8 themes for the near future of tech: from decentralized workplaces and the rise of community-as-a-service to quirky social apps for kids under 16
As we pull ourselves out of the ditch that was 2020, there are a few major themes of the future I'm particularly excited about.
MediumScott Belsky
Context & Ripple Effects
This piece belongs to the annual-forecast genre: two years earlier the Wall Street Journal's trends list bet on foldables, 5G, cashierless retail, and privacy legislation. Written at the tail of 2020, it swaps hardware speculation for behavioral bets — decentralized workplaces, community-as-a-service, social apps for kids under 16 — all extending habits the pandemic forced into the mainstream.
That framing echoes what happened mid-year, when dismissed ideas like MOOCs, 3D printing, and smart thermometers got a second look once the pandemic made them useful. The community-as-a-service thesis also cuts against the older reading that on-demand tech was really about being served and self-isolation — here, connection itself becomes the product.
First-order effects
For founders and investors reading the list, the three named themes function as a legitimacy signal: remote-first work tooling, paid community products, and under-16 social apps move from fringe pitches to fundable categories.
If community-as-a-service gains traction, incumbent social platforms face pressure to productize belonging themselves — groups, cohorts, memberships — rather than leaving monetization to third-party community tools.
Decentralized workplaces as a durable theme pushes adjacent markets: collaboration software, remote-hiring infrastructure, and commercial real estate all inherit demand curves shaped by the assumption that distributed teams persist.
Third-order effects
The deeper pattern across the related coverage — 2019's hardware lists giving way to 2020's behavior lists, then Positive Slope's later forecast batch — suggests year-end prediction itself has shifted from cataloging gadgets to forecasting which crisis-era habits stick, making these lists a leading indicator of where early-stage capital concentrates.
The trend: Tech forecasting is moving from hardware-centric annual lists toward behavioral bets on post-pandemic work, community, and youth social habits persisting.
8 Themes For The Future of Tech: From decentralizing the unexpected, the new “eduployment” stack, quirky social apps that may take over the world, disruptive interfaces, and new parts of the enterprise that become multi-player. Exciting years ahead. https://scottbelsky.medium.com…
""functions of a company that were once siloed to particular teams are being transformed by SaaS tools that are collaborative-by default, easier to use, and inclusive of stakeholders across the company". Yup. https://twitter.com/...
“Another round of “the roaring 20's” is ahead of us, where the pent-up desires from the pandemic will be unleashed in the form of fashion, travel, and culture-bending creative self-expression.” @scottbelsky in his annual looking ahead essay. So much wisdom https://scottbelsky.med…
The idea of training + employment opportunity is extremely relevant in the world of robotics. Many “teams” become one person with a robot. Teach them, send them business, build a franchise. https://twitter.com/...
As always, a must read! I particularly agree on the “channels of one” (moving beyond influencers to more substantive interactions). The decentralization and consumerization of markets and software bodes well for entrepreneurs. It's the early innings of a new phase of tech... http…
The pendulum swings towards decentralized systems: eduction, audience, communication and interfaces all own their micro ecosystems. Great read by @scottbelsky 👌🏼👌🏼 https://twitter.com/...
Scott nails it as always. I'm particularly excited about #2 (people learning new skills), #4 (businesses of one) and #6 (in both consumer and enterprise) https://twitter.com/...
1/ One additional theme might be called “Containerization for X.” Products and services are being broken down into components and made easy to federate into different products and services. You see this in phenomena like cloud native but the trend seems to extend more generally. …
What I appreciate most about this post is the intentionality around identifying *unobvious* themes and implementations. ‘Eduployment’ is the exact term I've been looking for to describe the industry shift I've felt but couldn't articulate succinctly. https://twitter.com/...