Here’s Bob’s column from Sunday. Some cool products and services to look forward to in 2009!
Chamber Chat
For Sunday, December 28
Here are a few predictions for 2009 from different sources. (Don’t forget to remind me next year how many of these came to pass.)
Three products to watch from Fortune Magazine’s Tech Daily:
Mini-notebook computers, known as netbooks, sold 11 million units worldwide in 2008, up from just around a million in 2007. Sales could double in 2009. These stripped-down, low priced portables (no DVD drive, less processing power) could make them an ideal solution in emerging markets. Analysts think the minis will also appeal to cost-conscious consumers in the United States. Good for Dell and HP? We’ll see.
The difficult economy will also help “cloud services”….software via the net (think photo sharing). Software-as-a-service companies have always promoted themselves as capital-efficient alternatives to installed software. Instead of financing a big software purchase and installation, companies can “pay as they go” under the cloud services model.
Even with tight money, consumers will spend their dollars on a few fun games and gadgets, like Nintendo’s Wii and handheld gaming systems like Nintendo’s DS, says Kumu Puri, an executive with Accenture. And no matter how challenging things get out there, American consumers are unlikely to part with their broadband connections. Accenture’s study found that we are more likely to get rid of cable television channels or mobile phones than high-speed Internet connections.
Three predictions from the World Future Society:
Careers (and college studies that prepare students for them) are becoming more specialized. Instead of simply majoring in business, students explore niche majors such as sustainable business, strategic intelligence, and entrepreneurship. Other unusual majors are neuroscience and nanotechnology, computer and digital forensics, and comic book art. Don’t laugh – the market for comic books and graphically illustrated novels in the US has grown 12% since 2006. It’s cheap fun.
The race for biomedical and genetic enhancement will rival the space race of the 1960s and 70s. Humanity is ready to pursue biomedical and genetic enhancement, says UCLA ethics professor Gregory Stock. The money is already being invested by major pharmaceutical companies.
Access to electricity has expanded from 40% connected in 1970 to 73% in 2000, and will reach 83% by 2030. Electricity is fundamental to raising living standards and accessing the world’s products and services. Impoverished areas such as sub-Saharan Africa still have low rates of electrification; Uganda is just 3.7% electrified.
Here’s an interesting product prediction from Mintel, a global products research company:
Manufacturers will reach for exotic fruits and fresh, soothing flavors with a touch of spice to jazz up their new products. Nature-inspired aromas will also be a real hit in 2009. From food and drink to household and personal care items, Mintel’s Lynn Dornblaser reveals the new tastes and smells she expects to hit global markets soon:
Persimmon…viewed as a unique and exotic fruit, persimmon is poised to make a major splash in food and beverage. Blended with more common fruits, persimmon is found in a new Japanese yogurt that contains white peaches and apricots.
Star fruit…unusually shaped, distinctly flavored. It will appear in cosmetics and food products.
Lavender…will move beyond the home and personal care categories and into food and beverage next year. Already seen in products such as Lindt Chocolat Lemon-Lavender candy, lavender will be paired with more familiar ingredients to bring a naturally soothing, aromatic quality to food and drink.
While 2009 may be a tough year, entrepreneurs will continue to develop new products and services, regardless of the fiscal climate. That optimistic, confident drive to invent and succeed is the spirit that keeps our American economic engine going.
