Spotlight: Stuff That Scares Us
It won't be all fun and games in 2005
| Item | What it is | Why it freaks us out |
|---|---|---|
| 88. Script injection infects the Web | The next spyware scourge. Instead of a spoofed page, a legit page has just a small portion hijacked, generally a form asking you to submit sensitive personal info. | You can learn to avoid phishing — your bank's not going to be sending you email that's been translated (badly) from Russian. This is far more insidious. |
| 89. Brand-name adjectives | Are you part of the iPodic generation? Is your outfit a bit J. Lo-ish today? Personal names and brands get absorbed as shorthand vernacular much more quickly in a text-messaging world. | This used to happen once a generation (Xerox, Kleenex). In a speeded-up culture, any short-term benefits for brand managers may have long-term implications for the value of a trademark. |
| 90. Betty Crocker Pour and Frost | Frosting you heat in the microwave and pour over a warm cake. No more waiting for the cake to cool. | With the time you'll save frosting cakes right away, you'll have more time to schedule that gastric bypass surgery. |
A version of this article appeared in the November 2004 issue of Fast Company magazine.
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