Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

During 2020 when COVID locked down the world, video was the "king" of media types. Consumption went mobile, as Americans spent almost twice as much time viewing digital video on their phones as on their computers. After the TV era, YouTube era, and TikTok era, we're now entering the Video 2.0 era of video-first products beyond entertainment and gaming – more interactive and participatory, with users engaging with the platform, giving direct feedback on the content, and shaping the experience in real time. Are you ready? We'll ask Kirsten Boileau, Loic Simon, Sylvie Lexow and Miguel Bautista for their take on The Future of Video: How Many Words Will A Picture Be Worth? – Part 2.

The Buzz 1: "The alcoholic beverage industry is not known for being stagnant. Significant changes and surprising trends emerge every year…The best-selling cocktail of 2019 was the Old Fashioned. Sake is no longer just popular in Japan. Craft beer is no longer just a niche. Whisky, high-end spirits, and ready-to-drink are gaining popularity. Wine is going beyond the bottle. Buying alcohol online is becoming more popular." (linchpinseo.com) The Buzz 2: "2021 is likely to be a transition year for the US beverage alcohol category, predicts online retailer Drizly. Pandemic trends will persist amidst a slow return to pre-COVID life, while up-and-coming categories such as RTDs and mezcal will continue to grow." (www.beveragedaily.com) We'll ask Lisa Allen at Wine Insite, Mary Guiver at Whole Foods, Andrew Rodbell at Post Meridiem Spirits, and Nicolette Conran at Omaha Brewing Company for their take on The Future of Beer, CBD Beverages, Hard Seltzer and Tech: Drink Up!

The Buzz 1: "Nobody brings the creepy better than women mystery and thriller writers. The literary world has always been a bit of a good ol' boys club, but since Anna Katharine Green, 'the mother of the detective novel,' published The Leavenworth Case in 1878, right up to the Gone Girl frenzy, women writers have excelled in the genre." (Erin Enders, www.bustle.com/articles/58552-11-female-mystery-writers-to-start-reading-now-because-these-suspenseful-stories-are-too-good-to) The Buzz 2: "Women's murder tales have always been at least a little more psychologically acute than the guys'. Even in the so-called golden age of detective stories, the 1920s and '30s, when the emphasis was on elaborate puzzles, the motivations of the culprits in Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers were usually more plausible—and nastier—than they were in Carr or Rex Stout or Ellery Queen…Later, while male pulp writers were playing with guns and fighting off those wily femmes fatales, women like Highsmith and Dorothy B. Hughes and Margaret Millar were burrowing into the enigmas of identity and the killing stresses of everyday life." (Ashley Johnson, shereads.com/best-thrillers-by-women-2019/) We'll ask publisher Eddie Vincent and novelists Leslie Wheeler, BJ Magnani, PhD, MD, and S. Lee Manning for their take on The Future of Women Thriller Novelists: Who Dunnit?

The Buzz: "The word entrepreneurship has been defined as the 'discovery, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities' but until just a few years ago, saying you were a young entrepreneur was a creative way to say you were in between jobs. Today, entrepreneurs are the modern day rockstars. The story of how Mark Zuckerberg hacked The Crimson at Harvard is a legend amongst millennials. Hustling and side-hustling is no longer just a way to make more money, it can be incredibly fun. There are so many insanely valuable resources available to entrepreneurs for free these days, you no longer need to 'take the plunge' to be an entrepreneur. You can just barely dip your little toe and test the waters. All you'll lose is the time you invest. It's not that entrepreneurs didn't exist before the word claimed the desire of the public, but society now sees a greater value in being your own boss." (www.futureofeverything.io/ask-thought-leaders-whats-future-entrepreneurship/ June 2017 by Nick Hastreiter) We'll ask Don DeLoach, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Rocket Wagon Venture Studios, David Friedman, Founder and Chairman of Ayla Networks, Jessica Sobhraj, CEO of Cosynd, and Ron Rock, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Microshare, Inc., for their take on The Future of Entrepreneurship and Technology: When IS The Right Time?

The Buzz 1: "Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle. I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle... I want to ride it where I like." (Queen, Bicycle Race) The Buzz 2: "When my legs hurt, I say: 'Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!'" (Jens Voigt, German former professional road bicycle racer) The Buzz 3: "Cyclists see considerably more of this beautiful world than any other class of citizens. A good bicycle, well applied, will cure most ills this flesh is heir to." (Dr K.K. Doty, 19th century New Yorker and cycling evangelist) German baron Karl von Drais created a steerable, two-wheeled contraption in 1817, known as the "velocipede," "hobby-horse," "draisine" and "running machine." He is widely acknowledged as the 'Father of the Bicycle'. The bicycle – a self-propelled, human-powered mode of active transportation – has transformed lives. If you're willing to pedal, a bike provides self-reliant, practical, affordable, eco-friendly transportation as well as freedom and adventure, allowing you to go where you want, when you want. More people in the world own bicycles than cars. The number of people commuting to work on bikes has increased significantly in last decade – but they need safe, bicycle-appropriate accommodations including accessible paths, trails and parks, lighting and traffic patterns. We'll ask Donna Matturro McAleer, Executive Director of the Bicycle Collective; Teri Newell, Deputy Director for Planning and Investment for the Utah Department of Transportation; Hugh Van Wagenen, Active Transportation Planner with the Wasatch Front Regional Council (Utah); and Maria Vyas, AICP, a Senior Associate with Fehr & Peers, for their take on The Future of Active Transportation and the Biking Boom.

