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New technologies such as Artificial Senses and Virtual Reality are here to stay, and they will change our world dramatically. According to Ray kurzweil, leading innovator and futurist, "the pace of change will be so astonishingly quick that we won't be able to keep up, unless we enhance our own intelligence by merging with the intelligent machines we are creating”. Inspired by his visit to SuperNova, THoMers Florence and Laetitia listed 5 trends and technologies to watch. Meet Artificial Senses (AS) While it’s currently all about Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyborg Neil Harbisson is convinced that our focus will soon shift towards Artificial Senses (AS). The term ‘cyborg’ refers to a human being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. Born color-blind, Neil Harbisson implanted an antenna in his head which allows him to hear colors, including colors invisible to the human eye. The antenna connected to his brain creates an extra, artificial sense. The main difference between AS and AI is the place where the intelligence is created. While Artificial Intelligence is ‘intelligence created by machines’, the knowledge and intelligence as a result of Artificial Senses is created in your own brain, AS just gives your brain additional input. In other words, it creates a ‘revealed reality’. Harbisson believes that in the future we will change ourselves instead of changing the world. It will be normal to add and change body parts. When it’s too hot, we’ll lower our temperature, when it’s too dark we’ll light a part of our body. What’s the first feature you’d add? Data is the new world currency  There is no doubt that data has become one of the most valuable resources for companies worldwide. Biz Stone illustrates the growing importance of data by describing it as “the new world currency”. Think about blockchain technology for example: by investing in cryptocurrencies, our money is transformed into data, while at the same time, our data has become our money, as it has gained the ability to create and exchange economic value. Next to the banking industry, data is impacting and will certainly impact other industries as well. According to Jorg Snoeck, founder of the retail communication and network platform Retail Detail, the retail landscape of the future will be shaped by big data and artificial intelligence.  The future is conversational Enhanced by new types of devices, our daily lives will be more and more conversational… with machines. As half of the searches will be performed by voice by 2020, it is no surprise that the sales and consequently the use of smart speakers such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home is on the rise. Voice assistance will increasingly become part of our lives, simplifying everyday activities and tasks. Although smart speakers are currently primarily used to carry out basic tasks such as putting on music or checking the weather forecast, the application of these devices will be extended considerably. According to Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, even the future of social media is conversational, and voice is just another User Interface. Soon our smartphone will be replaced by almost invisible wearables. Think about a mini-accessory in your ear or attached to your hand. Good bye to the panic you felt when you thought you’d lost your smartphone once again. A permanent device inside your body is the logical next step - Neil Harbisson’s world is closer than you might think. And what if we not only connect the device but also our brain to the cloud? Will the next Twitter user interface be designed for voice, and the one after that for 'thoughts'? Don’t ignore the dark side of technology Start thinking about the potential negative consequences of new technologies and anticipate them. New technologies are usually created with good intentions, but it’s quite likely that they will give rise to undesirable results too. Solutions today will be the cause of problems in the future. If you wonder what this might look like, watch the Netflix series ‘Black Mirror’ about current and future technologies and how they influence our reality. The testimony of Biz Stone, fuels this concern. He said that Twitter has been regarded as a ‘telephone company’ for too long: responsible for the platform but not for the content. When founding Twitter, they probably didn’t think about hate speech or state-sponsored trolling characterizing their platform. They changed their position and are actively working on solutions (for example, removing fake accounts) to increase the quality and collective health of the public conversation. Jane McGonigal believes that anticipating the negative consequences of new technologies is not only the responsibility of the people who create it, it’s the responsibility of the ones using and supporting these technologies too. Jane McGonigal also has an interesting idea on how to find solutions: by playing games. People playing games create a massive ‘collective intelligence’ that we need to use to solve future problems. This is because fake videos (the next wave of disinformation) and ever available facial recognition are almost here! When it comes to innovation, it’s all about timing Innovation primarily starts with a good idea. Biz Stone, was asked how he makes the distinction between good and bad ideas. He stated that “one cannot recognize good ideas; one must be emotionally involved to be able to bring them to life and make them successful”. However, in addition to that, innovation is about more than just ideas. According to Ray Kurzweil the most important aspect that makes a successful innovator is timing. Let’s take Airbnb as an example. Even though the platform was launched in the middle of an international financial crisis, it was still able to disrupt the housing market in 2008. As people were desperately looking for alternative revenues, Airbnb turned a threat into an opportunity and now rents out millions of rooms every night. So next to your business model, team and funding, innovation is really about being at the right place at the right moment. Today, new technologies may seem to be something far away, not transforming your business immediately, but tomorrow they will. So, force yourself to keep up with the latest trends and technologies, it’s definitely worth the effort!

