Desperate Salesmen in the Desert

2010-2011

The individual Internet User:

As the first decade of the 21st century drew to a close, more and more of us got connected not only physically but also virtually. [DF: Peer-to-Peer Technology, The Increasing Use of Internet] My network of friends and associates literally became a real-time network: thanks to our mobile devices with built in GPS systems, I knew the whereabouts of my friends at every hour of the day and they could locate me too. Not only did I know where everyone was, but because we kept our status info continuously updated, (“I’m typing a scenario story…”) we all knew what we were doing and when we were doing it. [DF: Continuously Evolving Wireless Technologies]. I also used the internet for buying and selling things. I read the news from web pages, did research online and watched tv-programmes on demand over the web. I could not imagine a world without the Internet. [DF: The Increasing Use of Internet]

By being “permanently connected” my private life became more and more social. However, I also noticed the government was leaving me to deal with certain issues myself, responsibility was shifting. Where the government used to take care of many issues, these moved into my own hands. For instance health insurance was privatized and as a result, I was paying twice as much for my insurance compared to some years ago [DF: Liberalization of the Dutch health care market, Aging population puts public services under strain] Basically the government was requiring me to deal directly with large corporations and enabling those corporations to obtain information about me in order to facilitate that process. I felt legislation around the privacy of my personal information was less tight than it could be.

The Corporation:

The 2008 credit crunch and its aftermath meant we had to cut costs and look for consolidation. Increasing globalisation led to more and more companies merging. [DF: The Globalization of Culture (or Cultural Globalization)] At the same time we investigated new opportunities to increase top-line results. Our innovative capabilities increased as knowledge could be shared with people all over the world. [DF: Metcalfe's law applied to social networks]

Another way to increase revenues was by actively engaging with our customers over the online channel. The Internet enabled us to broaden our reach and market share and enabled us to engage with more and more clients than ever in real-time. More and more personal information about users was available to target market segments and even individual consumers during their online activities [DF: Increasing user-generated content]. This reduced marketing costs and enabled us to tailor our offerings in real-time. As we reaped the fruits of these developments, Europe’s economy started to pick up again during 2011.

2012-2013

The individual Internet User:

The trend of being permanently connected continued, and my real life was replaced further and further by virtual environments. In my inner city neighbourhood, even large retailers closed down their stores and stimulated me to buy their products over the Internet. I no longer needed to leave the house to work, socialize, enjoy entertainment and buy my stuff. Although was very convenient, it also raised questions. When I went out on the streets, the world often seemed to be depersonalized. Nobody left the house without their device to be online [DF: Virtual Communities] and walked the streets with their eyes fixed on the screens of these devices rather than each other. I realized that my world had become simultaneously bigger and smaller.

When I did go online, I often started to feel “harassed” by companies pushing their products and services at me. I was also scared by this: how did they know so much about me and my life that they could offer me my partner’s favourite underwear just before their birthday was coming up?! I started to get really scared when a couple of close friends had their credit card and personal details stolen [DF: absence of Privacy Online] and their “virtual lives” were taken over by the online thief, who misused their details to send false e-mail to all their friends in an attempt to obtain even more online identities. I was surprised and angry that legislation and enforcement was apparently so loose that this was possible. [DF: lack of strong Internet Governance]

The Corporation:

2014-2015

The individual Internet User:

The Corporation:

Graphic of Timeline