Finding a new way to live with technology

Technology has changed virtually every part of our lives: how we interact with friends and family, how we raise our children, how we announce major life news, how we find love, and how we manage our careers.

It brings great advantages, but it also brings complications, something Randi Zuckerberg explores in her best-selling book, Dot Complicated.

The former Director of Marketing of Facebook is the founder and CEO of RtoZ Media, a company that proposes new platforms to help businesses be more social.

Top 10 exciting developments in technology, entrepreneurship and business happening globally right now.

1.    It is the age of the Entre-Ployee

This means that people no longer have to choose between working for a start-up or an established corporation, they can bring elements of both into the job. Some companies are using innovative hiring techniques to attract these people; for example, Grubhubs is sending job descriptions via Snapchat and the Marriott hotel chain has created a game where you can pretend to run a hotel with the best players granted an interview. There’s also rising interest in hackathons, where people can test new ideas.

2.    Think like a media company

Companies are engaging with customers and clients through creating content. At the forefront of this are Red Bull, Chipotle, Air New Zealand, diane von furstenberg, Gatorade and Oreo.

3.    Connections are currency

There’s a number of companies using your social media influence to decide what you pay, offering discounts and free merchandise to those who have a lot of followers on social media.

4.    Reinventing retail

Within the next decade, retail will be turned upside down, not just the way we do online shopping but also the physical store we go to. Zuckerberg points to the proliferation of pop-up stores, subway stations that become grocery stores at peak hour and vending machines in Japan that sell Chanel handbags.

5.    Turn FOMO into JOMO

The more time we spend online, the more we are gripped by the fear of missing out. Zuckerberg suggests turning this into the “joy of missing out” and being grateful and happy where you are.

6.    The maker movement

3D printing is poised to become a huge business. It’s already possible to print ears, kayaks, pancakes, make-up and houses with a 3D printer. However, it’s also possible to print weapons, which comes back to the complications of technology.

7.    Life-logging

Zuckerberg recently heard a statistic that over 50% of teenagers felt like if they didn’t document a moment, it was wasted. People are constantly documenting their lives and need to consider their digital footprint.

8.    The new frontiers – education and healthcare.

With the growth of online courses offered for free it’s increasingly possible to close the skills gaps and to never stop learning.

9.    Gamification for motivation

There’s a growing number of apps that make a game out of motivating us, for example, Nike-plus, Zombies Run, Charity Miles and Gym Shamers and even an exercise bike that does your laundry.

10. Unplug to Refresh

With technology pervading our lives, digital detoxes are gaining momentum. Hotels are starting to offer packages that allow people to hand over their gadgets and are now using “no wifi” as a selling option.

Read more insights from the 2014 World Business Forum keynote speakers.  http://business.nab.com.au/tag/world-business-forum/>

NAB was recently privileged to sponsor the World Business Forum in Sydney – two days of inspiration, collaboration and provocation by some of the world’s leading business innovators. These insights were generated live on the day by NAB and were informed by the guest speakers’ presentations.