Wall St. Journal's Tech Columnists Validate Our Tech Predictions

On Dec. 14, 2017, we issued a set a trends for 2018 followed by another set of trends the next day and a final set the following week. We touched on a wide range of topics including: retail vs. Amazon, screen addiction, potential for government regulations against big tech, labor shortage, continued conversation about gender issues, a changing media landscape, AI and robotics, bitcoin and cryptocurrency, smart home tech, a shorter news cycle, the continued battle over fake news, cord cutting, VR and AR, IoT (because tech loves acronyms), driverless cars, virtual assistants, and more.

That's not even everything we discussed.

But we're citing those because over at the Wall St. Journal, tech columnist Joanna Stern and Christopher Mims also issued a comprehensive list of predictions for 2018. Their list, published Dec. 27, 2017, "Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2018," includes similar predictions.

Which we say validates the ones we made two weeks earlier.

• We said driverless and electric cars would generate a lot of attention -- because our goal in identifying trends is to figure out the media mindset to help our clients develop stories that matter to reporters they care about -- while Sterns and Mims provided more detail on where driverless cars will go in 2018. They think electric cars will get cheaper, and we hope so.
• They said that Facebook, facing "scrutiny over the fake news," would go back it's roots and "put the 'social' back in social network." We also predicted that Facebook would have to change as a result of the backlash stemming from fake news on Facebook (as well as on Twitter). So glad we're on the same page.
• We talked about Amazonification and Sterns and Mims said, "Amazon Takes Over (Even More)." Again, they dug deeper into the impact -- saying that Amazon will do more with furniture and appliances, office services, pharmacies and supermarkets, and that the company "is on track to employ more than 500,000 people in 2018." We agree with all that. Our take, however, has also addressed the potential huge problem for retail, real estate, employment and small towns if Amazonification really takes hold.
• They said "cryptovurrency feels less cryptic" while we said bitcoin and blockchain, while not mainstream yet (by which we mean: something that everyone has invested in), "finally reaches a point where people who haven’t paid attention at least have heard of the two cryptocurrency terms." 
• They said, "The Net Loses Neutrality" and we asked, "Is the Internet dying?" because ending net neutrality helps Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, among others.
• They said A.I. moves in everywhere and we said A.I. continues to be hot but also that we expect to see articles concerned about a takeover by A.I. 
• They said, "The assault on security and privacy continues," and we agreed, saying, "There's never enough cybersecurity and privacy." Frankly, we preferred our phrasing better but their description of what's happening and steps to take is better than our version. (Of course, they are tech columnists.)

We're pleased one tech prediction article by such insightful tech columnists dovetailed closely with our predictions. It means that our insights into the media world based on these trends can be helpful to current and prospective clients.

Let us know if you have any questions about what these trends could mean for your business. Leave a message on this blog or email us at info@birnbachcom.com. Either way, we'll respond quickly.