Episodes

Dec. 1, 2021

Tech Revolution 2022 Crystal Ball Predictions Special – Part 1

The Buzz: Top five quotes from Back to the Future, 1985–1990 sci-movie trilogy: * “Nobody calls me chicken.” * “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” * “1.21 Gigawatts!?!” * “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it.” * “This Is heavy!” Would you have predicted in 1990 that we'd still be quoting the characters in Back to the Future today, 30+ years later? If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2022 holds for your company, your indust...
Nov. 24, 2021

The Future for Female Entrepreneurs: A New Playing Field? Part 2

The Buzz 1: “Entrepreneurship is the last refuge of the troublemaking individual.” (Natalie Clifford Barney) The Buzz 2: “You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone.” (Tina Fey) The Buzz 3: “The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” (Roseanne Barr) The Buzz 4: “Being a successful female entrepreneur is hard work and comes with a unique set of challenges.” (Female Entrepreneur's Playbook: Secret Strategies from 20+ Women f...
Nov. 17, 2021

The Future of Smarter Cities: People + How Much Technology?

The Buzz 1: “Smart cities are the intelligent cities of positivity and happy-energy, not the junkyards of technologies but cities of diversity, love, life, beauty, dignity, freedom, tolerance, and equality.” (Amit Ray, author: Peace Bliss Beauty and Truth: Living with Positivity) The Buzz 2: “The banning of bullfighting in Catalonia was controversial and hard won and has now been replaced by the vacuous global consumption of the mall. I'm sure that is an advance for the bulls but I'm not sure ho...
Nov. 10, 2021

The Future of Storytelling and Technology: Get Real!

The Buzz 1: “Even without the modern neurological research that proves storytelling is the best way to capture people’s attention, bake information into their memories, and forge close, personal bonds, humanity has always inherently known that people crave and seek out great stories almost as much as food and water.” (blog.hubspot.com) The Buzz 2: “From fireside folk tales to Netflix dramas, narratives are essential to every society…Scholars specialising in ‘literary Darwinism’ are asking what e...
Nov. 3, 2021

The Future of Social Media Noise: Keep or Banish Hashtags?

The Buzz 1: “#Hashtags aren’t as cool as they once were…A Next Web study found that more than half of consumers don’t search for hashtags or use hashtags on their own content.… Spammers and bots are targeting popular hashtags at high rates, even if the hashtag isn’t relevant to the content. This adds “noise” to the social sphere.” (sellerschoice.digital) The Buzz 2: “It’s been 13 years since the founding of the hashtag and marketers are now questioning if hashtags are still relevant…When we aske...
Oct. 27, 2021

The Future of Entrepreneurship: Why Will Startups Keep Failing?

The Buzz 1: “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” (Dave Thomas, Wendy’s founder) The Buzz 2: “The best startups generally come from somebody needing to scratch an itch.” (Michael Arrington, TechCrunch founder and co-editor) The Buzz 3: “Don’t let others convince you that the idea is good when your gut tells you it’s bad.” (Kevin Rose, Digg co-founder) The Buzz 4: “Ignore the hyp...
Oct. 20, 2021

The Future of Self-Driving Cars: Who/What Teaches Them to Drive?

The Buzz 1: The future promised by self-driving car companies — in which the streets would be filled with autonomous vehicles — has yet to arrive. In May 2021, The New York Times reported that the cars are still unable to manage the multitude of scenarios they may encounter while driving…if it’s drizzling, all the cameras are so strong that they can capture the tiniest water drop in the atmosphere. In a category called atmospherics, workers may be asked to label each individual drop of water so ...
Oct. 13, 2021

The Future of Crime Novels: Must-See TV Adaptation Required?

