In this issue: FACEBOOK FATIGUE? WORLD'S SMALLEST COMPUTER NAVEL GAZING And much, much more... --------------------------------- BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 --------------------------------- Issue 76 - June 2011 --------------------------------- Brainmail is a free monthly (usually) newsletter dedicated to current and future trends, statistics and other nuggets of information. To subscribe, or unsubscribe, to the world's best cerebral snackfood visit http://brainmail.nowandnext.com/ Tell the whole world about brainmail - forward this to zillions of friends. --------------------------------- : NEW TRENDS, NEW TECHNOLOGY & NEW THINKING > Facebook fatigue? 6 million people in the US and 100,000 people in the UK have given up using Facebook according to the website Inside Facebook. The social networking website currently has around 690 million users worldwide, but some commentators worry that its novelty status is starting to fade and that early adopters are starting to adopt other things. Consequences? Possibly the "inevitable" float will be brought forward. Ref: Guardian/Daily Telegraph (UK) > World's smallest computer The prediction that computers will one day become so small and so cheap that we'll sprinkle them on everything is not taken seriously by some people. However, news that researchers at the University of Michigan (US) have created a computer measuring one cubic millimetre may change a few minds. The dot-sized machine contains a microprocessor, pressure sensor, battery, solar cell and wireless radio that enables it to transmit data to other dot sized devices. Ref: Daily Mail (UK) > Beam me up Scotty - and keep me there Last October, a tiny remote controlled helicopter was flown into the air and keep there all night without the use of any onboard power. How was this done? By beaming power to the device using a laser beam on the ground. Implications? Endless. Ref: Economist (UK) > Big thinks 9 out of the 23 most transformative 'general purpose' technologies since prehistoric times, staring with fire and writing, have been invented since the global triumph of capitalism in the late 19th Century. Ref: Them and Us by Will Hutton (review in Prospect magazine) > Word detective: mouse droppings Mouse droppings is the phrase used to describe the use of customer browsing and online buying behaviour data to make personalised shopping recommendations. Ref: The Future of the Internet by Jonathan Zittrain > Growth in the Chinese economy Cases of obesity among children attending primary schools in Shanghai have risen by 25% over the past ten years. 13% of Chinese children are now overweight with half of these classified as obese. Within the adult population, 39% (500 million) are now overweight and almost 8% (100 million) are now obese. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Navel gazing Scientists studying belly button fluff have discovered no less than 1,400 strains of bacteria living in and around human belly buttons. Wouldn't it be lovely if one of these bacteria turned out to be really useful and people started harvesting the stuff. Ref: i (UK) --------------------------------- : THE NUMBERS 97% of UK children above the age of eleven now own a mobile phone. Ref: Prospect (UK) The number of people classified as obese in the United States grew from 16% in 1980 to 31% in 2003. Ref: The Rough Guide to the Future by Jon Turney In 1988, there were around 60,000 computers connected to the internet worldwide. Ref: The Future of the Internet by Jonathan Zittrain Britain's National Health Service paid out over GBP 1 billion in compensation to patients for medical mistakes in 2010/11. That's about 1% of the NHS budget. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) In America, the high cost of copper and zinc means that it now costs 1.8 cents to produce a 1 cent coin. Ref: New Scientist (UK) Sales of 'posh beef' in British supermarkets rose by 98% this year over last. Ref: Prospect (UK) There will soon be 650m mobile phone subscribers in India, but only 300m Indians have access to toilets or latrines. Ref: Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures, US) During the recent recession (2008-9) movie audiences grew by 11%. Ref: Prospect (UK) The number of people in Pakistan that do not have access to clean drinking water is estimated to be around 60 million. Meanwhile, around 100,000 child deaths in Pakistan can be directly attributed to a lack of clean water. Ref: The Economist (UK) In Singapore, 80% of people live in publicly owned housing. Ref: Boston Globe (US) The number of people living in cities today is greater than the population of the whole world in 1960. Ref: The Rough Guide to the Future by Jon Turney The average cost of a 'celebrity' photograph in the US has fallen by 30% since 2007. Ref: Harper's (US) --------------------------------- : BOOK OF THE MONTH "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv (thanks Matt for spotting that!) --------------------------------- : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH An online charity connecting you to classrooms in need: http://www.donorschoose.org/ --------------------------------- : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "The future will always surprise us, but we must not let it dumbfound us." - Kenneth Boulding --------------------------------- : THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH If there were a newspaper published once every ten years, what would the headline be from the latest edition (2000-2010)? --------------------------------- : STILL HUNGRY? Not a lot of people know this, but brainmail is put together using some of the leftover bits from the What's Next trends report. So if this snack-sized newsletter is leaving you a bit hungry, go to nowandnext.com for something more substantial (and that's free too). --------------------------------- : BRAINMAIL LIVE If you are considering a future focused speaker for your next conference, workshop, or other event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or contact him direct via nowandnext.com. Richard is the creator of brainmail (along with Matt and Phil). --------------------------------- : SMALL PRINT The material appearing in brainmail is sourced from a variety of usually reliable publications worldwide. However, we cannot guarantee the truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should be applied before quoting or using any material in a commercial context. If something appears to be too good to be true it probably is.