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Trends and Statistics
Travelling on the technology curve
Aug 12th
The theory of how new ideas, innovations and technology are spread is something we should be well aware of. In our own organisations, we know it pays to identify those who are ‘early adopters’ or members of the ‘early majority’ – and who are influential. And we also know that sometimes it’s as unhelpful to be too far ahead of the curve as it is to be behind it.
This week, ReadWriteWeb reports on the latest changes to Gartner’s HypeCycle. HypeCycle seeks to map technological innovations along a timeline from ‘technology trigger’ and through key stages including the ‘peak of inflated expectations’(!) to the ‘plateau of productivity’, when innovation can be seen to be truly impactful and has been adopted by 20-30% of the potential audience. The latest additions to the service include ‘big data’ and ‘gamification’.
Technologies may follow the curve, but each travels at a different speed. HypeCycle places eBook readers beyond any disillusionment and at the beginning of the ‘slope of enlightenment’ and big data climbing up towards the ‘peak’ (and likely to do so quite rapidly).
You can view images and read the reseach summary here.
Big data is big news
May 16th
There are some mind-boggling figures in the latest report from the McKinsey Global Institute, Big Data: the next frontier for innovation, competition and productivity. Did you know that more than 30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month and that it is possible to store all the world’s music on a $600 disk drive?
Big data creates value in a number of ways, not least in the way it facilitates the segmentation of audiences and the customisation of products and services to support them. The report analyses the potential financial value of big data to a number of sectors and identifies those that are positioned for the greatest gains. Unsuprisingly it is the computer and information sectors that seem set to gain most substantially while the administration of the European public sector could gain an annual value of 250 billion euros per year.
The biggest barrier to achieving this value is a shortage of relevant skills, particularly the skills that enable the deep analysis of datasets. Other factors that need to addressed include privacy issues and the movement of personal data.
Technology predictions for 2011
Dec 29th
The BBC’s Peter Day interviews the technology commentator Mark Anderson about his predictions for technology in the year ahead, and reviews his predictions for 2010.
One of Anderson’s key predictions is that there will be a more conscious ‘split’ of content and technology. This will result in the separation of the ‘secure’ from the ‘open’. There will be greater understanding of the issues surrounding information security. CEOs and governments are beginning to comprehend the vulnerability of information and intellectual property. Organisations will need to consider and enable the physical disengagement of what Anderson calls their ‘crown jewels’ from the rest of their content in cloud environments. The smart telephone world will also split in half. ‘Social’ users are less concerned about putting their lives onto the net, whereas organisations will seek to protect high value content.
The ’golden age’ of microapps is over. 2011 will see increased levels and rates of charging as the market becomes more commercial.
Anderson also outlines why he considers Google as a company that has lost its way (“so much money and so little idea of how to spend it”). He considers Google an organisation that does not really know what business it is in.
Other predictions include the ‘mainstreaming’ of e-book readers and electric cars.
No doubt we will continue to be inundated with end of year reviews and new year predictions in the weeks ahead. Anderson’s has his own acronym to sum up 2011 “VEVEM – Very Exciting and Very Messy“.
Can’t wait!
Google and Yahoo announce 2010 top search terms
Dec 12th
Yahoo’s Year in Review reveals that the top 2010 search was for the BP oil spill. This is the only news event in the top ten, with the other places being taken by a mixture of media and pop icons (Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber) and technology (the iPhone is in sixth place). There are some interesting top tens on Yahoo’s Year in Review blog. In a top ten of US ‘obsessions’ the political movement the Tea Party appears in 8th place, one place behind bedbugs (with the iPhone taking the number one slot). Rather depressingly the top UK search terms were ‘lottery’ followed by ‘job centre’ and, in third place, ‘weather’.
Meanwhile, Google’s microsite Zeitgeist show the fast risers and fallers of 2010 (chatroulette and iPad are fast risers; swine flu and Susan Boyle are fast fallers). Google Zeitgeist also has regional results. ` In the UK, the general election dominates the top ten news searches. In France, Cheryl Cole is number seven in the fast rising people and Super Nanny is second. Justin Bieber seems as popular in Europe as he is in the States – he is a top people search in Sweden, France and Norway. The Google microsite has some interesting graphics. Using the timeline function, you can watch interest in, for example, the football World Cup, build up before and during the event.