The Buzz 1: “The book is better” – you hear often when it comes to adaptations of books for the screen…plenty of TV adaptations are as good as the books they’re based on, and some are even better…Book adaptations have become must-see TV, from Game of Thrones to The Handmaid’s Tale and beyond. (www.stylist.co.uk) The Buzz 2: Some of the most talked-about TV series of the past few years are all based on novels and other published works…books, comic books, and graphic novels in development as TV or...
Oct. 6, 2021

The Future of Drones: Landing on a Porch or Planet Near You Soon

The Buzz 1: Drones are now, literally, out of this world. NASA successfully landed the Perseverance rover on Mars earlier this year, and it carried an important payload: the Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity.… Similar to Electronic Automobiles, drones offer another important option in fending off greenhouse gasses and becoming carbon neutral. (forbes.com) The Buzz 2: Start a game-changing career working with dynamic drone technology.…One of the first drone degree programs in the United States: Cal U’s ...
Sept. 29, 2021

The Future of Women vs Men in STEM: Technology and Creativity

The Buzz 1: “In a study of 34 rhesus monkeys, males strongly preferred toys with wheels over plush toys, whereas females found plush toys likable. It would be tough to argue that the monkeys’ parents bought them sex-typed toys or that simian society encourages its male offspring to play more with trucks…The role of culture is not zero. The role of biology is not zero.” (stanmed.stanford.edu) The Buzz 2: “Estrogen is an asset…A new study from music researchers has found that women are engaged in ...
Sept. 22, 2021

The Future of Healthy Adult Beverages – Good Taste & Good For You

The Buzz 1: “Consumers today don’t just want their beverages to taste good and help them stay hydrated…Consumer interest in functional beverages over the last one year alone increased by a whopping 272%.” (spoonshot.com/blog – Dec 2020) The Buzz 2: “The fastest growing categories in healthy beverages are sparkling and enhanced water, plant-based dairy alternatives like oat milk and almond milk, and probiotics…added functional benefits from soft drinks…clean labels, zero calories and sustainable ...
Sept. 15, 2021

The Future for Female Entrepreneurs – Lower or Raise the Bar?

The Buzz 1: “There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.” (Madam C.J. Walker (1867 –1919), America’s first female entrepreneur millionaire) The Buzz 2: “You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone.” (Tina Fey, actress, comedian, writer, producer, playwright) The Buzz 3: “The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you pow...
Sept. 8, 2021

The Future of Cryptocurrency in Retail: Pay Now, Pay How?

The Buzz 1: “Since the creation of bitcoin, hundreds and hundreds of crypto assets are gradually finding their place in society…many companies are already accepting virtual currencies as a form of payment (KFC, Subway...). Others have considered creating their own cryptocurrency, such as Amazon.” (daviescoin.io/blog) The Buzz 2: “Once a hard-to-grasp concept, cryptocurrencies are experiencing their “arrival”…More than three in 10 Americans describe cryptocurrencies as the future of money, accord...
Sept. 1, 2021

The Future of Music Education, Musicians and Technology

The Buzz 1: “Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.” (Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, 1920–1955, jazz saxophonist, band leader, composer) The Buzz 2: “Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts.” (Billy Joel, born 1949, musician, singer-songwriter, composer, Piano Man” ) The Buzz 3: “People ask me how I make music. I tell them I just step into it. It’s like stepping into a river and joining the flow. Every mome...
Aug. 25, 2021

The Future of Tech Startups: When Is THE Right Time?

The Buzz 1: “We can fly! we can fly! we can fly!…All it takes is faith and trust. Oh, and something I forgot. Dust! Dust? Yep. Just a little bit of pixie dust.” (“You can fly” song, Peter Pan, 1953 American animated adventure fantasy film) The Buzz 2: “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” (Dave Thomas, Wendy’s founder) The Buzz 3: “Don't worry about failure; you only have to be ...
Aug. 18, 2021

The Future of Professional Women & Creativity: Impossible Dream?

The Buzz 1: “The greatest scientists are always artists as well.” [Albert Einstein] The Buzz 2: “At first glance, the words “science” and “creativity” might not seem like natural companions.…. But…the greatest scientific discoveries in history were born out of creative curiosity, and a desire to do things differently.” [Creativity in STEM – a contradiction in terms? Not for Europe’s girls!”, news.microsoft.com] The Buzz 3: “…I want to tell the young generation that the fields of STEM are innovat...
Aug. 11, 2021

The Future of Digital Security: Will Zero Trust Keep Us Safe?

