FEBRUARY 13, 2009

5 Forces Summary

Welcome to the second installment of our 5 Forces Summary! The New Persuasion team has chosen the following five articles to highlight the forces that we believe are driving transformational shifts around the world.  In doing so, we hope to provide you with a better understanding of how we look at the world from a New Persuasion perspective. 

• Globalization
  A mighty wind: U.S. becomes top wind power producer from USA Today
  The U.S. is now the world leader in wind power, a title previously held by Germany. Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council supports the global use of wind power to send “a strong global signal from governments that they are serious about moving away from fossil fuel and protecting the climate.”
• Innovation
  Crossing the Atlantic in a pedal-powered submarine from Boing Boing Gadgets
  Machinist/inventor Ted Ciamillo created a prototypical blade, called the Lunocet, that essentially swims by itself. Why is this seemingly quirky innovation such a big deal? Because the Lunocet has the least disruptive environmental impact on the 30 foot surface of the ocean when used in a submarine.
• Im(migration)
  Who we are now from Newsweek
  According to the Pew Research Center, if current immigration trends continue, the U.S. population will rise from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million in 2050. 82 percent of the increase will be attributable to immigrants arriving after 2005 and to their descendants.
• Saturation
  Can the cellphone industry keep growing? from The New York Times
  Matt Richtel discusses the fate of the cellphone industry in the midst of the current economic times. “Cellphone sales are falling, manufacturers have announced thousands of layoffs and wireless carriers are finding it harder to acquire and keep customers.”
• Personalization
  Google now knows your heart rate from Mashable
  Google Health now has the capability to receive data from personal medical devices. You can have your data monitored remotely by your doctor, personal trainer, or nutritionist. Since your blood pressure, weight, and blood sugar level information would be uploaded online, will this turn into a privacy issue?

Note: In observation of Presidents’ Day this Monday, we’ll be taking the day off - check back for a new Undercurrents post on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!