Future trends and business development

Earlier this year I read the following article about Gen Y and landline phones:

Gen Y drop landlines: survey

Personally I am a bit of a ‘Geek’, or ‘Nerd’ and tend to operate out on the ‘frontier’ of new developments. This does not mean that I grab the latest gadget, or follow fads though. For example; I could have obtained an iPhone long before they were released in Australia officially – I did not bother. Nor did I join the queues when the iPhone was released.

Some years ago I predicted that one day, small notebooks would be common, coupled with always on wireless Internet. Now we are starting to see Netbooks appear in significant numbers, in conjunction with increased use of mobile Internet. I remember the days before Telstra mobile Internet; back when iBurst came on the scene. I was one of the first users of iBurst in Australia. Simply speaking, iBurst was like the mobile wireless Internet that we know today, however it used a different technology. I will never forget driving my daughter home from school while she was on MSN and chatting to her friends – this may have been as long ago as 2002, 2003 or 2004.

Newspapers are in my view well on the way to obsolescence. I stopped reading them years ago. Online news is SO much better than the history which appears in print news. Frankly, the term ‘newspaper’ is a misnomer – they should be called ‘history papers’.

I remember using VOIP back in the 90′s to phone a girlfriend in the USA. I knew it would change telecoms big time. Today, more and more people are embracing VOIP. I am for example on an older Skype plan where I pay just $3 Australian per month and get long distance (STD) phone calls for just a connection fee of around 6c with no time limit! Anyone aware of the horrendous long distance (STD) charges Telstra imposed will realize what a refreshing change this is!

I used Internet banking way back in the 90′s too – back when my bank had software on my PC to enable it. Internet banking has been browser based for years.

I met my wife online in the 90′s as well. Fortunately she thinks I am a cool, touchy feely nerd! Many people scoffed at my online dating efforts back then.

So, am I some sort of ‘clever dick’ or ‘smart alec’?

No, definitely not.

It is actually not difficult to predict stuff when you understand human nature and how people tick.

We want convenience, good value, ease of use, freedom and slick services.

If you are in business and: make things hard for customers…..try and lock them up with longggggg contracts…..try to get your customers to fulfill your bureaucracy/ red tape fetish and so on, then you will find they start going elsewhere.

We will NOT be inconvenienced and hindered by third rate business practices. You WILL be fired.

What are you doing to ensure that your business does not get left behind, or become out of touch with your customers?

Related posts:

1. Google’s new (2008) site: 10 steps to promote your business online.
2. Is your business ready for Generation Z?
3. Internet marketing (Business development) – link redirects/link cloaking.
4. At last – I like cellphones!
5. Why a mouse mat is a good business promotion tool – if you get the right one.