The Coming Jobs Explosion

While the unemployment rate remains well north of nine percent – a very troubling stat indeed – there is hope on the horizon. The view from New York (at least from my seat) is that there is a huge pent up demand for new and more qualified employees and that in the second half of 2010 there will literally be a jobs explosion for qualified candidates. Service companies are hungry for those who can help them build market share in good times and bad and corporations are looking to upgrade their talent to take advantage of the coming (if still yet unofficial) recovery. And, here's the potential interesting rub, as we've seen in markets in Europe for years, economic growth can continue and jobs can come in waves without greatly reducing the overall unemployment rate. It will be interesting to see if we get back to our historical unemployment numbers of if this is an entirely new way of doing business. Vive la revolution!

Shake No More?

I'm already seeing the signs of the end of the handshake as we know it. I received my fist bumps in Portland last week and even on the train in CT today, a good friend opted for a wave versus shaking hands -- all of this of course due to the fear of H1N1. Sociologists I'm sure are already having a field day looking at how these greeting behaviors are already changing. I predict, particularly among Gen Y and beyond, the handshake will slowly fade as it is for women who rarely shake hands. Who knows, maybe we'll see a return to the salute or the bow as in Japan. For me, I'll keep shaking hands and keep my Purell at the ready.

Sleeping Beauty

The Killer App of the next decade will be sleep. Time after time, people complain they don't sleep well due to stress or other factors (like a new baby?) And, due to the obesity epidemic, I can only imagine snoring is at an all time high (it seems so based on online advertising.) So, what is the silver bullet? The pharma company that can come up with a genuine sleep substitute will have the ultimate market cap. Imagine feeling a little run down and taking a pill (legally!) to literally add the feeling and benefit of two hours of sleep. Sounds crazy but I can imagine countless firms are already working on something similar deep in the molecule chasing labs!

The Eyes Have It

Given the rapid influx of information coming to us 24/7 and on increasingly smaller screens, I predict that there will be a massive increase in the number of people wearing corrective eyewear (glasses and contacts.) So, the smart ones will invest in companies that make optics and contact lenses. After all, while Moore's law says we'll be able to pack an increasing amount of information on smaller chips every two years – our eyes simply haven't kept up.

"That rate, since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, doubles the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit, approximately every two years." Gordon Moore.

The Coming Small Business Revolution

If this recession taught us anything, it is that layoffs suck and that doing anything you can to control your own destiny means everything. Be it power networking, monetizing your value or asking for a promotion, those who control their destiny seem to be coming out ahead in this mess. One observation is that as the economy recovers, all that pent up energy may come out in a new wave of small businesses. And, given that our banking community still can't get it together, these small business will likely be funded by "angel" investors - likely mom and dad. This will at least give people the ability to decide if they lay themselves off. Think of it as a Pink Slip Revoluation.

Micro-Licensing

All right, I'm going on record to coin a new phrase - "micro-licensing." Given the rise in social networking and the personalization of the Internet, traditional licensing for non-profits may be outdated. A new craze may well take hold: micro-licensing where non-profits and potentially brands literally provide use of their logos for fundraising and other needs. Imagine for a moment the famed (RED) campaign appearing for one month at your local pizza parlor. Or, consider a one-day promotion with your local gas station where proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. This "pop up" social marketing, could be an excellent way to keep non-profits and other organizations raising money through our current recession and beyond (see link.) In my view, micro-licensing could be a great alternative to cumbersome multi-year agreements between non-profits and brands and could help take advantage of our desire to do good...without too much of a commitment.

Crowdsourcing

As a follow up to my earlier posts on the changing face of advertising, I believe the phenomena of group creativity is finally coming of age. See Wikipedia . While the big brains on Madison Avenue will certainly disagree, I think there is going to be enormous power in the concept of having the target audience a company is trying to reach, actually help that company market to them. And, with the wide variety of collaboration tools that started with Documentum's erooms, this is now a level playing field for everyone. As Thomas Friedman says, if you have an idea and don't take advantage of it someone else will - be they in Shanghai or San Francisco. So, watch out for more of this emerging trend.