Jiří Benedikt

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16 years ago, I predicted the future of the Internet. I published an article on my blog about how internet and consumer technology will be like in 10 to 20 years. Now is the right time to check what how successful I was. Long story short: Yes, Elon musk does read my blog!

I wrote the post in fall of 2000. Google was only 2 years old then. My blog was already 4 years old. Back then, nobody called it a blog yet because the word „blog“ was not invented yet. So let’s see what I got right.

The home of the future

* Black text is 2000 Jiri.
* Red text is 2016 Jiri’s comments .
* Read the original article in Czech here

Everything gets connected

Lot of news came out about the home appliances recently New fridges and other appliances that are „more intelligent“ than their older counterparts. These new appliances use Internet and other computer technology. How will ehome look like in 10 to 20 years?
The essential part of the technology will be a local area network (LAN). The same one as used in companies or other institutions for sharing data and devices.

Oops, it seems like I missed Wifi completely. However, even more computers or devices connected to a network was hi-tech back then.

I believe that it will be not just computers, but all appliances at home. Microwaves, washing machines, irons or TVs will have not just a microprocessor, but also a network adapter. Your car will be connected as well, of course. There will be a wireless connection to your network wherever you go.

We do have smart TVs, but we are still waiting for smart irons 😉

The core of this network will be a home server. A classic server as we know if from computer networks and the internet. This server will perform all the e-home communication. This server will be connected to the Internet.

Yes! But now we call it „a smartphone“

I believe that a permanent home connection to the Internet will be a standard. I can’t guess its speed at all, though.

No more dial-up. 1 000 x faster connection. And not just at home.

Not just appliances will be connected, but obviously computers as well. There will be the same number of household members as computers. Everyone will need a computer for their work in few years, including kids.

The purpose of the home network.

What will be the purpose of it all? The network will offer basic functionality as we know it today, such as shared access to the Internet. Then you can use Internet from any computer or device, including your car.I also believe that there will not be any dedicated phone cable network. but everything will go through the Internet. We know this already from our operators, as they offer „Internet call“. You can also call within your home, something like an internal phone network.

Why would anyone need an internal phone network if you can just use Whatsapp? 😉

You can check all your devices and appliances at home. You can use how many lights are on and if a sensor shows that nobody is in the room, you can turn the light off. You can find the temperature outside, in each room, in your oven, bathtub or inside your computer. Simply wherever you place thermometers connected to „the home web“, you get the data.

Good one. Saying hello to Phillips Hue and Angee.

If you believe that your car does not have a good enough performance or fuel economy, you just download a new version of your car’s operating system.

Yes! Elon Musk does read my blog! Tesla, you are welcome!

Or, you can download new software to your bathroom that will measure your water consumption and can check and optimize its usage. It will absolutely be possible to play your MP3 files in the bathroom. These files can be stored in your computer or in your car.
Do you want to watch TV on your cellphone? No problem, you can do it with its 1600x1200p screen resolution. TV coverage is not a problem either, as the television is distributed solely through the internet. Your cell phone, or let’s say „mobile internet browser“ will be obviously connected too.

Ok, I did predict the smartphone 🙂

Our lifestyle will not be so much different
the Internet was the first big step to an universal global connection. E-home will be the next step. It is easy to reach information from anywhere in the world now. Getting information about your home will be just as easy. You will just need a phone.
Despite the advent of all that technology, I believe that our lifestyle will not be so much diffeerent. People will go to work in the morning. 99% of them will be white collar workers, physical work will be done by just 1% of people, using machines. People will buy most of the things in brick-and-mortar shops, will go to restaurants, schools and churches and visit their friends.

There are still definitely more than 1% of blue collar workers. However, the „new machine age“ is coming. Tesla is building highly robotized gigafactory and industry 4.0. is the new buzzword.
We do have smartphones and interconnected devices. Our life got a bit easier and better. But the thing that I am the most grateful for is that we still meet each other in person and enjoy the real life.

Article editor: Vojtěch Benedikt 😉 (thanks)

Sometimes, an older person comes to me when I park at night:
„Excuse me, sir, you forgot to turn off your headlights.“
„Don’t worry, they’ll turn off automatically in the few seconds,“ I answer.

I can’t wait the day when the story will go like this:
„Excuse me, sir, you just left your car in the middle of the street!“
I answer: „It’s actually not my car, but don’t worry, it’s picking up someone else around the corner in few seconds.“

I am big fan of shared economy, autonomous cars, I already shared a post on how this might help us have 3x less cars in future. What is your view on Autonomous cars, Uber and the future of mobility?

