Related Posts

• Population Growth - Opportunity and Challenges

  A solid upward trend, that unlike other trends that diminish at some point, population growth is an escalating component that will overload just about every infrastructure in every country. Sighting this article from USAToday from 3 years ago, the projected numbers indicate there will huge problems and many opportunities. Meeting these challenge is what entrepreneurship is all about, meeting these challenges with an equally qualified concern for others and the environment should be our goal and responsibility.
  
  On Wikipedia there is a breakdown of the population growth and in digging through it I took the population from when I was ten, approximately 189 million. In 40 years we've grown to 318 million. That's a plus of 135 or a 69.8 percent increase. In 2025 we are projected to hit 345 million an increase of 24 million, so if you add that to the cities seeing the boom roughly 1.5 million to the top 12 major cities in the US. Check these maps out from TheAtlantic.
  
  There are opportunities in every market and challenges for all of us. (Can't say for sure, but weird to think there has never been this many people alive on the planet at the same time before.)
  
  
• Growth by Year 2020

  As we approach the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2015, and soon to be at the midway point of this decade, I started to look at the predictions and indicators for internet growth by year 2020. Sounds futurist the year 2020 and I think we are starting to enter into the steeper slope of the curve now. In 2010 the internet had 1.7 billion users, today it has a little over 3.1 billion and by 2020 it should be at 5 billion. Check out the stats by country here on InternetWorldStats.com.

  Forecasting the future of the internet is that hard to predict just look at what we do and ask yourself are we going to be doing any less of it. Twenty-five great points are listed in this article on Marketing in 2020 by Jeff Beer of FastCompany.com. By looking at marketing we can see the direction society is taking by observing the force trying to get in-front of the mass. Some key points I took away were virtual reality is reality, brand transparency and through technology it's about to get really personal.

  Don't forget to consider the growth of the machine usage with the Internet of Things IoT. Both machine and human usage almost double in the next 5 years!

• Tech Media Growth Forecast

  
  Top business-strategist Michael Wolf gave a presentation on the future of tech and media from 2016 to 2020 in the Wall Street Journal last October.  I've been covering technology predictions in several articles and although there are some corrections in the stock market at the moment, there is nothing really holding the tech sector back.  But, don't take my word for it, read Wolf's presentation on how consumer tech and media staged to grow by 535 Billion over the next 4 years.

  You can view the presentation from the Business Insider here.

• Drones - The Evolution of Transportation

  Drones - The Evolution of Transportation
  
  If you read my blog you know I'm into flying cars and with traffic being what it is, they can't come about soon enough.  Doesn't matter what city you live in, it's not any better anywhere else. Either too many vehicles on the road or a failing infrastructure.  In this article on DailyMail.co.uk mega drones are being tested with multiple passengers, pilot-less control and with the ability to take the helm in an emergency.  The aircraft technology is producing a much needed benefit for air traffic control a well as other industries.
  
  This is an epic shift in society, like going from horse and carriage to automobiles and entrepreneurs need to plan on this trend.  In less than 5 years it will be at consumer price levels and in 10 years, common place.  High rises and condos need to start being built with landing pads as the new garage.  With growing populations, pollution, the need for the use of alternative energies, infrastructure issues, drones and personal aircraft are a great solution to easy all of these problems.  And, aside from natural disasters and terrorism, one of the biggest problems our children will face in their life time that you can be certain of is population growth.
  
  Handling and managing all the demands on resources that population growth will bring are where the opportunities lie.  If you think traffic sucks now, don't do anything about it.  Everyone knows it's gotten worse in the last few years, and that's everywhere.  So, forget the race to Mars, let's race to be the first country ready for the 22nd century.  Embrace it.  This is what will make America great!
  
  

• The Speed of Technology

  The speed of technology is taking off, try and hang on.

  Technology is increasing at an exponential rate, with the pace of technological change accelerating rapidly in recent years. This is due to a variety of factors, including advancements in computer processing power, the increasing availability of data, and the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.

  One measure of the pace of technological change is Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles roughly every two years. This law has held true for several decades and has been a driving force behind the rapid growth of computing power.

  Additionally, the rate of technological change can be seen in the development and adoption of new technologies, such as smartphones, social media, and cloud computing, which have transformed the way we live and work.

  The speed of technological change is also apparent in the rate at which new technologies are being developed and brought to market. For example, the time it takes for a new technology to reach 50 million users has been decreasing steadily, from 75 years for the telephone to just 13 days for the Pokemon Go app.

  Internet usage will continue to grow over the next 20 years, especially as more people around the world gain access to the internet.

  According to data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the number of internet users worldwide reached 4.9 billion in 2021, up from 3.4 billion in 2016. This represents a growth rate of more than 7% per year. If this trend continues, we can expect the number of internet users to reach 7.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2040.

  The growth in internet usage is being driven by a number of factors, including the increasing availability and affordability of internet access, the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices, and the growing importance of digital technologies in daily life.

  In addition to the overall number of internet users, other trends to watch in the coming years include the continued growth of e-commerce and online services, the increasing use of artificial intelligence and automation, and the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and other connected technologies.

• My COVID-19 Policy - Work Harder

  
  
  By now you have probably gotten an email from every company that you have ever visited on their COVID policy.  No need to rehash washing your hands and social distancing here.  The point that I want to stress is that we are all in this together, locally and globally, and it's going to take all of us to beat this thing.

  I work for the government in my day job, maintaining transmitters along the coast of South Carolina.  The government is just people.  Some very hard working people that perform jobs that in the private sector usually pays much more for the same work.  But, boil it all down, and it's just people helping people.

  In times of crisis's past, like the hurricanes we've had, we didn't get extra pay or bonuses, just a good feeling at the end of the day that we made a difference.  Getting through this is going to be difficult, but not something we can't do.

  There are always two options you have in any situation.  One is to do nothing.  With COVID doing nothing is actually a good thing.  Stay at home and you're not part of the problem.  The second option is to try harder.  I have to credit my father with that one.  He was part of what they now call the greatest generation, but the greatest generation is really yet to come.  We are all products of these generations, we are the hybrids.  Let's try a little harder and figure this out.  Figure out what you can do to help.

  Sure it's scary, we see exactly how fragile our world is.  And, the big brains say it's going to get worse before it gets better, but we will get through it and come out stronger. Helping others is really the name of the game.

  Check on your neighbors, have empathy and employ compassion.  We are all going through a lot.  I want to be able to reflect back at the End of the Plague party and know I had a hand in making the world a better place.  I may not invent a miracle vaccine, but I help keep emergency communications online over here, inspire hope and I lend a helping hand.  I am very grateful for the medical, fast food, grocery workers and everyone involved in all these chains that keeping us moving forward.

  Do your part and work harder. Patience, courtesy and humor go along way, act like you've been somewhere.  Maybe this will spark a spiritual revolution when we finally realize that we are all the same, and that we are all connected.