A dreary, rain filled Sunday afternoon practically begs you to take the opportunity to spend a lazy few hours online shopping and surfin’ the net from the safety of your sofa. A fan of Almanac, I commenced with “on this day,” then “word of the day,” followed by “birthday of the day.” I grew bored quickly and even considered getting up to load the dishwasher, when I decided to surf the future!

I started with Google and MSN and the keyword phrase “on this day 2030.” The results were natural on both engines displaying content from “Earth day 2030” and an interesting article from “Forum for the Future” with regards to climate change:

“It’s New Year’s Day, 2030. Hungover, you stumble across to the fridge and yank it open. You grab the purple nutrition bar you’ve been saving, slump down on the sofa and call up the movie channel. Just a couple of minutes viewing proves it’s another propaganda film, featuring the valiant efforts of the ‘global volunteers’ in Antarctica who are helping to run the refugee settlements. But viewing is interrupted quickly by your Monitor, which announces that you left the fridge door open and are wasting too much energy. The broadcast is closed down and you’re docked several credits for the climate violation.”

Yahoo displayed a listing from Zappos shoes on the Hip 2030 toddler/youth lace up boots! That was confusing – would I even know a toddler to purchase lace-up boots in the year 2030?

Back to Google to search images, maps, news and shopping “on this day 2030.”   A “green” theme was quickly emerging – price of oil and how to find the Worldwatch Institute on Google Maps.

Google Shopping provided the opportunity for consumerism with a book named: 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow’s Kids.

“Global events and new technology change how we live from moment to moment. So, what will our world be like in twenty years? Come take a look as futurists Amy Zuckerman and James Daly examine what a kid’s daily life might be like in the year 2030. Inspired and informed by trends and scientific and technological research, “2030″ is not only a peek at some cool future gadgets (talking dog collars, cars that drive themselves), but also a thoughtful examination of how our lives might be impacted as we adjust to environmental change.”

Why are there not more advertisers paying for future marketing opportunities? If content is being written and researched with regards to 22 years from now, surely I am not the only surfer searching on the future? I might just add that book to my shopping cart today and get prepared for tomorrow…