2025: A Look Ahead
Here comes 2025. Throughout the past year I’ve kept notes of technology advances and announcements. What may be slowly becoming a tradition, I took some time to compile the notes into what I'm looking forward to from technology in 2025. Some ideas based in reality and just some wishful thinking.
Want to see what I was thinking about at the start of 2024? See those predictions here.
Onto 2025…
Privacy in Education
COVID, Remote Learning and the years following created an explosion of online tools and services being used in the classroom.
Schools and educators were encouraged to use any tool they could find to get the job done. An influx of federal, state, and grant funding made paying for and sustaining many of these online tools possible. That comes to an end in 2025.
For those interested… a side topic to research is the ESSER Cliff which was the big topic of 2024 in educational technology.
We signed students up for accounts with all of these services. Now it needs to be rolled back. The amount of information collected, aggregated, reported, and analyzed on students is astounding. Students are becoming data points in the name of personalized learning.
Student privacy is going to be one of the first barriers to start eliminating and reducing these tools and online services.
What information are we actually sharing with these online services? As these services have exploded in use, have they been able to keep up with their original data protection promises? Have those privacy polices been updated with little warning?
This is a huge undertaking for school administrators and technology staff, but one that needs to be done.
I would like to see privacy as more of a concern in general for people (outside of just education). It seems to always be a thought, but never fully makes an impact. I think 2025 will see some more light shown on what data we are willingly giving up.
The Glass Slab
This one is wishful thinking and pulls directly from what I wanted last year. If I write it enough maybe it will happen?
I no longer want the most central technology devices in my life to be a glass slab. There is very little going on in terms of hardware innovation or hardware specific devices. Flexible screens are providing some variety, but it’s not enough.
I want some uniqueness in the design of technology. Some more experimentation in the market.
The Bundling and Unbundling
I see music and video going in opposite directions for the next couple years. This probably won’t fully happen in 2025 or ever be an absolute, but they have been going so far in one direction, it needs to have a corrections.
Music will be unbundling…
Music services are having a hard time differentiation from each other. Picking a music streaming service today has little to do with the actual music. It’s safe to assume, just about all the music you’ll want will be on the service you pick.
Most people pick based on their social group or maybe what device they use.
Do my three friends already use Spotify and share playlists on there? I’ll sign up for Spotify. Does my entire family live in the Apple world and iMessage songs to eachother through Apple Music? Then that’s the service I’m using. It’s not about the music.
You’ve seen this change begin to happen with Podcasts. Spotify and Amazon have both put lots of money and effort into having exclusive or add free podcast offerings only available on their services. They are trying to differentiate on content, not connivence.
This was the growing pain that Netflix went through 10 years ago. Going from a convince services that allowed you to watch shows wherever you want, to building a production company and now make shows you can only steam with them.
Streaming services have more money and need to continue to grow to keep their valuations and profits. Becoming a production studio is a logical next step. How do you keep users and attract users from other platforms? You offer content no one else can.
I’m not saying this isn’t already happening. I'm not revealing some master plan by streaming services. But in 2025, I think you’ll see this on a much larger scale on the music side. Bigger name artists and more hit songs only available for streaming on one service.
Video will be bundling…
On the flip side we have video which has been unbundling for years. Every streaming service has their own content and digital distraction rights.
We’ve all heard the jokes about cutting the the cable cord for steaming. Only to go from one bill for $100/mo to 10 different bills at $10/mo. The value proposition of streaming is rapidly fading.
I think sports have a big part of this as well. It’s one of the few live events left that people want to watch live. Proven out by the ever growing broadcasting contracts professional leagues are demanding and getting.
To watch the NFL season this year, you had to have a multiple streaming services. Many games were on network television, but a growing number were exclusive to Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix, or the NFL App.
These services need to start bundling for people to watch everything and I think sports will be a way to do that.
Buy an NFL package for a set price and get access to Prime Video, Peacock, and Netflix for the season at a set price. Buy an NBA package to stream all the games of your favorite team. NHL, MLB, and the rest can all follow suite.
MLS is an interesting outlier. Deciding to offer all of their games to stream through Apple TV.
This bundling isn’t new for streaming. Apple, Hulu and ESPN have been offering a bundle for years. A few other services have tried it. In 2025 I think it’s going to become a normal thing. To buy a bundle of services for a set amount of time.
Longer Form Content
A returned to longer form. This goes hand in hand with the rise of AI use in everything. A thread throughout all technology in 2024 and going into 2025.
We have spent the last 10 years online condensing content more and more. The concepts of an entire book, needs to be condensed to a 10 second video. A complex story on a political dynamic, needs to be condensed to a two sentence post on X.
AI has a role on both sides of this. AI is making it easier to write long form content, and it’s making it easier to parse long form content.
People generating content will be able to share longer for content. You’ll see more people writing the length they want and sharing all the ideas they want. You won’t need to custom tailer your content as much as you did in the past. Now AI can handle it.
I can write a long form essay. I can use AI to condense and share versions for Instagram, X, or TikTok. I don’t need to make my content condensed.
What are you looking forward to (or just expecting to happen) in 2025 for technology advances and changes. Let me know in the comments.