It's been a day since the 2014 Foresight & Trends conference closed with an inventive (and hunger-inducing) talk by Brett Burmeister. Continuing with the progressive themes of each day (earlier on in the conference looking internally, then inspecting the present), the last day of Foresight & Trends was about looking forward.
Who better to address the future than Andreas Weigend, former Chief Scientist at Amazon.com? Weigend sparked an insightful discussion on applications of social data. Focusing on social interaction and data derived from digital behavior, Weigend challenged the audience to ponder the possibility of having access to all the data in the world, and how they would apply it. Catherine Lovazzano of Chrysler kept in theme by inspecting the idea of persuasion and how it plays into technology with her seven principles of persuasion.
Armed with oodles of charisma and candy to boot, Lina Yang, Director of Hershey's Advanced Technology lab, followed up with her aptly titled talk 'Creating the Future.' Sharing her team's predictive process, Yang equipped her audience with the tools to become a 'Futurist' like herself. Foresight & Trends left its attendees inspired and able to inspire equal inventiveness within their separate teams.
Foresight & Trends: Thoughts and Applications After the Conference -
Foresight & Trends
Trend Themes
1. Social Data Applications - Exploring data derived from digital behavior to gain insights and create innovative solutions.
2. Principles of Persuasion - Exploring how technology can be used to persuade people and change their behavior.
3. Predictive Processes - Using predictive processes to anticipate future trends and stay ahead of the curve.
Industry Implications
1. E-commerce - Leveraging social data to personalize online shopping experiences and increase sales.
2. Marketing - Using principles of persuasion to create compelling marketing campaigns and increase brand loyalty.
3. Consumer Goods - Incorporating predictive processes to anticipate consumer trends and stay ahead in the competitive landscape.