I attended the TEDxPrague conference few days ago. I had a chance to hear talks of amazing and successful people who are living their dream. There’s one thing that fascinates me. All of them mentioned same three simple habits that help them be successful:

1. They do what they want to do.

„Do what you want to do and let the others help you,“ said Barbara Sher, amazing charismatic 80 years old lady who invented life coaching. Jaroslav Beck wanted to work for Holywood, same for Emka Klučovská, a 15 year old prodigy. It seemed impossible at first, but it happened. „Live your Dream, not someone else’s“, said Jaroslav. So what would you do if money were no object? All of them started by setting an impossible goal, something that they really wanted. And it worked.

2. They actually do something. Every day.

„There are dreamers who dream and dreamers who do“, said Renata Chlumska, adventurer and first Czech and Swedish woman on Everest. All TEDxPrague speakers told the same story. They work hard on achieving their goals every day. Being productive actually means producing something. They take an easy step every day and eventually, things happen. Michael Carvan was contacted by a Spanish entrepreneur asking if he could help him produce drinkable water out of pig crap. Jaroslav Beck was „suddenly“ contacted by a world’s top Hollywood movie producer. Emka Klučovská was contacted by a top Hollywood visual effects studio. You can think that this is pure luck, but it is not. They did not wait on their couch for a call, just dreaming. They took action.

3. They say yes.

„I was asked to do an interview in English.“, said Emka during her TEDx talk, „But I did not speak English. I said yes anyway“. Then she worked really hard to learn English and finally, she made it. Michal Carvan said yes to the question if he can make drinking water out of Pig crap, even though nobody succeeded with this before. These people are not afraid of challenges. They say yes and then figure out, how to do it.

What is your dream?

How hard are these habits? Not really. 5 years ago, when I was a first year consulting associate at PwC, I set myself a goal: In 5 years, I want to be freelance management consultant, work with startups, train and lecture at a university. It seemed crazy and impossible at that time, I was just fresh out of school. But it did happen and I love my life 🙂

Renata Chlumská said that her current dream is to climb the tallest mountain on the moon. This sounds really crazy, but it made me think: Didn’t other great ideas sound supercrazy on the beginning? Like flying to space, snowboarding down Mt Everest or jumping down from stratosphere? They probably did. The sky is the limit. What is your dream?

If you like this post, check out my other posts on offline as a new luxury or amazing design thinking on everyday objector see all articles here.

A teammate at one of my project just came to us last week: „I am leaving for vacation to a cottage in the woods with no cellphone coverage. I will not be able to pick up your calls or answer your e-mails in following two weeks“. The reaction from other team members was surprising: „Wow, this is like the best holidays ever! We’re so jealous!“
The more we are expected to be online 24/7 for lots of of (mostly) meaningless requests, the more we appreciate when we do not have to be online. Being offline helps us experience the forgotten art of living in the present. We can enjoy our friends, sounds, smells, views around us, living fully. However, how often are we able to reserve even few hours of offline time? Offline is the new luxury. It is pleasant, rare and hard to get. But not impossible. These are three ways how I enjoy life of luxury.

Spend your mornings „on the plane“

My work as a management consultant requires me to do lot of writing and thinking, as well as lot of meetings, workshops and answering tons of e-mails. Doing this in a constant uncontrolled stream, I accomplish nothing.
So I started set aside my mornings from 9-12 when I am most productive. I stay in calm, quiet place, turn my phone into airplane mode and e-mail and start being productive. By productive, I mean producing something – draft a project plan or a strategic report for my client, prepare materials for my trainings or write a blog post or Linkedin post.
Sometimes, it is not possible to achieve a productive morning like that because of client requirements or simply because I fail. By failing, I mean falling into „reactive mode“, answering e-mails and phone calls, accomplishing someone else’s goals. I aim for having at least 3 mornings „on the plane“ a week, starting with my goals first before reacting to others.

Try working without a computer.

This is a more hardcore version that I sometimes do: I go to a cafe from 9-12 bringing nothing than my paper notebook. I plan my speeches, trainings, outline presentations and reports or create strategic plans this way. For many of these high leverage tasks, you really do not need your computer or cellphone, they are more of a distraction than help. You would not believe how awesome this is before you try.

Enjoy the luxury of being offline on your time off

Start small by reserving few hours of offline time: Go for a long walk, a concert, museum, art exhibition or whatever you like. Or just stay at home with glass of wine and a book, but turn your computer and phone off. After that, reserve a day or two of offline time during the weekends. Live in the present, how we used to do before 2000s. It really is good!
In a few days, I am leaving to hike a long distance hiking trail in Iceland, with 6 days without cellphone coverage, electricity or shops. Just nature, my friends and me. This will be a well deserved luxurious refresh. Get yours too now.