Another thing I think may happen is the “trash can scan” idea. Suppose Procter & Gamble gives you a box you put in your trash can. When you throw products away, the Procter & Gamble box will scan the labels of those products and record that information. The next day, Federal Express brings you a box with toothpaste and shaving cream.
Predictor: Colony, George
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for Wired magazine, David Buerger interviews George Colony, president of Forrester Research and the creator of the term “client-server computing,” about the future. After asking about the future of hand-held computers and communications tools, Buerger quotes Colony saying: ”Another thing I think may happen is the ‘trash can scan’ idea. Suppose Procter & Gamble gives you a box you put in your trash can. When you throw products away, the Procter & Gamble box will scan the labels of those products and record that information. The next day, Federal Express brings you a box with toothpaste and shaving cream.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Shopping
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Power Pundit: Super Analyst/Consultant George ‘Golden Guts’ Colony Delivers Some Really Educated Guesses
Quote Type: Paraphrase
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.03/colony_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney