Through Simplify Media users can share and play each other’s music play lists. With some extra software users can download and install, they can add friends, check their play lists and directly play them in iTunes. At the moment it is only available for iTunes, but the versions for WinAmp and Windows Media Player are on their way (mf, Dutch). Thus personal music brands develop more and more. Now we can see the play lists, in the future we will also see the appreciation, we can review music we don’t even have on our own PC, and we will automatically see what music our friends, family or colleagues liked. New music will be discovered quickly this way. A young band through play lists can conquer the whole world in a couple of days after making their music available online. This is a small step in that direction.

Belvilla is the first company in the travel branch to test an online ‘reading aloud’ function for visitors at the website. By clicking ‘Lees Mij’ (Read Me), a friendly female voice reads to you everything about the holiday villa you are looking at. In the test phase, only the descriptions of the holiday villas can be heard. Plans are to have the ‘read aloud’ function for all web content in the near future (cc, Dutch). Thus the spoken dialogue comes to life. Now the voice also plainly reads all impossible codes ("the 4 and 6 person villas BE-8421-01, type A/ BE-8421-02, type B/ BE-8421-07, type A comfort/ BE-8421-08, type B comfort, listen here), in the future the language will be completely tuned to us. Now still at the PC. In the future we will sit in the car and ask: “Hey Bella, I would like to go to France for a week. Is there something free from October 1st onwards?” And then you will hear some choices, you can select with your voice ("that one sounds good! Do you have something bigger too?"), and you can watch your selection at home on TV. Step by step it goes that direction.

As I announced earlier, I am working on a new website and a new book. The site will go live shortly, and I am writing the last content for the section called ‘trends’. In this I describe a couple of typical human motives, like the free man, the involved man, and the visual man. I wrote about these before in my book. For the new article ‘the nostalgic man’ I made a first draft. I like it myself. Maybe you have more examples of products helping the nostalgic man now, earlier, or in the future. Let’s see!

Galaxiki is a gigantic universe in which you can create and maintain your own galaxy. You can design and make everything yourself. Did you want your own star, then here is your chance (pl, Dutch). We talk about virtual worlds a lot, but in fact we talk about completely imitate everything there is. And that doesn’t end at the earth’s atmosphere. We can see the virtual universe as the collective of virtual worlds. Virtual game worlds, virtual enjoyment worlds, and virtual brand worlds. Some of these worlds are clearly connected, some of these are incredibly far away from each other. And every now and then, some virtual planets for a moment come together to have an exchange of energy. We might call that a campaign in the normal world.

People who search in complicated databases at Google, see a branded search animation. Brands extend their visual identity more and more. With logo animations, with logo illustrations and also with this type of animated graphical devices. This animation is typical for Google. In a next step this type of animations will start to show personalities. The two o’s of Google for example could move around each other to show patience, irritation or relaxation. Google is ahead in using new visual characteristics. A lot more examples of other brands are to follow.

Vacation parks Center Parcs have consumers design their own park in a game. In this park they or others can play simple games around activities offered by Center Parcs in ‘real life’, like water skiing and golfing. The challenge for the park manager is to make the park as popular as possible, for example by inviting friends, or by stimulating visitors to come back regularly (ab, Dutch). Brands mirror the physical world to the virtual world. Now through simple games, later people will be able to design real life parks, while the present parks are templates offered in advance by Center Parcs. Based on the experiences in this virtual world, Center Parcs earlier or later will change their physical parks too. This is a small step in that direction.

Online telephone service Skype has been down for two weeks and extensively wrote about this at its special web log heartbeat (mf). Brands are communicating real time, more directly. More and more often we will have services from a distance, available 24/7, 365 days a year. Service we blindly count on. Whether it is our TV (video) provider (our personal media brand), our contact provider (our personal contact brand), our telecoms provider, or our travel assistant (our personal travel brand): it just has to be there, always and everywhere. As soon as something stops working, we want to know what is going on into great detail. Not that everybody will read everything in detail, but who wants to, can do it. This way brands become more open, transparent, and accessible. This is a great example of things going in that direction.

