Showing posts with label disruption. Show all posts

Sunday, December 20, 2015

A Major Disruption In Your Living Room

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A MAJOR DISRUPTION IN YOUR LIVING ROOM

I just read a newsletter which I received from The Motley Fool. I believe that what it speaks about is absolute near-term Global Futurist gospel. The is about to be a major disruption right in your living room. Please forgive the spacing and idiosyncratic fonts in this post -- I was so excited and so eager to get it out on a timely basis, that I didn't get a chance to edit it properly.

I have excerpted the following information from that newsletter [this excerpt does not contain the full content of the newsletter itself]:

December 20, 2015

Hi Fellow Fools:

It shouldn't shock you to hear that I'm known as "tech-guy" in my extended family ... always rambling about new gadgets and predictions for the future.

So when scheduling conflicts forced us to open Christmas presents early and my wife unwrapped the newest version of Apple TV, I was more than happy to oblige my family's request to immediately set it up. After setup was complete, their next request shouldn't surprise you either: they wanted to watch a Christmas movie.

So, I handed my wife the remote and told her to simply ask for what she wanted.

Pressing down a button to activate Siri, she said, "Let's watch a Christmas movie on Netflix" ... and was immediately provided a listing of holiday films matching her search. One click later, the movie popped up in Netflix, and we were enjoying a family Christmas flick together. It took all of 10 seconds. Everyone thought the new device was pretty magical. I could tell because they actually applauded when we found a movie so effortlessly.

The future of TV is here ... and there may still be time for you to profit from it.

The future is now

Long-time readers of this column will recall that I've discussed the huge profits up for grabs as consumers shift their spending dollars from expensive cable bills to new forms of entertainment.

An email I sent on July 19 titled, "How you could profit from millions canceling cable" predicted the following:

"My research ... [from February 2014]... showed that we were nearing a tipping point where consumers would begin calling it quits [with their cable bill]. I anticipated that these cancelations would be relatively light to start, but would gain traction and eventually destabilize the entire industry."

At the time, that opinion was very controversial. Up to 2013, the number of people subscribing to paid television options like cable TV had never declined in a single year!

But just last week, we saw the clearest indication yet that my prediction will be right on the money. New findings from researcher eMarketer now predict that before the end of the decade, 23% of households won't pay for the traditional TV we're used to.

Think about that for a moment. We've gone from cable growing every single year to years of accelerating losses so great that nearly a quarter of American homes will have "cut the cord!"

From this new research to my family's reaction to the Apple TV (a device built to appeal to cord cutters), all evidence points toward Americans shifting away from the "old TV" that's been dominant for decades at a stunning pace.

A bet you can make that's worked for centuries

While this trend is unwelcome news to TV incumbents like Comcast (not that you'll be shedding a tear for them!), there's a larger shift that creates huge opportunity for investors like you.

TV is at the center of an entertainment industry that PwC estimates will hit $2.2 trillion by 2017. The industry's continuing growth is a pretty safe bet. Namely because entertainment's growth is fueled by people being more productive at work and having more free time, and also having more discretionary wealth to spend on being entertained. With the world's wealth and productivity having risen for centuries, that's the kind of investing bet I like to make.

Netflix (NFLX) has been the poster child of how ahead-of-the-curve investors can benefit from this trend so far. Fool co-founder David Gardner recommended Netflix six different times to Stock Advisor members through the years. As I'm writing this, the best of those recommendations (from December 2004) is up a stunning 6,393%!

But, there's more opportunity ahead

However, while Netflix is the clearest beneficiary of the evolution sweeping the television industry, there are plenty of other areas of opportunity spread across the trillions of entertainment dollars spent each year.

Here's one example of a booming area of entertainment that's set for huge growth: virtual reality. Yes, it's been an absolute joke for decades, but don't be surprised to see it finally begin invading homes next year.

The promise of virtual reality - taking tours of the world's greatest wonders, stepping inside the scenes of movies - has always been a no-brainer experience consumers would love. The missing ingredient was technology good enough (and cheap enough!) to deliver compelling experiences.

