quick thoughts
yes, thoughts have speed.
I think of the future a lot and one of my most recent future predictions that I think makes a lot of sense is the idea of ‘niche’. I don’t think the future will have these big megacorps anymore, at least not in the traditional sense. everything’s going to be niche. it’s all about the little communities of people of the same interests or likes banding together and having their specific needs met by the person, company or organisation from within the same community. this is what will create that trust between customer and supplier/company and will change the dynamic of how we see things.
i think that’s why we’re seeing a lot of companies pour a lot of money into finding out how to change and adapt and meet the needs of all these new sub-communities all at once to maintain the same levels of operating income/profits they’re used to having. i don’t think this will be possible for much longer. each community is continuously developing at its own rate in comparison to other communities. i don’t think it’s possible to meet needs for all communities unless you’re in a specific industry, like travel or transport. these are universal things we all need regardless of whatever community we belong to. but otherwise, i think it’ll be tougher.
but maybe if current megacorps are smart, they can use the vast amount of walking-around money they have now to invest and figure out how to provide good enough services/products to meet the needs of these various people. we’ve seen something like this already, with a lot more supermarkets and other grocers providing halal meat and foods to satisfy a growing Muslim community in the west. i don’t see why it’s not possible for even other communities in the future. the only worry is that there are so many and they may demand or prefer representation of their community at a high level for that company that it may be virtually impossiiiibleeeee.
another quick thing. regarding entertainment as we consume it today.
quick prediction. we’re most likely going to start having “entertainment apps”. we’ve seen a lot of apps and platforms continue to expand what they offer to retain a bigger user base and increase their profits via ads. cool, makes sense. but are some trying to go beyond that?
look at Apple Music, for example. we know them, we love the Apple products. their foray into the music streaming industry was a big thing, entering as one of the major competitors in the field, bypassing even Soundcloud. but now they’re more than just a music streaming app. now they offer exclusives, videos, social feeds and now TV shows?! they already tried their hand with planet of the apps and now they’re ordering straight-to-series shows (from none other than IASIP creators rob mcelhenney and charlie day).
my prediction is that eventually, a lot of apps we currently use will start doing this. spotify is already trying it with their “videos” feature. then snapchat with their snapchat-only content. then instagram with IGTV and, undoubtedly, IGTV shows. these apps are becoming much more than just social media feeds or music streaming apps. they’re adapting and changing their main focus to meet a netflix-loving generation. so what’s next? what does the netflix of the future look like? is it music, social media, TV shows and games all in one?
what does this mean for the individual industries? think about gaming consoles. they’ve become far more than just a console for solely gaming. we can go on twitter with them, we can livestream and watch other livestreams, we can watch blu-rays and DVDs on them! the only thing missing are TV channels and PS4-exclusive TV shows (if you need ideas, sony, my DMs are open). could we eventually get “entertainment boxes”? just high performance boxes capable of all our favourite apps and media? all in one? that’d be kind of cool.
yeah, so that’s it. those are my quick thoughts. hit me up if you want to discuss these things, im down to converse about 40% of the time, so try your luck.
love, the human swiss knife