Nintendo in Japan introduces the game ‘Face Training’, a game through which the player trains her face muscles. The player sees expressions on one screen of the console, and has to imitate those in the camera, of which you get to see the result at the second screen. Through imitating the expressions on the computer screen, the player trains her face muscles (dc, Dutch). Thus we get a trainer on a distance more often. Not just for our cognitive skills, but also for physical skills. For correct pronunciation of a foreign language for example (also through muscles), or to become more relaxed by controlling our breathing, or recognizing, expressing or controlling our emotions. Things we now still need a personal trainer for, will in the future partly be automized and thus become more affordable and accessible for everyone. Worldwide. This is a small step in that direction.

Windows Mobile Live Search is working on a system in which the search engine will also accept spoken search requests (mc, Dutch). In the future we will summon our brands by calling out their names (call Postbank! call Albert! call Audi!), then the brand agent appears, who recognizes us and continues the spoken dialogue with us. This future scenario comes a small step closer every day.

VoicePay introduces a system which makes it possible for brands to recognize consumers by their voices, and have them make transactions. According to VoicePay the system is safe, as it is based on a biometric signal which is very hard to forge. The software analyzes 117 parameters of an individual voice, and builds a personal voice profile based on those parameters. The system can analyze the voice of a customer, irrespective of what the person says, background noises, or temporary voice problems like hoarseness (tc, Dutch). Brands will massively start using these kinds of techniques. They will know directly who they are dealing with, what question is being asked, in what context they have to consider this question, and then be better able to answer the question. The introduction of this product again gets us a step closer to that.

New Dutch vacancy website Baneninbeeld.nl completely consists of filmed job advertisements. The films are made professionally (tm, Dutch). Brands start to communicate more visually. This fits with human nature: this is what humans are designed for. Over thousands of years we have bit by bit learned to use the written word. Now video is possible, so humans follow their natural motives: thinking in images. There are many more video examples to follow.

The Dutch Ministry of Waterways and Public Workes uses special cameras to register cars (through license plate registration) using highway A9 at least 3 times a week. This is a group of 12,000 drivers. These people have all been asked if they were interested in a special ‘A9 accessible’ pass. Three thousand of them said they would like to obtain one (rb, Dutch). Brands, even the Dutch government, will monitor the use of their products (the infrastructure in this case) to optimize their service on a personal level. Now privacy is still an issue, but in the future we will be able to state on our personal web page: yes, help me optimize the use. Then privacy all of a sudden becomes much less important. As long as the information is not shared with other parties. Very slowly it goes this direction.

Domino’s Pizza in the UK has started accepting orders through text messages. A registered customer can order his desired pizza(s) by sending just one text message. You can even put together your own favorite menu, consisting of pizzas and other extras, and give that a special text code, so that next time you only have to send the message ‘Big appetite’ or ‘Family Dinner’ to Domino’s for them to recognize your order (mc, Dutch). Thus brands get involved in dialogues more and more. They instantly recognize you through you mobile number, and they even recognize your specific terminology. In brand communication good listening is the key now instead of good sending. This is an example in that direction.

Controversial music exchange service LimeWire gets a legal version. With this, users can legally download music for about 1 euro per song (dc, Dutch). This way a personal music brand comes into being. At first, most important is to have a complete assortment, so there is no reason to find music in another place, and then the personal profile follows. LimeWire can have built the profile based on the illegal music downloads, and then give advice about music that can be downloaded legally. In the end, new artists will come who will sell their music cheaper, or even give it for free (and make money on concerts and merchandise), so there will be price competition between the various personal music brands. The added value in the end will be the personal advice. This is a small step in that direction.

Our mobile phone can see more than we can see with our eyes. Certain frequencies our eyes don’t pick up, but our mobile phone does see them. Through the photo, elements we would normally not see (like the thunder coming out of the cloud on the shirt) now come to life (ci). Mobile phones put a screen over the world. They interpret what we see, and what we don’t see. In the future we will be warned for very hot things, for poisonous gasses we can’t smell, or radiation ws can’t feel. And of course there are more positive applications as well. In games on the street. In sexual codes. In walking in a dark forest. More and more we will use the mobile phone as an extension of our senses. It will become more and more indispensable. This example contributes to that development.