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The following chart and categories were created by Richard Watson author of “The Future: 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know” which presents an interesting way of categorizing information about trends. He has also recently published: “Futurevision: Scenarios for the World in 2040.”
Main Megatrends
- Hyper Connectivity
- E-government
- Scarcity of Resources
- Idealogical Resurgence
- Price Volatility
- Erosion of Trust
- Clean Fuels
- Nano Materials
- Synthetic Biology
- Semantic Web
- Holographics & 3D Web
- Augmented & Virtual Worlds
- Artificial Intelligent Devices
- Ubiquitous Sensors and Tracking
- Desert Based Solar
- Technology Convergence
- Gamification
- Volatility
- Micro-grids and Micro-generation
- Robotics and Smart Objects
- Personalized Medicine
- Context Aware Computing
- Automation
- Near-field Communication
- Haptic Technology
- 3D Printing
- Open-Source Discovery & Invention
- Xenophobia
- Non-Conventional Reserves
- Secularism
- Predictive Personalisation
- Personal Genomics
- Real-time Data Analytics
- Gestural Recognition
- Battery Life and Energy Storage
- Dematerialisation
- Wireless Re-charging
- Social Networks
- Focus on Regional and Domestic Policy
- Resource Nationalism
- Resurgence of Religion
- Hedonism
- Culture of Immediacy
- Total Information Transparency
- Mobility and Portability
- Sharing
- Too Much Information
- Provenance
- Search For Happiness
- Ubiquitous Connectivity
- Workforce Aging
- Extreme Weather Events
- Expansion of Global Middle Class
- Resurgence of US Manufacturing
- Shared Value Creation
- Focus on Self
- Purpose & Meaning
- Population Growth
- Loss of Bio-diversity
- Rise of Africa
- Shift to the BRICs
- Sense of Entitlement
- Mobility & Part Time Working
- Fertility Decline
- Ocean Acidification
- Carbon Pricing
- State Capitalism
- Normalisation of Obesity
- Back of Homing of Outsourcing
- Urban Living
- Changing Family Units
- Aquifer Reduction
- Top Soil Erosion
- Cosmetic Enhancements
- Intensifying Competition
- Population Aging
- Single Person Households
- Ethnic Shifts
- Precision Agriculture
- Blurring of Real and Virtual Worlds
- Industry Consolidation
- Fragmented Attention
- Individualism
- Atomisation
- Regulatory Change
- Biological Terrorism
- European Incrementalism
- Oil & Price Spikes
- Nationalization and Protectionism
- Skilled Worker Shortages
- Food Price Volatility
- Fiscal Imbalances
- Global Pandemic
- Cyber Viruses & Data Theft
- Uneven Access to Food and Water
- Severe Income Inequality
- Rogue Employees
- Mega-quakes in Mega Cities
- Global Governance Failure
- Nuclear Terrorism
- European Disintegration
- Unsustainable Population Growth
- Poorly Managed Migration
- Explosion of North Korea
- Critical Systems Failure
- Collapse of Welfare State
- Collapse of Pakistan
- Pakistan vs. India War
- Collapse of China
- Failure to Treat Obesity Epidemic
- Failure to Adapt to Climate Change
- Sure-volcano Eruption
Additional Categories in Megatrends Table:
- Avatar Assistants
- Biomimicry
- Clean Coal
- Comfort Eating
- Contextual Deficit
- Diminishing Use of Email
- Decline of Voice Communication
- Electrification of Transport
- Facial Recognition on Mobile Phones
- Gene Hacking
- Holographic Telepresence
- Increasing Complexity
- Local Living
- Mobile Money
- Peak Water
- Peer-to-peer Lending/Giving
- Quantum Computing
- Reverse Migration
- Self-tracking
- Smart Infrastructure
- Slow Education
- Shift from Products to Experience
- Ultra-efficient Solar
- Value Redefinition
- Voluntary Simplicity
Click Twice on the Following Chart to Enlarge:
View the full size PDF document here.
