Today we live a blended life. This blended life is a direct consequence of the deep penetration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into almost every area of our society. ICT brings ubiquitous connectivity and information access that enables disruptive innovative solutions to address societal megatrends such as demographic changes, urbanization, increased mobility and scarcity of natural resources. This leads to a blended life in the sense that the physical and virtual worlds are merging into one where physical encounters with friends and family are seamlessly integrated with virtual encounters on social networks. A blended life in the sense that work and private life can be combined in a way that offers the flexibility to work at any time from any location. A blended life combining work and life-long education facilitated by distance learning platforms that offer us a personalized path to achieving our life and career goals. Industries experience a blended life owing to the deep embedding of ICT into their production methods, products and services. Customers experience a blended life where ICT allows industries to include consumers in production, blending them into ‘prosumers’.

The introduction of fast and cheap computer and networking hardware enables the spread of software. Software, in a nutshell, represents an unprecedented ability to channel creativity and innovation. The joyful act of simply writing computer programs for existing ICT infrastructure can change the world. We are currently witnessing how our lives can change rapidly as a result, at every level of organization and society and in practically every aspect of the human condition: work, play, love and war.