Hey, because everyone’s at it, I might as well have a go, too. So here’s my thoughts on 2010. Not digital, not marketing, not even very serious. Just some more thoughts to add to the mountains of stuff already out there. So here goes:
- Bird flu came and went. We’re doing OK with pig flu. We’ll survive election fever.
- We won’t use different words in front of, say…’battle’, or ‘hope’; or ‘onward march’, or after…’travel’. So we’ll continue saying a long and bruising battle; a glimmer of hope; an inexorable onward march; and travel chaos. Other examples?
- Also semi-colons, apostrophes and the correct use of the dash will disappear from the written language; but not if I have my way — I hope!
- The generational divide will continue to polarise into young people and old people; i.e. those who can Tweet and those who can’t. Or won’t. Or even those who can switch between moby calls while talking to someone and fielding an incoming call simultaneously…and those who can’t.
- Fox hunting will make a return…in London; those little red devils seem to be everywhere, don’t they?
- Localism — something for the geeks — will make a welcome, if ironic, return as the online global revolution enables greater local community issues and values to be discussed and acted on.
- Beijing and Mumbai will come to British cities…more bikes will be absolutely everywhere — on the pavement, in the supermarket aisles, behind you on the zebra crossings. And don’t forget Boris Johnson’s promise to bring a bike hire scheme, a la Paris, to London later this year.
- Nostalgia, or rather ‘affection’, will continue…Lego and Woolies and village Post Offices will continue to be in our hearts and minds — but not Lehman Brothers. But it won’t make any difference.
- Equally, total consumer ‘non-affection’ will continue for…banks, utilities, Sir Fred Goodwin (forgotten but not gone) and especially Ryanair…but that won’t make any difference, either.
- Reds are in the red but Blues are in the black: football will continue its ever upward rise as first the African Cup of Nations and then the World Cup makes its mark in SA and gets the world watching. Yawn as we go out early, again.
- Mobiles will come with a new button that, when pressed, will automatically tell the caller that you are in a meeting, actually, and can’t talk now but you will phone them back in five minutes. Your phone will then automatically phone them back in five minutes when you can then speak to them. Instead of having completely forgotten to do so.
- Social marketing will continue to make social morons out of the obsessed-with-the-wonders-of-Facebook millions and the coma-inducing owners of ‘my blog’.
Hang on a minute…that’s what I’m doing now! Plus there’s actually twelve. Quick, where’s the delete button for all this?
