Posted on March 31, 2020
It is difficult to predict the consequences of the new coronavirus pandemic in the future, but studies published by Trendwatching and Skift, for example, show some habits that are likely to be incorporated to our routines with more frequency.
The current pandemic is going to bring about significant changes across society in the long run. Yuval Noah Harari, writer of Sapiens and currently considered one of the most respected futurologists spoke about the theme recently.
In a article published by the British newspaper Financial Times, he predicted that global mobilization around COVID-19 will not only have implications for the way we organize our health systems, but it should also shape the way we structure the economy, politics and culture for the future.
1. Individual analytics might include intra-body biometrics
If monitoring citizens by cameras, drones and algorithms that are part of our daily lives no longer seems like science fiction, the author points out that the pandemic could set a perfect precedent for governments to monitor the health of each individual (and under the skin), controlling data such as blood pressure, body temperature and medical history, under the pretext of containing the spread of this epidemic or avoiding situations similar to the COVID-19 outbreak in the future.
2. A global plan based on science
Yuval Noah Harari states that “In recent years, irresponsible politicians have deliberately undermined trust in science, public officials and the media. […] In a time of crisis, how some can also change quickly… you might have rough discussions for years but, when an emergency occurs, you suddenly discover a reservoir of trust and confidence in science.”
He continues “China can teach the United States many valuable lessons about coronavirus and how to deal with it. What an Italian doctor discovers in Milan early in the morning may save lives in Tehran at night. When the UK government hesitates between various policies, it can get advice from Koreans who have faced a similar dilemma a month ago. But, for that to happen, we need a spirit of cooperation and global trust.”
3. Virtual experience economy
The “Economy of Experiences”, it will become virtual and immersive. Tourism and retail will massively benefit from that. From creating new customer experiences to speeding up sales, Virtual Reality is bound to add US$ 1.5 to the economy worldwide by 2030, according to PwC .
Video games, for instance Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, are a realistic and very detailed virtual time travel.
And with Google Art’s and Culture, you can already navigate museums and galleries chasing for the secrets of masterpieces.
4. Virtual companions
Are we going get used to digital assistants, chatbots and virtual relationships? If you’ve seen Her, you know what we’re talking about.
Virtual assistants like Siri, from Apple, or Alexa, from Amazon, still did not reach the same level of Artificial Intelligence. But this only shows that it will happen shortly. As we spend more time home, our impulse for connection becomes latent and, if AI is already among us, having this kind of proximity won’t be only a sci-fi thing or something that happens in the movies.
5. Shop streaming / Live shopping
As the demand for non-contact interaction will grow, e-commerce and live stream are likely to merge together. Thus, with live shopping, your consumers have an interactive experience in real time.
Through live shopping, you not only generate spontaneous interaction with your consumer offering richer information about your products, but you can also take advantage of this information to make the description page in your e-commerce more complete or link this video to your online catalog.
Monki, H&M brand aimed to Gen Z, for example, frequently live stream from their website. Viwers are able to interact, for instance suggesting the models and staff to make different combinations. Every single piece shown is available for sale.
This feature can also be very interesting in your launch events. Take advantage of the entire structure of your event or even guests to draw even more attention around your product.
6. M2P Mentor to Protégé
There’s just so many hard and soft skills to be learned and so much to keep up to date with, that we might need someone who is more experienced than us to point us the directions. It’s a natural evolution of coaching to attend to a society that is avid for work and career development.
But how to find that person?
There’s a boom of platforms that connect us to teachers, experts and mentors to gain new skills. So one of the best ways to find people that you’re looking for is in a corporate event platform.
Because specialized software already allows you to create and participate on personalized programs, they make you feel like a whole occasion has been planned exclusively for you. Plus, the opportunity of brain dating, or having meetings with someone that has common tastes to yours, can creates long relationships that truly add up to our development.
Tech writer Greg Oates published a case study on how C2 Montreal executed a very effective round of brain dates on it’s previous editions.
7. Ambient wellness
Burnout is a reality, so. And at a moment when we are all in our shelters, protecting ourselves, there is also the opportunity to evaluate the space we have at home available for work, study, etc.
It is worth defining what your needs are for the space you’ll daily spend most of your time and then choosing appropriate furniture, materials, objects, colors, books, plants to occupy this very important environment.
Inspirational feeds such as this one https://inspirationfeed.com/minimal-home-office-design/ will leave Pinterest dashboards and land straight in your bedroom or living room.
8. Assisted development
The on-demand economy will continue to grow, but at the same time, when the crisis is over, some of us will discover what we really like to do at home.
Economic changes around the world are affecting the lives of young people who reach adulthood. It is not easy to start a professional career as previous generations were used to. Nor is it so simple to fulfill the desire to have your own home until you reach 30 years old or more.
UX sciences are producing products such as Tasty One Top, an induction cooktop connected to an application that can perform a number of culinary tasks. The cooktop was created by the BuzzFeed Product Laboratory.
Related resources to keep learning:
- Tools every Professional Conference Organizer (PCO) should use
- Why you need these 5 digital integrations to sell more
- The 2020 guide for perfect online events [and how to migrate your live event to webinars, virtual meetups and live streaming]