That's about to change in 2016. A series of VR headsets are coming out from companies like Facebook (FB), Samsung, HTC, and many others. I'm going to the world's largest technology show in two weeks, and the number of emails flooding my inbox from virtual reality companies wanting to show me new, amazing technologies is simply overwhelming.

Best of all if you're an investor, this progress has turned into results. The company that makes the processors that many of these VR sets rely on to power their visuals has seen its share price explode in the second half of 2015 as tech insiders saw the advances in VR technology.

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Yes, I believe that it is inevitable. Expect a major disruption right in your living room. Also, please be mindful of the fact that neither this blog nor the author ever provide investment advice. There will be some kinks to be worked out (aren't there always some bugs and bug fixes with every major consumer technology app release?), some privacy or other concerns, some die-hard traditionalists and the usual background noise of the naysayers, but this is an innovation and an application which simply should not and cannot be ignored by anyone.

Happy holidays, and my very best wishes to each and all for a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous New Year.

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- Douglas E. Castle

THE GLOBAL FUTURIST – Douglas E Castle

http://theglobalfuturist.blogspot.com

Discovering and following significant trends across an extensive range of domestic and international consumer, business, demographic, cultural, economic, political, technological and other key areas of influence and impact on life and business; predicting future change, preparing for it and profiting from it.

Key Terms: business, forecasting, trends, future, prediction, disruption, displacement, innovation, complexity theory, economic waves and cycles, projections, planning

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Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Disruption Of Our Future -- 4 Predictions -- Douglas E. Castle

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In a future warped around an increasing frequency of disruptive innovations, there will be great displacement, confusion, and much social, financial and emotional tribulation. Innovation may well a positive thing (per se), but the accelerating pace of the occurrence of innovations can (and will) leave many struggling to survive in the inevitable trauma of its deepening wake. This wave of disruptions, like a hailstorm, has already begun raining down upon us.

For the uninitiated, disruption is defined by Dictionary.Com as "... a radical change in an industry, business strategy, etc., especially involving the introduction of a new product or service that creates a new market..." By definition, disruption certainly sounds, in this context, like a positive thing, and it may well be, once it has reached its point of stabilization.

While the end of a disruptive event may produce a favorable outcome, there is apt to be a great deal of mayhem while things, i.e., changes, are "settling in". But in a futurescape scenario where disruption is layered upon disruption, that state of mayhem will be protracted and increased significantly in severity.

On our planet, we are entering an era, or perhaps an epoch, of accelerating disruptions. These may well be as traumatic to our species as a catastrophic meteor shower or a steepening climatic change. Human beings are generally resistant to change in general, whether it be advantageous or disadvantageous.

Change upsets our equilibrium and violates our 'default setting' of constancy and complacency. Going further, it could be said that a fair amount of predictability in our lives serves to keep us sane... walking upright in a straight line instead of falling all over ourselves in a situation of randomly changing gravity.

Amid this wave of accelerating disruptions, The Global Futurist anticipates the following trends [although we are not in the business of offering any type of investment, tax, financial, legal or other advice] during the next several years' time:

1) Transitional unemployment will increase dramatically. Individuals will not only be between jobs, but between careers. At present, the United States government (through the Bureau Of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve) reports a total unemployment rate of only 5.3%, the actual rate of people out of work but in need of employment (as reported by some very influential Wall Street advisers as of the date of this writing) may be in excess of 25%. As accelerating technological change eliminates many middle-management and other types of jobs across multiple industry sectors, The Global Futurist anticipates an increase in the 25% statistic to in excess of 33% by 2018, although the official pronouncements of the government and mainstream news media will not report this. Expect a higher crime rate and a burgeoning underground economy;

2) Smaller, more entrepreneurial enterprises will rise up in innovation, productivity, visibility and stakeholder value over short time frames, while they will be overtaken by technologically superior successors rapidly, giving them a reduced business lifespan of perhaps a mere 3 to 5 years;