The Buzz 1: “All it takes is faith and trust. Oh, and something I forgot. Dust! Dust? Yep. Just a little bit of pixie dust.” (Peter Pan played by Bobby Driscoll, 1953 film song You Can Fly!) The Buzz 2: “It's all right. I understand. Why trust a shark, right?” (Bruce, a great white shark voiced by Barry Humphries, Finding Nemo, Disney/Pixar 2003 animated film) Cyber-hacking on a huge global scale is challenging our institutions, organizations, public and private infrastructure. Today, cybersecur...
Aug. 4, 2021

The Future of Self-Publishing: A Real Page-Turner – Part 2

The Buzz 1: “Self-publishing is an ever-changing industry and big changes can come seemingly out of nowhere…Trend #2: More indie authors will collaborate or consolidate in collectives. Trend #3: Authors will benefit from competition in the eBook marketplace between Amazon, Apple, and Google.” [www.writtenwordmedia.com/the-top-ten-publishing-trends-every-author-needs-to-know-in-2021] The Buzz 2: “Ten years ago, e-books made up less than 1 percent of the trade book market, yet they now make up 40 ...
July 28, 2021

The Future of Email Marketing: Will You Open It?

The Buzz 1: “A lot of folks believe that email is dead. With the increased use of chatbots, social media platforms, etc., the assumption is that email's place has been overtaken. However, this assertion, and the assumption it is based on, is wrong.…[despite] insufficient tools for creating emails, bad email marketing techniques, and lack of data and integration…email marketing still remains one of the surest ways of reaching out to customers.” (https://www.sendx.io/blog/email-marketing-trend) Th...
July 21, 2021

The Future of Women in STEM: What About Their Creativity?

The Buzz 1: “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well. (Albert Einstein, 1923; news.microsoft.com/europe/2017/12/05/creativity-stem-contradiction-terms-not-europes-girls/) The Buzz 2: “Unfortunately, creativity is often attributed more to men than women…In Europe, women make up fewer than 40 per cent of all scientific researchers – despite the fact the contine...
July 14, 2021

The Future of The Cloud: What Has It Done for YOU Lately?

The Buzz 1: “Hey, you, Get Off Of My Cloud” (The Rolling Stones). “Clouds in My Coffee” (You’re So Vain lyrics, Carly Simon). “I've looked at clouds from both sides now, From up and down, and still somehow, It's cloud illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds at all” (Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell). The Buzz 2: “One of the interesting things about the cloud is how it has quietly pervaded most people’s lives. Australians have used the cloud for years now and still aren’t aware of it … At thi...
July 7, 2021

The Future of Wineries and Technology: The Move to Crowd-Sourced

The Buzz 1: “Virtual vintners have a say on grape varieties, barrels and bottling. Crowd-sourcing has become the Internet’s new favorite method of financing start-ups, authors and researchers. Now two wineries have adopted the idea to get their consumers involved in making wine.” (www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/crowd-sourced-wine-virtual-vintners-have-a-say-on-grape-varieties-barrels-and-bottling/2014/08/29/aac1bd8c-2e26-11e4-994d-202962a9150c_story.html) The Buzz 2: “Our Cabernet Sauvign...
June 30, 2021

The Future of Encouragement: Letter-Writing + Clubhouse

The Buzz 1: “There is a charm to letters and cards that emails and smses can’t ever replicate, you cannot inhale them, drawing the fragrance of the place they have been mailed from, the feel of paper in your hand bearing the weight of the words contained within. You cannot rub your fingers over the paper and visualise the sender, seated at a table, writing, perhaps with a smile on their lips or a frown splitting the brow.” (Kiran Manral, The Face at the Window) The Buzz 2: “I’ve seen teenagers, ...
June 23, 2021

The Future of Fashion Tech: Dressing The Industry for Success

The Buzz 1: “Fashion’s future hinges on digital tools that combine the physical and digital while adapting to customer needs, including 3D design, on-demand manufacturing and video shopping.” (www.voguebusiness.com/technology/future-fashion-tech) The Buzz 2: “There is a lot of different technology that can be used throughout the fashion industry. While higher performing materials and better production methods are continually being designed, AI, blockchain, and IoT…enable better practices during ...