By: Michael McQueenMore than any other time of history, we have trust issues. As our era has seen so many of the institutions that once stood as societal backbones crumble beneath scandals, lies and alternative facts, the value of trustworthiness has skyrocketed in its scarcity.Whether in our...
By: Michael McQueenThe next decade will undoubtedly be dominated by the large-scale trends we have long anticipated. Driverless cars, passenger drones and the rise of the robots all represent developments that are impossible to miss and will be defining for our era. However, while it’s easy...
By: Michael McQueenIt wasn’t always trendy to be sustainable. In the past, speaking and acting on issues of climate change and the environment often rendered you a hippie or a leftie, or worse still, a vegan. However, what was once an issue kept in the margins is now overwhelming the...
By: Michael McQueenAmong the most significant and lasting changes created by COVID last year was the sudden shift to remote work. Return to offices this year have been varied, and where we will collectively end up in our work life in years to come is proving difficult to predict.Numerous polls of...
By: Michael McQueenWhat if instead of going to the shops, the shops came to you? For years, the idea of ‘going shopping’ has been understood as a kind of event; shops have been considered a destination for outings, socialising and buying, and a source of retail therapy. However,...
By: Michael McQueenRecent years have seen cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Etherium attract enormous attention and fascination. While early investors in these currencies made small fortunes overnight (Bitcoin’s value soared over 70% in 2020 alone), what the fever-pitched...
By: Michael McQueenYears ago, social media well and truly lived up to its name. Platforms which enabled the easy exchange of photos and statuses, these media allowed individual engagement for purely social purposes. The last decade has seen social media evolve into something much more...
By: Michael McQueenWe have always known that the future of our work will look dramatically different from the present. What we did not know is that the global pandemic would pave much of the groundwork for this future’s arrival.It is well-known now that many of the jobs with which we are...
By: Michael McQueenWhile trends are known to come and go, it is not often you see the economy come full circle. Over 100 years ago, before the turn of the century and the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the notion of a salary was not commonplace. Some estimate that as little as 10% of workers...
By: Michael McQueenWhen the world was in deep lockdown last year, a major trend that dominated social media surrounded people’s memories of ‘normal’ life. Clips of life before lockdown boasted scenes of exotic travel locations, shots of passports in hand, bustling crowds,...
By: Michael McQueen“It is trust, more than money, that makes the world go around.” [1] This statement of Columbia University economics professor Joseph Stiglitz finds new relevance in today’s circumstances. With the past year presenting unprecedented threats and challenges to...
By: Michael McQueenWe often think of emerging technology as the field of high-level businesspeople and Silicon Valley tech wizards. We don’t often see today’s innovations as being a tool for enhancing accessibility, increasing affordability and empowering equality. However, recent...
