pop were served!

After that, Dr. Don Williams, Director, and Ronnie Bush, gave us a full tour of their facility. The Technology Center is located on a spacious campus, near the local airstrip. They are the 4th largest technical center in Tennessee, having recently surpassed the Knoxville Center in terms of enrollment numbers. Educational programs include automotive technology, collision repair, tool & die, machine tool technology, CAD-CAM, engineering, drafting, HVAC, nursing, computer, and several others. The automotive class included students ranging from high-school-aged men and women to men in their 40's looking to begin an exciting new career in automotive repair service. The automotive classroom included personal computers for each student, and all kinds of repair vehicles, including Ford vehicles, GM vehicles, and a beautiful 50th Anniversary Thunderbird! These students get plenty of desk-time, computer-time AND hands-on time working on cars and trucks. And I have to tell you, they are ENTHUSIASTIC about their future. When, during the presentation, Doug Vidler asked how many wanted to own their own shop, every hand went up.

Mr. Bush runs his classroom like a business and turns out extremely employable people every year. He places 100% of his students in automotive-related jobs when they graduate from his program.

Thanks again to all who played a part in bringing this together. It was a fun way to show our combined commitment to the future of our industry. I wish more suppliers within our community would make a similar commitment.

By the way, Delphi has made a commitment to the future of our industry by sponsoring the same program in 2008. Anyone else interested in betting on our future ?