Welcome back to work. I hope you had a lovely break and are looking forward to a positive 2011. No doubt like me you’ve seen oodles and oodles of blogs and tweets on New Year predictions and resolutions for 2011. So instead I’ll keep this post personal. I’m going to publically pledge my own personal resolutions. Did you know that pledging is a powerful communications technique that helps ensure a sustainable attitude and behaviour change?
So here goes…let’s check back in February and see if I’ve stuck to these. If you’re inspired as well I’ve included some handy links below. Why not join in and tell me what your’s are?
In 2011 I will…
- Act like a tourist: enjoy and discover unusual finds in my local area and City. Why travel fpr weekend breaks and use up lots of Carbon when there’s things to do on my doorstep?
- Re-join my local library: spread the word about what a great resource it is for online databases, e- books and of course the usual hard copy books! Find your local library here
- See more Art: I am literally going to diary in my regular art fix so I don’t miss any more great shows
- See friends in real life and spend less time on Facebook: should be a doodle…
- Reduce my reusable shopping bag mountain: and remember to take them with me when I shop
- Eat more vegetables and fish: and give meat a rest – which earns me feel good green points but means I need to gen up on more exciting recipes – thankfully I can use my new Jamie Oliver 30 minute meals book for that…
- Make friends with Quinoa: I try to love it, it hates me. I will win it around. Did you know it’s the only grain that’s a protein? I will remember that it’s pronounced ‘keen- wah’ . Hmm find out more here…
- Finally switch to online billing for all utilities: how did I never get around to that before?
- Walk more: why tube it when I can walk it? Eco-frugal! I love this site. Check it out…Walkit.com Urban walking is the way forward.
- Win the lottery: (well didn’t Henry Ford say ‘if you believe you can you can!’)
Still want my predictions for 2011..oh OK…?
– Facebook Fatigue:
With so many usability changes and other social networking products will more users get fed up with Facebook and go cold turkey, shunning it in return for niche online communities or old style entertainment?
– Online publishing will boom:
From bloggers being receiving book deals by mainstream publishers to DIY online publishing tools I think this year really will focus on ‘power to the people’. Content is king and now online publishing is more accessible than ever before. What will happen to the future of the hardback book?
– Conceptual Apps:
It’s finally become the year of the mobile app. A great communication tool and a marketeers dream; direct connection with the user virtually 24/7. Yet there’s a huge number of apps that are downloaded yet never used again plus fierce competition for user attention. So I predict that this year there’ll be the rise of ‘conceptual apps’. Apps that either hark back to a retro time (think Crayon Physics), fulfill a real need or desire (think Spotify), or enable us to become more track and become sustainable. As the world and his wife jump on the app band wagon what will really set new apps apart is a unique need or service that they fulfill, ability to save time / make life easier, fun factor, and buzz factor (word of mouth marketing), and addiction factor (think Bejewelled), plus collaboration – can we share and compete with our friends? I predict more augmented reality, location based services, collaboration, and continued competition for Apple. After the recent bad press for Apple ref reception and faulty alarms some consumers may be more inclined to stick with Android, Java or the new format HTML5 may have an impact.
Want to know more, see this nifty mobile blogger.
-Sustainability becomes Sexy:
Yes really. The 2009 – 2010 gloom and doom aka Credit Crunch chaos appeared to kick CSR and Sustainability off the business and consumer radar. Savvy businesses have continued to quietly engage employees, suppliers and customers on sustainability. Think M&S Plan A and their Oxfam voucher partnership, Innocent, Howies and Sainsbury’s.
I predict that after all this frugality many of us have learnt that consuming less doesn’t actually mean having less fun, or losing out. In fact some of my friends and family have embraced the new age of austerity and become green advocates to their surprise! So this year I predict that ‘green’ is the ‘new black’. It’s been a long time coming – but finally I think that people are more open to messages about what we gain from being smart shoppers and consumers versus what we lose. Plus Nissan has launched the Leaf a new electric car that features an mobile app in the advert to help track battery usage. Green meets tech, so surely I can’t be wrong?
Now all we need are a few more Sexy Sustainable Celeb role models to inspire those late adopters…
