Summary of 2005 Trends & Predictions

I've seen several sites with 2005 predictions or 2005 trends. I found a good summary of these trends on Small Business Trends. Most of these trends come from Kiplinger, Datamonitor, San Jose Mercury, Inc. Magazine, Red Herring, and ClickZ (Pete Blackshaw).

Here is the rapid-fire summary of the summary (without commentary).

• Higher energy prices
• Modest (3.5%) economic growth
• A worsening situation in Iraq
• A bottom for the dollar by spring
• Higher prices, but lower inflation
• Better stock returns than 2004
• An even more contentious U.S. political arena
• Employer health costs rising about 10%
• Burgeoning foreign investment by China
• Intense competition for telephone and Internet services
• "Togethering" (travel)
• Short vacations
• "Edutravel"
• Big U.S. cities for travel destinations
• High prices on raw materials
• Logistical problems resulting in long lead times
• Benefits driving up labor costs
• Struggling state economies
• The return of early-stage deals
• Children are acting and thinking older
• Rise in small business (baby boomers)
• Rise in consulting
• Gender Complexity
• Lifestage Complexity
• Income Complexity
• Individualism
• Homing
• Sensory Experiences
• Convenience
• Desktop search heats up
• Rise in web services
• Home Sweet Digital
• Blogs absorb flak, yet stay on track.
• I'll watch the ads... for a price!"
• All media become product-placement vehicles.
• Wireless goes free (brought to you by Unilever)
• Rise in luxury goods

If you have others, please add comments!

Comments

[Sam Decker]

Just ran across this list of gadget predictions
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000787025626/