Everyone wishes they had been early buying stock in Amazon, Google, or Apple. But in technology, being early does not always mean being right. Sometimes, being early is just expensive.
Over the past decade, several tech trends exploded with hype, promised to change everyday life, and soaked up billions of dollars. For a moment, they were everywhere. Then, almost as quickly, they faded away.
The latest reminder is the metaverse.
A few years ago, Meta pitched the metaverse as the future of work, shopping, entertainment, and social life. The company spent tens of billions of dollars building virtual worlds where people would meet as digital avatars. But adoption stalled. Headsets gathered dust. And Meta has since shut down or scaled back major parts of its metaverse projects while shifting its focus to artificial intelligence.
Another massive tech moment was NFTs, or non fungible tokens.
In 2021, digital art sold for millions of dollars. Celebrities and athletes bought cartoon characters. Buyers were told they were investing in the future of digital ownership. Today, most NFTs are worth a fraction of what people paid. Marketplaces have closed, and the hype that once surrounded NFTs has largely vanished.
Then there was Clubhouse,
The invite only audio app that briefly turned everyone into a talk show host. During the pandemic, it was the hottest app in tech. Once people returned to normal life and competitors copied the idea, users moved on just as quickly as they arrived.
Google Glass
promised augmented reality everywhere. Wearable technology that could show information right in front of your eyes sounded futuristic and exciting. In reality, the device raised privacy concerns and made people uncomfortable. The product disappeared from public view almost as fast as it appeared.
And many viewers still remember 3D TVs.
Around 2010, electronics stores were filled with them. Manufacturers promised movies and sports would jump off the screen. But viewers did not like wearing special glasses, broadcasters did not want to produce 3D content, and the feature quietly disappeared from new televisions.
What all of these trends have in common is simple. Great technology does not just sound futuristic. It has to solve a real problem, be easy to use, and arrive when people are ready for it.
Otherwise, you are left explaining why you bought virtual real estate, digital art you cannot hang on a wall, or a television that needs glasses.
