The next big thing

[Richard1989]

Just a random thought i have been having recently..

I have been trying to look at every day life to think of what the next "big" or "best" thing would be. It is hard to come up with something.. I think, what would make that task easier in a culture that is becoming more and more lazy. What could you create to combine this task and that task to make it easier..

Is everything already there and the only thing that is going to chance is technological advances?

Until technology advances far enough in x number of years will there be nothing worth while?

 

[bob57]

I think there's always going to be that something everybody needs yet they don't know it until it's invented.

Everyone was happy with their barbeque food until Levi Roots went on Dragon's Den. The spices had always been available so no advancement in technology, it just took him have the drive and luck to get it into every store. You could say the same for Facebook or Twitter...

 

[PeopleWatcher]

Property, tons of big money floating around looking for a home, and property or land are going to start swimming soon.

Keep well away from great ideas, go for old ideas and stick with them.

 

[Paul_Rosser]

I deal with firms designing and making what they think will be the next big thing every day and it's usually the very simple ones which make a lot of money.

Unless you are Apple and can afford to spend a fortune to convince people that your new product is what their life was missing. Then it needs to be something there is a need for and which people think "thats so simple, why didn't anyone think of it before?".

After all "Necessity is the mother of invention"

 

[GraemeL]

Until technology advances far enough in x number of years will there be nothing worth while?

Suggest you read "Physics of the Future", Michio Kaku. The inventions that will transform our lives.

Also look at the technology on TED http://www.ted.com/

Its here now....

G

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Suggest you read "Physics of the Future", Michio Kaku. The inventions that will transform our lives.

Also look at the technology on TED http://www.ted.com/

Its here now....

G

I have to agree, it's not about the technology we have it's about the ways people find to make it do new stuff.

At the moment the big buzzword is "the cloud" and lots of firms are looking how to make a product around it. In the next few years storage like Dropbox will become the norm and you will have access to all your music, video and files from anywhere with an internet connection on any device you like. Whilst this technology is already in use, it's making it simple enough for everyone to use (and want) which is the trick.

However along with that comes a number of security issues, so a lot of firms are looking into how to make the cloud more secure and faster.

All based on existing technology.

 

[WilliamsData]

You can go the route of trying to find the 'next big thing'.

But why not go the route of taking the current 'big thing' and making it work better.

And lots of people make the mistake of thinking 'everythings already been done'. Until something comes out that causes a seismic shift in the way that everyone looks at things.

Remember when mobile phones first took off, and how many people said 'Ill never need one of those, whats the point'. I dont know anyone that doesnt have a mobile now, so there are still innovations to come that will change completely how we look at things.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

I think cars are going to change completely soon. When you think about it, you had the hoover, then the Dyson completely changed it, but it solved the same problem.

You also had the mobile phone, then Apple completely changed it to a smart phone.

Cars I think are about to burst soon- there hasn't been much innovation in them for a while- They are still 4 wheels and a driver- just a few fancy extras added in. I'm sure very soon we will see some autonomous cars where you simply type in the destination and it will drive you there (even with human controlled cars on the road) and the number of accidents will be reduced.

 

[WilliamsData]

I bought a Dyson years ago and gave it away very quickly cos I didnt think it was great

 

[Gillie]

You probably find that the 'next big thing' was thought up years ago ...

I get the feeling that technology, diet and exercise will combine in some fashion to fullfill the need we have in this 'advanced' world we live in - to solve the obsity and lazy thing that techonology has brought on!

 

[bob57]

I get the feeling that technology, diet and exercise will combine in some fashion to fullfill the need we have in this 'advanced' world we live in - to solve the obsity and lazy thing that techonology has brought on!

Either that or somebody will finally invent the long awaited hover boots.

 

[spreadtrader]

I think we are on the edge of a shift in personal computing. I've been a Windows user since the advent of the home PC

It's always been a struggle. The computer just gets slower and slower over time and becomes obsolete in a few short years. And upgrading components to keep it fresh is a hassle if you don't know about such things.

You have Apple computers that are said to run much better but are too expensive for your average users web browsing and word processing needs.

leaving not much in between.

I've just junked my PC tower and gone for a Samsung Chromebox. Essentially a cloud based PC that boots up and shuts down in seconds and runs cloud based apps rather than storing the programme on the hdd.

