Fast unpredictable change is the only certainty

In the past we could look at the world and predict what would happen in the next few years in most sectors but when it comes to digital use, according to the experts at Google ‘fast unpredictable change is the only certainty’.

The world we live in is changing and the technology is evolving and changing at an amazing pace. However, people are changing also and they are in general embracing these changes and new technologies. The accessibility of devices such as smartphones and Wi-Fi are driving growth. Did you know that 75% of Irish people now own a smartphone?  According to the guys at Goggle 64% of these regularly turn to their phones for ideas whilst doing a task for information such as ‘how to do’.

Everybody, everywhere is always connected

Everybody, everywhere is always connected. Just think about it, from the moment we wake up in the morning we are checking our emails even before we leave the house. If we are commuting via public transport we are looking at our news feed to see what’s happening in the world. At work we are on our desktops, we might check our Facebook at lunchtime and then google a restaurant on the journey home. We are experts at multi screening while watching television, sometimes the comments on twitter are more interesting than the show! Even in bed some of us have a bad habit of bringing the tablet with us. So we don’t go online – we live online.

Here are some interesting stats about how daily media time has changed recently.  In 2010, 47% of daily media time was spent on TV and 25% digitally. Compare that to 2014, when it had changed to 38% on TV and 43% digitally

6 Screens

We are on 6 screens and growing. Six? Yes, my brain was whirring when I heard that number! Here they are: Desktop, Mobile, Tablet, TV, Wearables and In Car. I wonder what that number will increase to in a couple of years.

Here is one last statistic from the day at Google : By 2020, more than 7.7billion people will be connected to the internet but over 50 billion devices will be connected. That means that more ‘things’ will be connected to the internet than people. Now I find that amazing.

So what is to be done with this information? Well, it’s going to happen so we must ensure we are willing to embrace these changes, adapt and enjoy the journey.

As Charles Darwin once said – “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”