For this year’s ‘Weekend van de Klant/du Client’, a handful of grateful THoMers came up with a message we can’t wait to share with you. We hope this one makes you smile and thanks a million for achieving great marketing results together! Now… time to sit back and hit play:

Last week, THoMers got immersed in the latest technology at the SuperNova festival in Antwerp. Let’s call it the Tomorrowland for professionals, entrepreneurs, creatives, researchers, innovators and investors looking to connect, get inspired and empowered by technology and innovation. For whom tomorrow is unstoppable! SuperNova really was a one-of-a-kind immersive experience where visionary solutions, technologies and cross-industry insights came together. 

Employees have become highly valuable actors in terms of social media and their impact on companies. Indeed, they can increasingly boost marketing, communication, sales and HR business results. Knowing the benefits companies can obtain by having their employees engaged on social media, they are highly recommended to develop employee advocacy programs that provide a focus point for all social media brand ambassadors. 

Have you ever thought about plastic pollution while swimming in the sea? Pondered about slavery while enjoying a chocolate bar? Reflected on food waste while eating out at a restaurant? Although most people don’t consider world challenges while going about their day-to-day activities, these kept Boyan Slat, Teun Van de Keuken and Lucie Basch awake at night. The 3 entrepreneurs decided to take action and (co-)founded The Ocean Cleanup, Tony’s Chocolonely and Too Good To Go. Let’s find out how these start-ups have provided self-sufficient solutions to world-threatening challenges. In addition, we explain the advantages of a start-up structure and demonstrate why every company, regardless of its growth phase, should invest in sustainable entrepreneurship.

It’s a simple statement to which we’re sure everybody will answer “no, of course not!”. But although the answer to this question is so simple, we often see that companies are using the wrong KPIs and metrics to measure what they want to know. Measuring your shoe size, the amount of baking soda needed or how big your backyard is: you all need different indicators to measure what you want to know. And although teaspoons are very effective for measuring how much baking soda you need, it doesn’t immediately help you to work out the size of your backyard.

Poverty, migration, droughts... Our world is facing many challenges and consumers increasingly demand positive action, which has made it impossible for businesses to lag behind. THoMer Kristien explains how to include purpose on your priority list and why the time is now to do so.

Nowadays, it is critical for companies to stay up-to-date with all the changes brought by new technologies in order to retain their position in the market. The impressive development of social media has pushed companies to adapt themselves to this new trend by having a more social-oriented culture.

What happens when your Human Capital team consists of people with a background in marketing? Well, you embark on a maHRketing project! A year ago we decided it was time for The House of Marketing to not only be at the forefront of marketing, but also at the forefront of what we call Human Capital. At The House of Marketing we've always had the mindset of investing in people and enabling them to realize their full potential.  But even if the mindset was there, we noticed our processes were still very traditional and therefore not always contributing to our goal of realizing the full potential of our THoMers. It was time for a change and so we kicked off our Talent Development project!

Are you familiar with the business design thinking methodology? It's a mindset, a customer-centric approach to problem solving and a way to design things right (versus designing the right things) based on customer needs. The approach focuses on doing rather than thinking and provides a solution to cope with a constantly changing world. Visualizing our explanation: