2021 tech industry predictions: Pent-up horniness boosts dating apps, big M&A deals forecast

Tech pundits had many of their predictions for 2020 thrown out the window because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The health crisis was a black swan event that made their forecasts mostly irrelevant.
Now that vaccines are reaching the market, governments might finally get the Covid-19 pandemic under control in the new year.
So, what are prognosticators seeing for 2021?
What follows is a sampling of predictions that will be proven right or wrong in the year ahead.

Dating apps have big moment post-pandemic

Readers of the Verge offered their predictions for the consumer internet and social networks in 2020.
Some people forecast a surge in usage of dating apps as the world opens following Covid-19 vaccinations.
“Many of you predict that when the Covid-19 vaccines have been widely distributed, the Earth will experience a period of prolonged horniness unlike anything that has been seen in generations,” Casey Newton wrote. “Tinder, Grindr, and all the rest are poised to thrive as a result.”

2021 IPOs: WordPress, TikTok, ‘Pokemon Go’ parents

2020 was a big year for initial public offerings. IPOs this year included Airbnb, DoorDash, Palantir Technologies, Snowflake, Unity Software and Warner Music Group.
Potential IPO candidates for 2021 include Didi, the “Uber of China”; ByteDance, owner of social media network TikTok; and Chinese drone maker DJI Innovations, MKM Partners said in a report. Others include Automattic, WordPress operator, website developer and e-commerce enabler; Niantic, the mobile video game developer known for “Pokemon Go”; and Roblox, online game platform and game creation system, MKM said.
Kiplinger included Roblox on its “13 Hot Upcoming IPOs to Watch For in 2021.” The list also features female-focused online dating service Bumble, pet supplies retailer Petco, game developers platform AppLovin, and stock-trading service Robinhood.

Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle make big acquisitions

The Information predicted several major tech acquisitions in 2021.
Writers Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin predicted that Microsoft will buy MongoDB. They said the acquisition would give Microsoft a way to beef up its online database offerings to better compete with Amazon Web Services.
They predicted Cisco will buy Smartsheet to make a move into the collaboration software category.
They also think Oracle will make a bid for Dropbox or Box, both file-sharing services, in the year ahead.
Elsewhere, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said he thinks Microsoft will “make a major software acquisition” to expand its product footprint in the cloud computing war against Amazon.com.

U.S. tech firm buys Nokia

Research firm CCS Insight made several interesting predictions for the year ahead.
For one, it expects the Covid-19 pandemic to quicken the adoption of robots and automation beyond manufacturing and logistics.
CCS Insight also predicted that “a major U.S. tech company buys Nokia in 2021.” It said Microsoft is one potential suitor, according to Nokiamob.net.

Apple acquires a movie studio

Wedbush’s Ives predicts that Apple will buy a movie studio to bulk up the content on its Apple TV+ video streaming service. He included the 2021 prediction as part of his “Christmas wish list” for Apple. News reports say Apple recently passed on a deal to buy MGM.
“Apple finally rips the Band-Aid off and makes a major studio acquisition to change the course of its content efforts around Apple TV+ and its aggressive streaming ambitions,” Ives said. “We believe Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, and A24 remain the top candidates if (Apple CEO Tim) Cook & Co. go down that path.”

Evolutionary year ahead for augmented reality

ABI Research predicts that 2021 will be a “boon year” for the augmented reality market.
The enterprise market will continue to drive the AR market with remote expertise and remote training applications, ABI said.
The consumer AR market will grow thanks to smartphone and tablet software applications. But the predicted AR smart glasses market is still just getting started.
“2021 will be an important one for AR consumer hardware,” said Eric Abbruzzese, AR/VR research director at ABI Research. “nReal will ship its first headsets to consumers, while Mad Gaze will also look to expand. Also, Facebook is expected to roll out its AR smart glasses out of its Reality Labs initiative; Google may join as well after the acquisition of North, and with pressure from Facebook and others. Although expectations for a dedicated AR product launch are targeting 2022 for the company, Apple is a wild card.”
Mike Boland, an analyst with ARtillery Intelligence, says spatial computing has “transitioned to an adolescent period of its lifecycle.”
Consumer AR glasses will make progress in 2021, but they will be evolutionary, not revolutionary, developments, he said. The focus of AR glasses remains on the enterprise market, which doesn’t mind pricey, bulky hardware as long as it improves productivity and efficiency.
Boland expects Apple to announce its rumored smart glasses in 2022.

Photo: Dating apps illustration by Norma Dorothy via Creative Commons.

2019 will be big year for plant-based meat, beer-brewing machines and ‘Harry Potter’ mobile game

The new year has begun and most industry pundits are out with their year-ahead predictions for 2019.
What follows is a summary of some interesting trends and forecasts I have seen. They cover food, consumer electronics, video games and other fields.

Plant-based meat catches on

Grocery-store chains Kroger and Whole Foods Market listed plant-based foods among their top food trend predictions for 2019.
“Consumers are finding it is easier than ever before to incorporate more plant-based fare into their daily diets,” Kroger said. “By electing to go meat or dairy free, whether for a meal, a Meatless Monday, Flexitarian Friday, or every day of the week, there will be more plant-based options available to power through the day. Last year, 31% of consumers participated in meat-free days once per week.”
Kroger’s store brand Simple Truth sells meatless patties, tofu, coconut milk, lentils, hummus and other items.
Whole Foods predicted that faux meat and plant-based foods, such as mushroom jerky, meatless patties and cauliflower-based foods, will continue to grow in popularity.
Forbes magazine highlighted the growing number of faux meat snacks.
“Eating more plants doesn’t mean you have to forgo beloved meaty flavors and textures,” the magazine said. “Mushrooms like king trumpet will play a key role here, flexing their flavor and texture powers in tasty jerky, ‘pork’ rinds and ‘bacon’ snacks (used in both PigOut Pigless Bacon Chips and Snacklins Cracklins Without the Pork) to offer up a satisfying crunch. Beyond these reinvented veggies and plant-based products, vegetarians can indulge in Quevos Egg White Chips for even more snacking.”
Impossible Foods will introduce its Impossible Burger 2.0 next week at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.

Home beer-brewing machines take off

Forbes also predicted the rise of home beer-brewing systems.
LG Electronics will debut a capsule-based craft beer-making machine, LG HomeBrew, at CES 2019 next week.
Industry leader PicoBrew sells six do-it-yourself brewing and distilling machines. PicoBrew also will be at this year’s CES consumer electronics show.
Anheuser-Busch InBev and Keurig Green Mountain formed a joint venture in January 2017 to develop an in-home alcohol drink system.

IPOs could include Beyond Meat, MZ and Peloton

This year is expected to be a big one for initial public offerings on the stock market.
Notable tech companies expected to field IPOs in 2019 include ride-hailing firms Uber and Lyft, picture-sharing social network Pinterest, workplace-messaging platform Slack, big-data analytics firm Palantir Technologies and food-delivery service Postmates.
Consumer-focused IPOs could include Beyond Meat, which sells plant-based meat products, and Peloton Interactive, maker of stationary exercise bikes with spin class subscriptions.
MZ, the mobile video game developer behind “Game of War: Fire Age” and “Mobile Strike” also is considering going public this year, Renaissance Capital said.

Harry Potter mobile game will be the next ‘Pokemon Go’

Niantic’s new mobile video game “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” will draw comparisons to the company’s “Pokemon Go,” App Annie predicted. “Pokemon Go” popularized location-based augmented-reality gameplay in 2016.
App Annie expects the Harry Potter game to be a chart-topper in terms of downloads, usage and consumer spending when it comes out sometime this year.
“Pokemon Go shattered mobile gaming records, clearing $100 million in its first two weeks and becoming the fastest game to reach $1 billion in consumer spend,” said Lexi Sydow, senior market insights analyst at App Annie. “While we don’t expect it to surpass Pokemon Go’s launch, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is set to clear $100 million in its first 30 days — which is no small feat.”

Governments will crack down on video game loot boxes

Juniper Research predicts that loot boxes in video games will be banned across Europe and North America in 2019. Regulators will treat in-game purchases of mystery items as a form of gambling.
Countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands will lead the move to ban loot boxes, which mostly target minors. Game publishers will remove the feature through game updates this year, Juniper said.

Amazon will introduce a pet tracker

CCS Insight predicts that e-commerce giant Amazon.com will launch a pet tracker in 2019. The small tracking device, which can be attached to a dog or cat collar, will sell for little more than cost, the research firm said.
CCS predicts that by 2020, more pet trackers will be activated on mobile networks than Apple smartwatches. Wireless carriers will push the devices as part of their Internet of Things strategy.

Connected home devices see fast growth

As the smartphone market stagnates, the connected home market will drive consumer electronics sales in 2019, Dealerscope predicted.
“The Connected Home segment is experiencing impressive growth both from the sheer mass of product available, to the innovation in the space,” said Rob Stott, editorial director for CT Lab at NAPCO Media. “It’s getting easier and cheaper to make one’s home connected. And as such, retailers will find greater benefits from this space than any other available to them.”

Robots will take 10% of U.S. jobs in 2019

Research firm Forrester predicts that 10% of U.S. jobs will be lost to automation in 2019. At the same time, these technologies will be responsible for creating the equivalent of 3% of today’s jobs, VentureBeat reported.
Robotic process automation and artificial intelligence will create digital workers for more than 40% of companies next year, Forrester said. Software will automate tasks traditionally performed by humans.

App-enabled rental scooters will fizzle out

Washington Post technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler predicted that app-enabled electric scooters (such as those from Bird and Lime) will “fizzle out” in the year ahead.
“Riding an electric scooter around town is fun — at first,” he said. “But as cities across the United States have learned this year, they’re also vandalism targets, a sidewalk nuisance and an injury risk.”

Fitbit should make a strategic alliance with ‘Pokemon Go’

I don’t usually offer suggestions on possible business deals. The last time I did was in August 2012 when I said Lego should buy the developer of the video game Minecraft. (Ultimately Microsoft stepped up to buy Mojang, developer of the hit virtual world-building game, in September 2014 for $2.5 billion.)
Now I’m convinced that Fitbit, the maker of wearable fitness devices, should strike a strategic partnership with Niantic, developer of the hit “Pokemon Go” augmented-reality smartphone game. I don’t think Fitbit should attempt to buy Niantic, but I wouldn’t rule out a strategic investment.
Here’s my reasoning:
I’ve owned a Fitbit wrist-worn activity tracker for a few months now. But it wasn’t until the release of “Pokemon Go” came out on July 6 that I was motivated to go for walks. Measuring steps taken, stairs climbed and calories burned wasn’t much motivation for me.
But now that I can catch digital creatures called Pokemon while out on walks and hatch Pokemon eggs by walking. It’s a lot of fun and something I can share with my two kids who also play the game.
Fitbit should cut a deal to be the official fitness tracker for “Pokemon Go.” They should work with Niantic on special perks for Fitbit users. For instance, Fitbit users could hatch Pokemon eggs with steps taken instead of the inaccurate distance measuring tool Niantic now uses.
Or perhaps Fitbit fitness bands could be set up to vibrate when a Pokemon is in capture range. Fitbit could add a special app for its Blaze smart fitness watch devoted to “Pokemon Go.” It also could sell Pokemon-themed wristbands for the Blaze and Alta fitness band.
I’m not the first person to mention that “Pokemon Go” has positive fitness aspects. Other people have had similar experiences with the game.
That’s some free advice for Fitbit and Niantic to use as they please.

14 fun this-or-that quizzes from CollegeHumor

In April, I spotlighted 13 fun this-or-that online quizzes. This-or-that quizzes are Internet memes that compare information from two wildly different subjects that could be confused.
Lately, CollegeHumor has become the king of this kind of online fun.
What follows are 14 this-or-that quizzes from CollegeHumor.

Zapf Dingbats font character or One Direction member’s tattoo?

This quiz compares nonsensical tattoos on One Direction boys to crazy font characters from Zapf Dingbats.

Game of Thrones scene or Creed music video?

This quiz compares scenes from Creed music videos to scenes from HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

Town in Wales or fantasy castle?

This quiz compares the names of towns in Wales to those of fantasy castles.

NFL player or Key & Peele character?

Can you tell the difference between actual NFL Players and fake names from the Key & Peele “East-West Bowl” sketch?

Weed strain or Dubstep DJ?

Can you correctly identify which of these names are marijuana strains and which are Dubstep DJs?

Justin Bieber tweet or kindergarten classroom poster?

This quiz compares Justin Bieber’s tweeted aphorisms with the simplistic sayings on kindergarten classroom posters.

Startup, bar, or indie band?

Think you can tell the difference between a New York City startup company’s name, a bar in Portland, and an indie band? Just try.

Gap ad or stock photo?

Which of these dead-eyed monsters are attempting to sell reasonably priced wardrobe staples?

Cocktail or sex move?

This quiz compares the names of cocktails with sex moves.

Obscure poison or Chicken McNugget ingredient?

Can you guess which chemical is an ingredient in a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget and which is an extremely harmful poison?

Pokemon city or Crayola color?

Can you tell which of these you can buy more Repel in and which are colors in your crayon box?

Obscure Star Wars character or U.N. representative?

This quiz compares the goofy names of Star Wars characters with the names of United Nations representatives.

Failed NBC sitcom or reality star’s book?

This quiz compares failed NBC sitcoms with books written by reality TV stars.

Cocktail or wrestling move?

Here’s a bonus video that you can play along with.

Fairytale art for adults

I’m amazed by the amount of artwork that’s inspired by classic fairytales, especially those adapted by the Walt Disney Co.
Stories from our childhood seem popular with artists for reimagining and reinterpreting. And since everyone is familiar with the stories behind them, people can appreciate the twists that artists put into their interpretations.
Classic fairytales also are in the public domain so they are free to use. But many artists mix them with modern pop culture works that are protected – if the rights holders choose to enforce their copyrights.
Here are some of the latest examples I’ve seen.

Depressed Disney princesses

Photographer Dina Goldstein of Vancouver, B.C., created a series of images called “Fallen Princesses.” The photos depict fairytale characters like Snow White and Cinderella in bleak modern-day settings.
“I explored the original brothers Grimm’s stories and found that they have very dark and sometimes gruesome aspects, many of which were changed by Disney,” she wrote. “I began to imagine Disney’s perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues.”
For examples, see “Snowy” and “Cinder” above.
These photos remind me of the work of photographer Thomas Czarnecki, whose series “From Enchantment to Down” depicted the demise of a bunch of female fairytale characters.
Platinum Image Conception Studio of Rio de Janiero used photography to put a sexy spin on classic fairytale stories like Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel. Check out the company’s fantasy portfolio, as well as examples here and here.

Fairy Tales for Twenty-Somethings

In his Tumblr blog, Fairy Tales for Twenty-Somethings, Tim Manley takes a comic approach to fairytale characters dealing with real-life problems.
He imagines Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, the Frog Prince and other characters managing their personal problems as if they were millennial urbanites.
For instance, Rapunzel cuts her hair super short and suddenly attracts lesbian suitors.

Annie Leibovitz’s Disney series

Disney has reimagined its own fairytale movies over the years using photographer Annie Leibovitz and a host of celebrities.
The most recent in the series features singer Taylor Swift as Rapunzel. It was released this month.
Previous entries in the series have included Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen and Alec Baldwin as the Spirit of the Magic Mirror. Earlier sets were released in August 2012 and March 2011.
See other photos from the series at Miss Geeky and Fanpop.

Pop princesses meet Disney princesses

One piece of art circulating on the Internet juxtaposes classic Disney princesses with today’s pop music princesses, most of whom got their start with Disney.
The artwork features (bottom left to right) Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift. Swift is the only one of these young women who was not a Disney starlet.

Another series of illustrations shows the Disney princesses as little girls with their animal friends as plush toys. These works were done by artist Moon Child in the Sky on DeviantArt.
Above and below are samples showing a young Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” and a young Jasmine from “Aladdin.”

Disney princesses mashed up with other pop culture works

A common theme of Disney princess art is to mix those characters into other stories in pop culture such as “Pokemon” and “Star Wars.”
Artist Hapuriainen of Finland did drawings of the Disney princesses as Pokemon trainers in Japanese anime style. She’s obviously a big Pokemon fan because she’s got other Pokemon-inspired artwork on her website.
Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, including the “Star Wars” franchise, in October inspired a ton of Disney princess-“Star Wars” mashups. Princess Leia is the newest Disney princess.

Disney artist Adam Dix sketched the above drawing of Princess Leia meeting all the other classic Disney princesses.
Phillip Sevy, an artist known as thecreatorhd on DeviantArt, did a drawing of all the Disney princesses wearing sexy slave girl outfits in Jabba’s lair.

