We’re big fans of Richard Watson’s brainmail service - regular emails of thought-provoking trends and factoids. Like did you know that 33% of women and 28% of men in UK wear lucky underwear on a first date? (There must be a business opportunity there).

We’ve just read his latest e-book ‘2006+ 10 Trends: Predictions and Provocations’ - and it provides some useful pointers for our innovation projects. the e-book can be downloaded for free from here.

1. Anxiety: Opportunities - Products/services aimed at reducing stress (e.g. identity theft solutions). Also growth of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) products e.g. portable alarms and manually operated devices.

2. Connectedness: Opportunities - Open source innovation, customer created content, back–up systems, simplicity.

3. Speeding–up: Opportunities - Products and services that help us to slow things down. Also products that help us to remember things.

4. Mobility: Opportunities - Mobile versions of products and services, 24/7 help lines, faster products.

5. Convergence: Opportunities - Simplicity.

6. Privacy: Opportunities - Magazines and newspapers that only print what you want to read about. Data-mining.

7. Nostalgia: Opportunities - Authentic recreations of ‘old’ products using new technology and materials. Also tapping into the ‘back–catalogue’ as a short–cut for innovation.

8. Localisation: Opportunities - Local versions of global products and services. Regional and seasonal products.

9. Authenticity: Opportunities - Story-telling, history, heritage, telling it like it is.

10. Happiness: Opportunities - Growth of population (child-focused products) & employment outside major cities.