The Future. 7 Days Delayed. Here are The 2011 Brand, Technology and Communication Predictions by Johan Ronnestam.

Some people would call this cheating, boasting about what will happen in 2011 when the year has already started. I’ve made it a tradition to try to predict what the coming year will be all about when it comes to technology, branding, communications and business development. This year wont be any different, only I didn’t have time to finalize my predictions before new years eve. But what the f#%c. I’ll make sure not to predict anything that’s already happen (like Amazon performing better than ever, Apple having more than 1 million downloads their first day of the new Mac Store, Kinect reaching 8 million sold Kinects etc etc). I’ll focus on the days that lie ahead of us.

Here we go: The 2011 brand, technology and communication predictions by Johan Ronnestam.

Tablets, tablets, tablets and more tablets.

We’ve already seen em’ coming. But more will come. Apple will launch at least two more models of the iPad + upgrades of the existing one. Google will of course have theirs on the market. RIM’s Blackberry Playpad will hit the market with a bang. Tons of financial companies around the world doesn’t even allow iPhones or iPads. The trimmed Playpad looks like a winner and I think once this year ends we’ll look back at three winners. The iPad, the Android based pads and the Playpad. If your’e, like me, running a company that is focused on building apps, it’s make sure those apps run on all three systems, or at least is prepared to run on em’.

Digitalization of books goes berserk.

Out of 10 books sold on Amazon 6 are digital. 9 percent of all books sold in USA are digital books. This number will at least double during 2011 as tablets are launched all over the place. Once you go digital when it comes to reading books it's hard to imagine one would start buying paper again. The only reason the numbers aren't greater in Europe yes is the fact that so far the titles available are only english titles.

HTML5 kills Adobe Flash.

Ok, there’s like two camps right now. One that thinks Adobe’s web technology Flash should have a revival. And one that things it should die. Personally I started developing flash sites back in the days when we all were amazed by Gabocorp in 1997. I also took part in launching one of the worlds largest campaign sites on the platform in 2005 which later lead me to understanding that Flash just isn’t the future for the web. It’s a fantastic software to build great sites in, but the actual technology never seems to be synced with the audience. Either the sites are to heavy, to complex, to shallow, not visible for Google, not, not, not and not. There’s always something wrong. And in 2007 when the iPhone emerged like a sandstorm from nowhere It was clear to me that we need web based technologies that doesn’t kill your processor and drain your batteries. Flash just ain't that.In 2011 I think we'll finally see Adobe give in to the fact that flash will won't be the future web technology that we'll all rely on. It might still be used for close experiences when you have control processors and bandwidth, but for the all mighty web - it will not live on.

You will want to buy your first robot

What!...you say. I say I can see it coming. In fact, in 2011 I think we’ll see how robots finally make it into our life for real. Today we’ve so far only seen expensive lawnmowers and dirt cheap toys. But during 2011 I believe more than one brand will actually release robots aimed for the mass and we’re ready to embrace em. Through the years I’ve seen the signs here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here...among other places.

We'll see the first real victims of the Wordpress and Drupal wildfire

Brands around the world spend shitloads of money on content management systems that does not deliver anything except for one thing - more hours spent on their consultants. While their trying to keep up with the development of the web, other companies, equipped with Wordpress and Drupal CMS systems are running by smiling as a result of lowered costs, faster adaption to the latest trends and better use of the open web. The thing is, just as I wrote in the end of 2009 when predicting 2010, Open Source will rule. Once large brands understand that Wordpress, Drupal or maybe Joomla delivers the same value as their 5 million dollar CMS + more social values we'll see brands move.Luckily when eying this Interview below with Matt Mullenweg (the founder of Wordpress) and Toni Schneider (CEO of Automattic) it seems we're in good hands.An interview from LeWeb last year.In 2011 we'll see one or or more major CMS providers fall. In Sweden I think we can expect Episerver to get into problems. They've got tons of organizations using their system and the organizations will slowly but securely move over to Wordpress and Drupal. Outside Sweden I think we'll see one of the major players running into problems. If it's Interwoven, SDL, Sitecore, Fatwire or another I don't know.ps. Bonus ›› If you're interested in the Open Source alternatives. Download this report made up by Water & Stone. Thanks Network World for the tip!

Social Gaming will continue to rule the world.

In the end of last year we saw Zynga's game Cityville becoming the fastest spreading game in histor bypassing their own game Farmville in only a month. Believe me, we've only seen the start of this category. In 2011 social gaming will spread even further and I think we'll see the first game ever to reach 100 million active users. What game? No idea.Technology2010 has been one of the most interesting years ever when it comes to consumer technology. Innovations from big companies such as the Apple iPad and the Microsoft Kinect hit the markets full on! Zynga saw how their Cityville game became the fastest spreading game in history, bypassing their own game Farmville in only a month. Luke Geissbuhler even sent a homemade unmanned spacecraft to space.So what can we expect this year?RobotsWhat!...you say. I say I can see it coming. In fact, in 2011 I think we’ll see how robots finally make it into our life for real. Today we’ve so far only seen expensive lawnmowers and dirt cheap toys. But during 2011 I believe more than one brand will actually release robots aimed for the mass and we’re ready to embrace em. Through the years I’ve seen the signs here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here...among other places.Murata Boy http://www.murataboy.com/en/Reem B http://www.pal-robotics.com/AsimoGoogle CarAndroid AIKOBig DogQuadro MicrodronesI’ll by my first standardized 3D printer4GAG Drone - iPhone.Mint.Mobile goes walletWeb TechnologyWordpress will rule the world of CMSAdvertisingEntrepreneurship / New BusinessCrowdsourcingSocial GamingMediaFlipboardHumanityIntegrity