Another artist, Naima Sawyer-Dymski, drew the Disney princesses as Jedi knights and other “Star Wars” characters.
My favorite recent mashup is a movie poster for “Princess Leia and the Seven Jawas,” a take-off on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” of course. It was done by artist Jozef Kyselica.

 
Artist Christopher Stoll depicted several Disney princesses as Marvel superheroes the Avengers in his artwork. Disney bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009.
And artist Witit Karpkraikaew drew Disney princesses as grotesque living-dead zombies.

The Pokemon presidential candidate

If knowledge of Pokemon trivia was a requirement for the U.S. presidency, my 8-year-old son would be a shoe-in for the job. When he turns 35, of course.
Former Republican presidential front-runner Herman Cain showed his Pokemon knowledge in a speech Saturday when he announced that he was withdrawing from the race. (See Huffington Post article.)
It’s fitting that Pokemon is derived from the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters, because Cain apparently couldn’t keep his “pocket monster” to himself.
You see what I did there? I made a lame sex joke.
The same day Cain suspended his campaign, I took my son and my nearly 6-year-old daughter to the latest Pokemon movie, “Pokemon the Movie: White – Victini and Zekrom,” at a theater in Centreville, Va. A version of the same movie will air on the Cartoon Network on Sat. Dec. 10 and again on Sun. Dec. 11.
As we watched the movie, I was amazed at how many of the fictional creatures my son could identify. Plus, he helped explain what was going on at times. The plot was pretty convoluted for someone like me who hasn’t seen all the movies (this is the 14th one) or played the video games.
If any other presidential candidates need to get schooled about Pokemon, my son is available to help.

Pokemon: A cartoon ripe for parody

With kids ages 7 and nearly 5 in our house, we watch a lot of Pokemon. I know the names of too many of these “pocket monsters” and their various stages of evolution than I care to admit.
The whole premise behind the show is silly and ripe for parody.
I’ve joked about the parallels between Pokemon battles and dog fights or cockfights in a previous post.
The video-game comedy website Dorkly regularly pokes fun at Pokemon.

Here are some examples:

Ash Discovers New Pokemon (Oct. 11, 2010)

Pokemon: The Later Years (Oct. 20, 2010)

5 Pokemon Facebook Updates (Aug. 19, 2010)

And as a bonus, Pokemon fan art:

100 Pokemon Brought to Life through Creative Art (Sept. 18, 2010; Designzzz)

20 Pokemon re-imagined by artist Gavin Mackey on Dorkly

Artwork: Pikachu gives a jumpstart (top) and Pokémon Center Closed by Ry-Spirit (bottom).

Silly Bandz: This year’s kid craze

This year’s biggest kid craze has got to be all those funny shaped silicone bands from Silly Bandz and other companies.
My 7-year-old son has gone to school with a dozen or more of the brightly colored bands around his wrist.
They come in numerous shapes (animals, sports, vehicles, etc.) and colors. Some are glow-in-the-dark and others are scented. Kids collect them and trade them. They’re sold in themed packs of 12 for about $2.50 or 24 for about $5.
Some schools have banned them from classrooms as a distraction, which has only added to their appeal, according to the New York Times.
A handful of companies sell competing products under such names as Silly Bandz, Zanybandz, Crazy Bandz and BandzMania.
Come fall the Silly Bandz craze may have run its course, just like other kids’ crazes like Webkinz, Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi, Pogs, and Pokemon cards.
When I was a kid, humorous sticker cards like Wacky Packages and Odd Rods were hot. Baseball cards were a big deal too.

Photo: My son’s forearm wrapped in Silly Bandz.

Pokemon training kids to appreciate dogfights, cockfights

My 6-year-old son is into Pokemon these days. He likes watching Pokemon videos, reading the books and playing with the cards.
Having learned about the Pokemon story, it reminds me a lot of dog fighting or cockfighting.

In the fantasy world of Pokemon, human characters go out and capture wild animals called Pokemon and train them to fight other Pokemon. It’s a respected spectator sport in the Pokemon world.
Swap the Pokemon for pit bulls or roosters and you’ve got an illegal sport (in most places).

I guess it’s OK to make fictional creatures fight each other. Just don’t think too much about it.

Photos:
Top: Human trainers prepare their Pokemon creatures for battle
Center: Dog fighting in Afghanistan. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo for U.S. News & World Report.
Bottom: Cockfighting in the Philippines. Photo by Marco Pereira.