The recent death of Sir Arthur C Clarke gives us good reason to look forward in time. 

 

Clarke was one of the first to identify Y2K as a potential problem, but some of his guesses were even closer to the mark. In 1945, he suggested a geostationary comms network of satellites; in 1963/4, it happened. In 1972, he mooted Spaceguard, designed to protect Earth against asteroid collisions; in 1992, NASA launched Project Spaceguard to do exactly that. 

 

As computer scientist Alan Kay said a few years ago, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”. Thirty years ago we were promised a paperless office, and it never happened. Now, with the new generation of ‘digital natives’ replacing ‘digital immigrants’, 2020 could see electronic direct mail entirely taking over from print. On the other hand, mailers could exist, but in another form – as smart materials, such as ph-sensitive polymers, magnetic memory shape alloys and halochromic materials. 

 

Controversy has arisen over database information where companies record who has visited what site and make the data available to third parties. At present, legislation is too uncertain to prevent it and this could become a vital tool in B2B even as early as 2012. Clarke also suggested that by 2020, artificial intelligence will have reached a level where there will be two intelligent species on Earth: homo sapiens and robo sapiens.

 

Time to start thinking about B2R marketing?