3) A greatly increasing percentage of consumer income will be expended (despite the decreasing prices of various technologies and technology-based items) on purchasing updated, and upgrading items to replace the increasing amounts of techno items. At present, consumers are spending between 17% and 19% of the amount of their annual rent or mortgage payments on technological upgrades and updates. With accelerating obsolescence, the implicit consumer mandate will drive this percentage higher -- perhaps to as much as 25% by as early as 2018. This translates to reduced consumer income for survival expenditures and investment;

4) Due to the foregoing trends, an increasing portion of the population of industrialized nations will be living below the poverty line, with the middle class (the traditional backbone of stability for most every economy) all but disappearing. At present (by way of example) approximately 14.5% of the United States population, or 45 million persons live below the poverty line as defined by the U.S. government, down from a higher number in the year 2000. This trend away from poverty will reverse by 2018, and the reversal will be significant -- perhaps as high as +/- 18% by the end of 2018.

Generally speaking, this tsunami of accelerating disruptive events will create more loss than actual opportunity until a deceleration of this onslaught can be reached; but with increased instability (i.e., via disruption) comes increased volatility (in life and in the capital markets) and decreased security for individuals and organizations. Just as virtual communications are de-socializing us as fully-sensory beings, an increasing amount of our Humanity and any of its associated benefits can be expected to decay in a radioactive field of aggressive, undeterred accelerating disruption.

This effect will continue until the perceived value of stability finally begins to outweigh the perceived benefits of unbridled disruption. At this point in the evolution of society, industry and capital markets in industrialized nations, the newly positive ideological construct of disruption innovation may just be a bit overrated. I'm neither a technophobe nor a Luddite, but I have learned to take the more distant and larger view when it comes to change. There's a storm, and we've already begun to feel its first winds.

Thank you, as always, for reading me.

Douglas E. Castle for The Global Futurist, Global Edge International Consulting Associates, Inc., and the Global Edge International Blog

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Monday, June 15, 2015

The Virtual Workplace: The Inevitable Disruption - Douglas E. Castle

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The virtual workplace is more than just a tech-speak catchphrase. It is revolutionary, and its effects will be felt in every quarter. The Virtual Workplace - The Inevitable Disruption is a topic worthy of consideration to every trend spotter and every futurist.

The virtual workplace is increasingly becoming the norm, while the traditional brick and mortar offices housing the companies' headquarters are becoming increasingly obsolete - more symbolic of the "old paradigm" businesses. Companies are leaning to the extreme in the direction of telecommuting, and expect these disruptive and progressive trends to be on the rise. Please bear in mind that this article does not provide financial or investment advice:

1) Virtual meeting software and platforms will be in increasing demand. Citrix, WebEx and their other market-dominating peers are going to be experiencing competition for their market space due to the increasing demand for virtual forums;

2) Companies will be retaining more independent contractors and employing fewer in-house employees in order to reduce staffing costs and personnel-related overhead;

3) Commercial real estate will be taking a tumble as companies move to virtual environments and away from renting and purchasing buildings and office space;

4) An increasing number of 1 - 5 person corporations and limited liability companies will be formed as contracting and outsourcing increase and direct corporate employment decreases. Incorporation and registered agent businesses such as Legal Zoom and The Company Corporation will be experiencing increased revenues and market demand, as will their less-dominant competitors;

5) The demand for IT and computer systems professionals will increase, disrupting and displacing many middle-management, administrative and accounting positions;

6) Internationalism, in terms of globally-diversified markets and supply chain structure, will be on the rise as outsourcing and offshoring increase;

7) E-commerce will be displacing and outpacing traditional retail commerce;

8) Tax collections by governmental agencies will become increasingly difficult as the traditional employer-employee structure becomes increasingly displaced and de-centralized;

9) The utilization of household interior space will be shifting in favor of a greater percentage of work-at-home or home office space versus family and leisure space;

10) Society will become increasingly destabilized, and interpersonal and communications skills will suffer greatly due to a breakdown in the traditional face-to-face meeting paradigm.

