Trendspotting
17.09.2009
My 14-hour journey from Munich to Minneapolis yesterday gave me plenty of time to catch up on the latest news. Fall is the perfect time to trend-watch, with many publications coming out with their style and design issues. It seems that this season, smaller is better. Here are a few of the trends that I spotted at 33,000 feet.
Microtransactions
$1.99 for an app here, 99 cents for a song there. Microtransactions add up to big business. The online gaming pioneer, Zynga, knew this and other online retailers are catching on fast. A great article and topic for classroom discussion.
Microluxury
The Jane Hotel in New York City
Would you stay in a room the size of a broom closet and sleep in a bunk bed if it were in a luxury hotel? From the looks of The Jane Hotel, a petite suite with an affordable price might be all business travelers really need.
The Blow Up Hall hotel in Poznan, Poland
Seeing that I wrote about the iPhone in my last blog, you might get the impression that I’m an undercover Apple rep. I am not — and I am still not one of the 30 million people who own an iPhone. But, if you’re planning on attending this year’s BESIG conference in Poznan, love electronic art and have an iPhone, this is the hotel to book.
Now I’m really looking forward to the conference and discussing the microtools we could offer as business English teachers. For details on the workshop I'll be holding with Deborah Capras, take a look at our summary.
See you in Poznan!
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"Our tour guide's enthusiasm made the morning so perfect"
