LAURA SOLOMON | @laurasolomon | www.meanlaura.com
Emerging Tech
Trends 2018

Introduction

both sides of the
fence

https://www.gartner.com/smarter
withgartner/5-trends-emerge-in-
gartner-hype-cycle-for-emerging-
technologies-2018/

It’s not all
about
libraries

Our patrons may already
be using them
This stuff is going to affect
your job
Libraries are now
IT-driven
Why care?

Virtual
assistants
Subscription
economy
Realities
.
Facial
recognition
AGENDA
THE

Facial recognition

It’s already in U.S. airports
"Facial recognition technology is an important step
forward for CBP in protecting the United States from
all types of threats. Terrorists and criminals continually
look for creative methods to enter the U.S. including
using stolen genuine documents. The new facial
recognition technology virtually eliminates the ability
for someone to use a genuine document that was
issued to someone else.“
Casey Durst
Director, US Customs and Border Protection

Distributed
Secure
Unique
It’s
already in
police
departments

It’s
already
in
schools

It’s already
on social media

It’s
coming
to
baseball
Image from https://gizmodo.com/face-recognition-tickets-are-coming-to-baseball-games-1827577430

It’s even
available
for cows

BiasUnregulatedPrivacy
Major issues

Does facial recognition hold
any value for us?
What about
libraries?

Realities

No eye-
trackingIsolation
Physical
symptoms
Content
creation

„So, in short: the cost of VR — financial, logistical, and physiological —
needs to come down. The quality of experiences needs to go up. That was
true in 2016, and it’s still true now.”
The Verge 2017 tech report card: Virtual reality
Not much
has
changed?

It’s getting useful
But…

https://mashable.com/2018/05/18/high-school-kids-create-vr-app-for-autistic-students

New
tools
are
making
AR big
in 2018

Image from https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/01/amazon-adds-an-ar-shopping-feature-to-its-ios-app/

Image from https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/ikea-place-ar/

http://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/bone-hall/

https://gizmodo.com/measuring-tape-in-augmented-reality-is-way-more-excitin-1796435037

„Enter a new age in contemporary art, one where people can express
themselves collaboratively in the digital and physical realm. Think mixed-
media taken to a whole new dimension, one where people not only have
access to public art, but the expectation they can add their own signature
without leaving a mark…”
Kristina Phillips, strategist
Intellectua
l property
questions

The next step
MIXED
reality

What about
libraries?

Subscription economy

XaaS

…this market has grown by more than
100% a year, increasing from $57 million
in sales in 2011 to $2.6 billion in 2016.
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/why-every-business-will-soon-be-
subscription-business
A
subtle,
but
massive,
change

https://www.surfair.com/us/

The end of ownership?
https://www.ft.com/content/4b3d6fea-e0e9-
11e7-8f9f-de1c2175f5ce
. “We’re making the
change from selling cars
to selling mobility.”
Alain Visser, chief executive of Lynk & Co,

TienTzuo, author of
“The reality is
ownership is dead;
now it’s really about
access as the new
imperative.”

Tom Krackeler, senior vice president of products at Zuora
“Any business that is not already
making this shift is at risk of being left
behind.”
What about
libraries?

https://neilpatel.com/blog/excel-at-subscription-economy/
5 More…
4 Emphasize Simplicity
3 Emphasize Variety
2 Emphasize Convenience
1 Emphasize Uniqueness and
Differentiating Quality
How to Excel at the
Subscription Economy
5
4 3
2
1

Virtual assistants

https://www.convinceandconvert.com/
content-marketing-research/15-
important-statistics-about-smart-
speakers-in-2018/
43 million
Americans own a
smart speaker like
Amazon Alexa or
Google Home.

Smart
Speakers Are
Stealing
Share From
Other Media

“There is no mouse on your phone. You don’t want to use a
keyboard on your phone. With a smart watch, there is no
keyboard. With Alexa, there is no screen. You have to think
of more natural ways to interact with the device.”
Chuck Ganapathi, CEO at Tact
Device-
agnostic
interaction

Image from
https://techcrunch.co
m/2017/11/29/amazo
n-is-putting-alexa-in-
the-office

Image from https://ces2017.lgnewsroom.com/news/lg-
smart-instaview-refrigerator-features-voice-control-
webos-smart-platform-remote-viewing-capabilities/

“Voice technology has the potential to revolutionize how we
shop.”
https://mashable.com/article/google-home-argos-voice-shopping/#Q3JusAcqHgqu

What about
libraries?

https://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/visit/services/alexa-skill

My next
project

The big take-aways

Voice assistants
Subscription economy
.
Realities
.
Facial recognition
Remember:

Thank you for listening!
Laura Solomon | @laurasolomon | meanlaura.com | laura@designforthelittleguy.com