…in the MediaSnackers world?

(WORLD) Facing a world in constant flux, MediaSnackers everywhere will experience a media/technological change on a magnitude like no other generation; but what will be the dominant future trends in the next 5-10 years time?

Peter F. Drucker said:

Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window.

With this in mind, here’s my take on what MediaSnackers across the globe will be facing (in no particular order):

Personal Activation

Whether through voice, face or fingertip recognition hard/software, personal activation will give MediaSnackers of the future access to their ‘digital capital’(see below) or even, provide monitored gateways to others through to their ‘permission-based content’(see below).

Empowered Roars

Young people are already creators, producers and participants of media. Brands are enabling these creatives to enforce and embellish their current marketing messages through user-generated content; the public, education and the voluntary sector need to play catch up as young people are finding their voices without state direction/help.

Standardised GPS

Google Earth, Flickr Maps, Socialight—platforms enabling users to position themselves globally and ‘virtually tag’ their location for others to see. Using ‘permission-based access’ (see below), MediaSnackers will allow their friends, parents, brands know where they are or are not.

Mainstream Sync

Mobile devices such as phones/PSPs will become the super-technological-tool—GPS-equipped, linked with blogs/vlogs etc., have access to bank accounts allowing ‘Martini Retail’ (see below), plus access to homework, music, and synced to television screens at home to show other digital content etc etc etc.

Martini Retail

Barcodes or embedded RFID tags in magazines, on advertisements, in shop windows etc. will be read by mobile phones, enabling young people to shop literally anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Retro-rewind

There will be an emergence of young people proactively seeking out ‘retro’ style events and experiences. Cinema, live music concerts and arts/culutral events will flourish as certain groups will break out from the technological reliance and overload.

Leglislation Not Education

In direct contrast to the ‘empowered roars’, countries will see an explosion in legslisation in an attempt to curb access to the web through public institutions—we’re already seeing an example in the USA with DOPA.

Evolutionary-Tech Leap

With the advent of the $100 laptop, developing countries will take a questionable evolutionary-tech leap forward without the socialised process the western world has gone through. If you think the last 50 years has been a media tornado of development, imagine the brightess thing in your home is the screen on your computer because the village you live in hasn’t got power yet.

See also Can vs Should post.

Digital Capital

See Digital Capital post.

Permission-based Viewing

See Permission-based Viewing post.

What do you think? Drop us a line.

Author: DK - 11/10/06