March 15, 2013
Weekly Roundup: Virtual immortality, China’s love hunters and DIY biohackers
Posted by: Jessica Vaughn - New York in North America
-The Economist examines India’s next generation of tech entrepreneurs and why the sector hasn’t evolved faster.
-The New York Times looks at the crushing impact of Italy’s severe recession on its smaller businesses.
-“Russians, Asians and Arabs are rewriting the rules of European tourism,” reports The Guardian, with the continent hosting a new cohort of tycoons and middle-class visitors.
-A WHO study finds that European men are a generation behind women in life expectancy, the BBC reports.
-Ad Age takes a look at why “sugar is shaping up to be the next public enemy No. 1.”
-The Wall Street Journal takes a look at “How Big Data Is Changing the Whole Equation for Business.”
-Forbes outlines five trends that will drive the future of technology.
-A new Pew Research study on American teens and technology spotlights the always-on connectivity of Gen Z.
-Young Americans, hobbled by student loan debt and stagnant wages, lag previous generations in wealth accumulation, according to a new study covered in The New York Times.
-The Wall Street Journal spotlights “the new maze of subscriptions,” from mobile phones to Netflix, that tie grown children to parents footing the bill.
-In a special section on retirement, The New York Times spotlights the rise of “virtual immortality”—leaving a multimedia record of one’s life for the next generation—as well as housing trends among older Americans.
-As Germany’s elderly population expands, The Christian Science Monitor reports that Eastern European nursing homes are pitching the idea of “exporting grandma.”
-The New York Times’ Nick Bilton outlines his notion of digital etiquette, and gets plenty of feedback. GigaOM observes that etiquette dilemmas stem partly from having too many ways to communicate.
-The Wall Street Journal explores the future of typing, looking at how the keyboard is evolving on smartphones.
-Nielsen spotlights the rise of “Zero-TV” households in the U.S.
-Slate’s Will Oremus explores the “small but growing subculture of DIY biohackers, body hackers, grinders, and self-made cyborgs.”
-Artinfo outlines how art auction houses are evolving.
-USA Today reports that more employers are enabling on-the-job napping for today’s weary workforce.
-Mobile technology in the enterprise is slowly “spreading from ancillary functions to areas ingrained in employees’ workdays,” as The Wall Street Journal reports.
-McKinsey looks to Japan to understand electric car buyers more broadly.
-The New York Times explores China’s “love hunters,” companies that cater to newly rich singles looking to outsource the task of finding a spouse.
-This week we released a trend report, “Embracing Analog: Why Physical Is Hot,” which was the topic of a SXSW panel that included our own Ann Mack. Check out the panel recap here, and download the report here.