The rise of the virtual workplace will ultimately affect every aspect of society, from simple reading and writing skills (declining) to the deterioration of international boundaries and political barriers (through outsourcing, offshoring, e-commerce and independent contracting). Be prepared for a radical change in all markets and marketplaces. This all-encompassing sea change is already underway and should be anticipated to accelerate in its course and severity over the next three to five years. After that, watch out for the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

Thank you, as always, for reading me.

Douglas E. Castle for The Global Futurist

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Sunday, March 29, 2015

Transforming Ideas Into Reality - Douglas E. Castle

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Transforming Ideas Into Reality

New 3-D Printing Technology Is Revolutionizing The Art And Pace Of Innovation And Invention

By: Douglas E. Castle For THE GLOBAL FUTURIST Blog

I've heard it said that “What the mind can conceive, humankind can achieve.” This notion of transforming ideas into reality is nothing especially new. Visionaries work at converting their ideas, plans and schematics into corporeal, tangible substance. This process has historically been an arduous one, requiring promotion, evangelism, acceptance, engineering, testing and fabrication through mechanical production methods. In brief, the meandering path from an idea (at inception) to a viable, functional product or service has generally been a lengthy and tenuous one, with many otherwise great ideas failing to attain actual materialization along the way. Too many brilliant ideas have never been actualized. The Law Of Attraction may well be in effect, but it operates in a rather slow and indirect way...

This has all changed, and is continuing to change at an accelerating pace, due to the introduction and ongoing development of three-dimensional computer technology which can directly convert drawings into tangible, three-dimensional output. While the output is, generally speaking, somewhat crude, the underlying technological engine of the 3D printers is constantly improving, and the creations being rendered are improving in quality, as well. We are not speaking of arts and crafts, but of the potential to generate human tissue and human organs – and more. This incredibly efficient transformation of thought into matter will revolutionize medicine, manufacturing, technology and life. Although I do not provide investment or financial advice, it is becoming increasingly apparent that investments in companies which design and create 3D software and printers (i.e., the hardware and other peripherals) may well become extremely valuable.

Going further, this emerging technology can be expected to cause substantial displacement over a very wide range of more “traditional” industries, and a significant number of companies [as well as the value of their shares] can be anticipated to be adversely affected.

Following is some additional information relating to this revolutionary technology:

http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/#whatitis

https://www.google.com/#q=3d+printing+stocks

https://www.google.com/#q=3d+printing+companies

Thank you, as always for reading me.

Douglas E. Castle

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NOTE: THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED BY THE READER AS BEING LEGAL, FINANCIAL, TAX, ACCOUNTING, ECONOMIC OR INVESTMENT ADVICE. NO OFFERING OF SECURITIES OR OTHER INVESTMENT INTERESTS OF ANY TYPE IN ANY ENTITY IS MADE HEREBY, NOR IS A SOLICITATION FOR THE PURCHASE OF SECURITIES OR OTHER INVESTMENT INTERESTS OF ANY TYPE IN ANY ENTITY MADE HEREBY. THIS ARTICLE IS INTENDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND REPRESENTS THE VIEW OF THE AUTHOR ONLY.

THIS ARTICLE IS COPYRIGHT 2015 BY DOUGLAS E. CASTLE, WITH ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ANY REPRODUCTION, TRANSMITTAL OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ARTICLE, EITHER IN WHOLE OR PART, IS UNAUTHORIZED AND MAY BE UNLAWFUL, UNLESS FULL ATTRIBUTION IS GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR AND ALL LINKS IN THE ARTICLE REMAIN INCLUDED AND “LIVE.”

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Hot Issue Of TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS Newspaper Is Out! - 07.16.2013

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Here it comes...

TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS

This newspaper is a supplement to The Global Futurist Blog.

	Published by
	Douglas E Castle

14 July 2013

Stories Leisure Business Education Technology Sports #trends #trending

Today's headline

WTF, Internet? Social media holdouts, you're the worst

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