The buzz: "Ten years ago, e-books made up less than 1 percent of the trade book market, yet they now make up 40 to 50 percent of units sold…In genres like fantasy, romance, and science fiction, traditional publishers have lost their former iron grip on the industry…Successful major authors are even choosing to self-publish.…As smartphone ownership expands internationally, so will the market for e-books.…Books could take advantage of the capabilities of digital devices by offering color, interactivity, connectivity, share ability, and new features we can't even imagine yet." https://izzardink.com/future-of-self-publishing/ We'll ask publisher Eddie Vincent, novelist Ursula Wong, ghostwriter and novelist Jeff Deck, novelist Barbara Eppich Struna and indie novelist Dale T. Phillips for their take on The Future of Self-Publishing: A Real Page-Turner!

The buzz: Stress has been defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances – or as the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change. In her verywellmind.com article, When Stress Is Actually Good for You, Elizabeth Scott, MS, observes, "We rarely hear people say, 'I'm really feeling stressed. Isn't that great?' But if we didn't have some stress in our lives—the 'good stress' variety—we'd feel rudderless and unhappy. If we define stress as anything that alters our homeostasis, then good stress, in its many forms, is vital for a healthy life. Bad stress can even turn into good stress, and vice versa." With 'good stress', our pulse quickens, hormones surge…it keeps us feeling excited about life. Adrenaline junkies know that too much good stress can become bad. Acute or 'bad stress' comes from quick surprises that need a response. Chronic stress comes from repeated stressors that feel inescapable and can result in negative physical and emotional health effects. Big questions: Is technology a major chronic stressor? Should you avoid all stress? Will talking about stress in the workplace increase employee engagement? If we talk with our children about stress, will we help them cope better as adults? Can we learn balanced responses to stress that will toughen our resilience to whatever life throws at us? We'll ask Colonel Deb Lewis, Alexey Katko, Marcia Daszko and Doug Krug for their take on The Future of Stress: Use It Or Lose It?

The buzz: "Most people think of hackers as young techno-thugs who pound Moutain Dew and tap at their computers stealing data, crashing websites, or sending spam about Viagra. But there are good hackers, too, top-security professionals that governments and companies hire to protect them from the bad guys. And among these, there are a select few who don't specialize in the technical side of breaking into computers, but rather the messy, human side…fast talkers who convince unsuspecting people to let them into machines and secured physical locations. The best are so good, they not only get what they want, they make it so their targets feel better for having met them." Human Hacking by Chris Hadnagy, 2021. Welcome to the world of social engineering or human hacking, the psychological manipulation of a person by a malicious attacker into performing actions or divulging confidential information for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or system access. Good news: Social engineering can help you regain confidence and control, become more empathetic, generous and kind. We'll ask Chris Hadnagy, Shelby Dacko, Shane McCombs and Ryan MacDougall for their take on The Future of Social Engineering: Be A Good Human Hacker – Part 2!

The Buzz: During 2020, video was the "king" of media types. Americans were Zooming into work meetings, logging into online classrooms, FaceTiming friends and family, and streaming entertainment more than ever. Binge-watching and gaming were up 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Americans spent an average of 42 minutes a day viewing digital video on their phones last year, compared to 23 minutes on computers. [Connie Chan: https://a16z.com/2020/12/07/social-strikes-back-video/] But this began way before COVID. Since 2015, video streaming has risen 13 percent year-over-year. Now, we're about to enter a new era of video-first products beyond entertainment and gaming. If video 1.0 phase was laid-back, video 2.0 will be more interactive and participatory, with users engaging with the platform, giving direct feedback on the content, and shaping the experience in real time. How did we get to this moment? The first era was television – controlled by big budgets and lead time to produce 30 or 60 minute shows. In the second era, YouTube unleashed a new category where anyone can be a creator – videos 1 minute, 10 minutes, even 24 hours long. Then the TikTok era— video condensed to one minute or less, with some of the best just 10 or 20 seconds long. All you need is a smartphone. TikTok reached 1 billion monthly active users in just four years, half the time it took Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We'll ask Kirsten Boileau, Karl Yeh, Ryan Sonnenberg, Loic Simon and Vincenzo Landino for their take on The Future of Video: How Many Words Will A Picture Be Worth?

The Buzz: In 2013, Terry Heick wrote, "While learning by no means requires technology, to design learning without technology is an exercise in spite—proving a point at the cost of potential. And it's difficult to forget how new this is…Fifteen years ago, a current high school sophomore was born. So was Google." www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/30-incredible-ways-technology-will-change-education-by-2028/ Heick predicted that by 2024, learning simulations will begin to replace teachers in some eLearning-based environments. Truly mobile learning will support not just moving from one side of the classroom to another, but from a learning studio to a community, physically or through a Google+ or Skype-like technology. Personalized learning algorithms will be the de facto standard in schools that continue the traditional academic approach. The daily transition from eLearning and face-to-face learning will more elegant, but…will create "migratory ripples" as families move in response to educational disparity. We'll ask Dr Sharon Jones at dot. Consulting, Janali Dighe at Code Ninjas Charlotte, Renee Houser at Read.Write.Think. with Renee, and Asia Stevenson at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in NC, for their take on The Future of Learning: Tech-Enhanced Education.