One of Ford’s top 13 trends for 2013 can make you happier
Looking Further with Ford is a first-edition trend research publication from Ford. They say: “In its role as an innovator, Ford uses insights from the trend research to inform strategy and create products that not only exceed consumers’ expectations, but also push the boundaries of imagination … Since we cannot predict the future, we look to global trends for inspiration. We monitor shifts in social, technological, economic, environmental and political arenas, as these will be the drivers of consumer values, attitudes and behaviors in the future.”
Feedback Loops:
Known as ‘feedback loops,’ a new form of self-help is emerging, evidenced in products like Nike Fuelband, which provides real-time exercise feedback, and Mint.com, which offers real-time updates about your finances. Why? Because with increased exposure to worlds outside our own, people are more self-aware and self-reflective. Personal accountability is high—no one else is going to fix their problems; they have to address them themselves. As a result, they seek easier and more public ways of changing behavior—namely, by dangling rewards (or punishments) in front of themselves. Increasingly, people are turning to these self-imposed programs of incentive (and disincentive) to yield meaningful change. In turn, they have become more results-oriented, calculating what goods and services can do for them in an age of constant feedback loops.
Can you set up feedback loops for yourself in your happiness? We recommend DailyHap.com, obviously, as the personal accountability is part of the community goal and gaming system of the site.
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