If google nail this concept and package and pitch it just right I recon it could explode and become the next big shift in home computing. A tiny box with the full function of a PC tower that costs next to nothing and is 'always new'.

It's still early days at the moment with the google chrome operating system and it's not quite there yet for the casual user but I think whoever nails the functionality and ease of use first is onto a winner.

Apple nailed it with the MP3 player and the Smart phone despite both only being developments of existing products. I can see them bringing out a imac cloud or something similar and nailing this market too.

If I was a tech boffin holed up in Silicon Valley I'd be all over this concept like a rash.

 

[WilliamsData]

How are you finding that Chromebook? Is it as good as a laptop? what do you miss the most (debating getting one myself).

I think we have already had the big paradigm shift which is tablet computing. Think we are just waiting for them to get better.

What we need is the ipad or similar that fits in a bag, but can use on a docking station with a keyboard and extra storage once you get home or to work. If someone comes out with that at a reasonable price point then that will mop up the whole market.

I think the reason the existing companies dont want to promote that is they are scared that their existing desktop and laptop market will totally collapse. So I think it will come but they will be very slow with the products so they can milk the existing laptop and desktop market for all they can first.

 

The next big thing is poverty.

 

[S_JB]

Technology is the product of 'the next big thing'. Not the other way round.

I think people emphasise too much on ideas that are focused on people's laziness.

Find an industry or sector that is riddled with problems or is in desperate need of innovation and start from their... and a bottle of wine

 

[Moneyman]

The most important new thing is a way to wade through the excess information. the person or program that can do that will be the next google.

by the way what was the last big thing?
stuff moves on. things evolve.

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Find an industry or sector that is riddled with problems or is in desperate need of innovation and start from their... and a bottle of wine

The next big thing is also dependent on the industry, for example one of the big things happening in Wine is moving from corks to screwcaps and a lot of companies are looking into replacing glass bottles with plastic.

The next big thing doesn't have to be anything everyone goes "oooohh" about, it can be a little change that everyone adopts and makes the inventor very rich.

 

[Richard1989]

A lot of interesting responses here.

@MoneyMan that is a good question - what was the last big thing? Facebook? Twitter? Blu Ray? Theres probably too many things to mention that have just been adopted into everyones lives.

The most recent thing i have seen, im unsure of how new it is - in the male toilets in a nightclub, next to the urinals there were drink holders instead of having to balance it and spill it everywhere.

Its not HUGE but its something new where if one club chain buys it, it gets known and spread around. Good thinking IMO, and all it came from was someone using the gents who possibly spilt their beer down them and thought.. surely this could be better?

@Spreadtrader - So that is entirely cloud based computing? Thay sounds like something which could be big - i saw dropbox mentioned previously, i have only just started using dropbox - and i think to myself where was i all this time when it was launched? It helps so much and allows storage of bigger files than via email. Perfect?

The only problem with cloud based computing is what about a big program? For example if someone wanted to get Adobe Photoshop - thats what around.. 600mb +? I think they would have to wait until there is a mass upgrade so everyone who uses one is on fibre optic?

 

[iandc6]

As soon as anyone finds out, please let me know - I'd be very grateful.

Some interesting comments so far - I'll be watching this thread.

 

[Jet Virtual]

i bet you someone thought of this very question 50 years ago ...

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I have an idea based around families helping each other financially without lifting so much as a finger.

When times are hard they will benefit, when times are good others will too.

That's all i'm saying at this stage

 

[jane p]

My facebook group page.

 

[PeopleWatcher]

For me the next big thing is practical, saves huge amounts of household heat and is sweeping the USA and Canada big time. It's a new building idea and concept called "Creating A Building Envelope', Du Pont discovered the material but maybe did not realise it, until 20 years ago that they'd discovered Eldorado, the Klondike and Kimberley Diamond Mines, in one super-strong plastic fibre / membrane / sheet.

The Key Word is building envelope and you're going to hear it often from now on.

 

[Deleted member 135299]

one of the next big things has to be the way we watch TV and listen to Radio, if you look at TV with all these new online services coming like Netflix etc, BT are trying to install superfast internet access countrywide, so I am guessing in a few years things like TV adverts will be tailored to the area you live in, the way you shop online etc. much like it is on the internet when you browse into a site and see an advert for a site you have recently visited.

James
personalised-jewellery.co.uk