In this issue: BRAIN WAVES DISAPPEARING JOBS EXTREME LUXURY FAMILY FORTUNES iFOOD And much, much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 27 - May 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to current and future trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe go to http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the whole world about brainmail forward this to a couple of friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Brain wave Sometime in the near future we will be able to control machines just by thinking. An early example of this is a headset that a company called Emotiv hopes to launch in 2008. The device is based on Australian Neuroscientist Allan Snyder's research into non-conscious mental processing and will control various gaming consoles and PCs. Ref: Red Herring (US) > Crowd sourced R&D A website called CrowdSpirit is aiming to use crowd sourcing principles to develop new products. The concept is that inventors post ideas for new products and contributors vote on whether they like them or not. Contributors also help to define product specs and even invest money. Will it work? An immediate problem is who owns the intellectual property when ideas are openly created. So far contributors give up all IP rights when they submit an idea, which doesn't seem like a good idea. Ref: Springwise.com (Neth) > Tipped upside down In the book The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell argues that ideas spread like viruses with certain influential individuals or trendsetters being the early carriers. But is it so? According to research carried out by Peter Dodds and Duncan Watts at Columbia University (US) these so-called influentials don't seem to be required at all. Indeed, public opinion is usually driven by a large number of easily influenced people influencing each other. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) > Sea ice on the rocks According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Arctic sea ice will all but vanish during the summer months by the year 2040. Ref: Harper's (US) > From instant messaging to instant voyeurism Twitter seems to be an early front-runner for the web 2.0 hit of 2007. If you don't know it already the site allows you to post updates of your daily existence using text (up to 140 characters) and images. Is seeing what your friends ate for breakfast (and being able to see a picture of it too) just another example of online exhibitionism or does this say something about the decline of the written word and the triumph of visual culture? Ref: Business 2.0 (US) > Spam with everything According to Ironport - a Spam filtering company - the volume of Spam has doubled over the last twelve months with image Spam rising by an extraordinary 400%. Ref: New York Times (US) > Disappearing jobs According to Fast Company jobs that will become extinct by 2016 include bloggers, ad creatives, auto mechanics, US high-tech jobs and Indian call centre operators. Ref: Fast Company (US) > Can prayer really heal? A study of 1,800 coronary-bypass patients in the US has found that prayer doesn't seem to heal. Indeed patients that were told they would be prayed for actually did worse post operatively that those that were told they weren't. Explanation? It could be that patients who were told that someone was praying for them thought they were much sicker than they actually were. Ref: Time (US) > For the child with everything (diseases that is) Your heard it here first (unless you also read Iconowatch). Bosch has developed a dishwasher in conjunction with Lego. The idea is that dirty toys can now be washed on a toy friendly cleaning cycle alongside filthy plates. Ref: Iconowatch (US) > Extreme luxury News of impending resource shortages don't seem to have quite filtered through to the top brass at Samsung in South Korea. One of the company's latest products is a gold-plated washing machine. Ref: International Herald Tribune (US) > User pays If your bags get lost by one of the world's favourite airlines the company charges you a premium rate when you call them to get them back. In other words the company makes a profit when it loses your stuff. As a response to such profit minded madness one community-minded citizen has created a website called Say No to 0870. The site shows standard rate telephone numbers that can be called rather than using expensive premium rate numbers. Ref: Daily Mail (UK) > Does the nation state have a future? Here's an interesting little factlet. Apparently historians are turning away from the study of nation states to focus on movements and phenomena that cross national boundaries. In other words globalisation and European integration are making cross-cultural investigations the bleeding edge of historical studies. Ref: The Guardian (UK) > Most annoying sounds A professor of acoustic engineering has developed a list of the 34 most annoying sounds. The top screamers include people being sick, microphone feedback, babies crying, mobile ring-tones, people sniffing and dental drills. It is hoped that these findings will eventually shed some light on what makes some noises more unpleasant than others, which one presumes will have implications for everything from industrial design to architecture. Ref: The Guardian (UK) > Family fortunes According to the latest Family Spending report a typical UK family now spends more on gambling (£3.60 a week) than fresh vegetables (£3.40) or fresh fruit (£2.80). Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Celebrity obsessions According to two Los Angeles psychologists it is not simply fans that are obsessed with celebrities - celebrities are obsessed with themselves too. Apparently 'scientific research' has shown that the average celebrity is an exhibitionist that needs extreme levels public attention. They are also vain, lack empathy and exhibit extreme over-confidence about their skills and abilities. Ref: The Times (UK) > Machines with a mind of their own In the future your washing machine will shut itself off when the cost of power spikes or the power network is under strain. Presumably the same thought will be applied in to things like water too. Ref: Innovationwatch (US) > Genetic testing Last year a study identified a so-called 'coping gene' that some experts believe explains why some people fall prey to conditions like depression while other people carry on with life regardless. Genetic testing of individuals should enter the mainstream healthcare market by 2008. Ref: The Times (UK) > Fake holidays Want your boss (or your wife) to believe that you've been on a fabulous fishing trip with your best friends? Then you need the services of Persey Tours - a Moscow based travel company that sells trips that don't exist. In return for real money the company supplies fake airline tickets, fake restaurant receipts and even fake holiday photos. Ref: Los Angeles Times (US) > Freak pain A study by scientists at University College London has found that control freaks are less able to cope with severe pain. The solution? Just relax. Ref: Journal of Neuroscience (US) > Jobs of the future #6: Corporate ethics officer Want to give your son or daughter some insider information on future employment opportunities? Then look no further than corporate ethics and compliance. In the wake of the Sarbines-Oxley Act and various accounting scandals the profession will surely grow in both stature and compensation in the future. Ref: HR Magazine (US) > Word detective: Episodic gaming Computer games used to be sold as all-inclusive blockbuster narrative epics. Not any more. In a move that harks back to the serialized novel, game companies are now starting to release computer games on an episode-by-episode, drip-by-drip basis. Ref: The Times (UK) > Organic authenticity DNA profiling is being tested by trading standards officers in the UK to identify 'meat-cheats' that are selling ordinary meat as organic. (the test tests the meat not the cheats). Expect a rash of legal cases surrounding organic food crimes in 2008 0r 2009. Ref: The Times (UK) > The message is the medium Shoptext is a mobile commerce and promotions company that allows prospective customers to buy things via a text message when they are flipping through their favourite magazine. Ref: SiliconValley.com (US) > iFood The Swedish retailer Nordiska Kompaniet/NK has teamed up with Ridderheims, a meat and deli company, to offer customers in-store deli downloads. Recipes can be downloaded in-store directly onto an iPod and then listened to at home whilst preparing a meal. Ref: Springwise.com (Neth) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS 1 in every 3,400 people in the US is an Elvis impersonator Ref: Prospect (UK) 70-80% of new products that fail do so not because of a lack of suitably advanced technology but because the company fails to understand and address customer needs. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) 52% of people that have their identity stolen know the thief personally. Ref: Harper's (US) At current rates of over-fishing and pollution there will be no fish left to eat in our oceans by the year 2056. Ref: Time (US) Dollar billionaires in India now outnumber those in every other Asian country. Ref: Rediff.com (India) In 1950 the average Briton traveled five miles every day. In 2006 the average daily distance traveled was 30 miles and for the next generation it is expected to be 60 miles. Ref: The Guardian (UK) European shipping is responsible for about 30% more carbon emissions than aircraft. Ref: Prospect (UK) The average male life expectancy in Calton, near Glasgow in Scotland, is 53.9 years. This compares with 67.4 in Iraq and 70.5 in Gaza. Ref: The Guardian (UK) 75% of young adults in France would like to be a civil servant. Ref: The Economist (UK) 16% of people in the UK belong to a trade union, 14% to a gym, 7% to a religious group and 3% to a single issue-lobbying group. Ref: Manchester University (UK) Last year 54 billionaires that were 'resident' in the UK paid just £14.7 million in income tax. £9 million of this was paid by James Dyson. Ref: Sunday Times (UK) Only 8% of 16-34-year-olds in Japan describe themselves as happy. Ref: Harper's (US) The average women aged 40 owns 19 pairs of shoes. Ref: The Times (UK) If all the Lego bricks in the world were divided equally amongst the global population we'd each get 30 bits. Ref: Prospect (UK) The market for collect (reverse) telephone calls from inside US prisons is worth an estimated US $1 billion per year. Ref: Business 2.0 (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Issues are emotional, Solutions are technical. Decisions are political" - Anon ------------------------------------------------------------ : STILL HUNGRY? If this snack-sized newsletter still leaves you feeling hungry feed your brain with something a little more substantial at www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too). ------------------------------------------------------------ : LOVE IT? THEN SHARE IT Do you know someone whose brain is not being fully exercised? Someone that is snacking on media that isn't terribly satisfying. Floss their brain and brighten up their day with a copy of brainmail in their inbox - forward this to your friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ : LOOKING FOR A SPEAKER FOR YOUR NEXT WORKSHOP OR EVENT? Do you want some of these trends and innovations brought to life? Then book me as your next speaker. I travel anywhere in the world where there's a cold beer and a warm welcome. Contact me at richard@nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------ : SUBSCRIBE TO BRAINMAIL Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit the website at http://brainmail.nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------