MediaFuturist: Bottom Lines

Behind I.B.M.'s Big Predictions - NYTimes.com (automated mobile language translation)

Imagine what this will do to education, marketing and content / media... Eta: 3-5 years.

Behind I.B.M.'s Big Predictions - NYTimes.com

– Powerful mobile devices, capable of precise language translation, will belong to 80 percent of the
world’s population. While this is nearly intuitive, given the ever-lower cost of phones, the real breakthrough will be ubiquitous voice recognition and translation capabilities, which will make the phones highly useful to large populations who are illiterate, or who have languages that aren’t easily written with keypads. (A question is: What would this mean for world markets and politics when ordinary people can easily communicate with each other despite speaking different languages?)

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 3:59 PM in Bottom Lines, Education | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

What Does Technology Look Like in an Age of Abundance? | Peter Diamantis

Some good thinking here, below. But still, I wonder if 'exponential growth' is really what we need, going forward, and this is precisely the kind of operating paradigm that worries me about the singularity movement. Any thoughts, anyone?

What Does Technology Look Like in an Age of Abundance? | Endless Innovation | Big Think

"In their new book Abundance (coming to a tablet near you on February 21), Peter Diamandis (Chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation and Chairman & Co-Founder of Singularity University) and co-author Steven Kotler offer a handful of reasons why the future is better than you think. One key reason is the Rising Billion – the world’s newest one billion, empowered by mobile technology, are about to come online for the first time ever. An average smart phone user in Sub-Saharan Africa now has more computing power than the U.S. President did 25 years ago. Another key reason is the appearance of the DIY Innovator, capable of transforming off-the-shelf technologies into an instrument for radical social change in areas that once were the exclusive domain of NGOs and governments. As Diamandis points out, the key to a future of Abundance is the ability of technology to generate exponential growth, rather than linear growth. Linear growth is what gives you something like Angry Birds for Facebook. Exponential growth is what gives you a radically new technology platform capable of changing the world. In a world now measured in terms of billions of potential consumers, iterating 30 times (2^30) with an exponential technology takes you to that magic one billion mark. As a proponent of the coming Singularity, Diamandis understands how exponential change in one field - such as computing - can lead to exponential change in fields ranging from energy to biotechnology to artificial intelligence"

www.twitter.com/gleonhard

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Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 3:53 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, Bottom Lines, Singularity | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Good read: Brands Want Content Curator Jobs | Digiday

Brands are publishers, the people formerly known as consumers can go direct. Welcome to the
networked society;)

Brands Want Content Curator Jobs | Digiday

"There’s little doubt that brands can amass sizable audiences of their own nowadays. Show me a chief marketing officer who isn’t interested in an owned, earned, paid media model — often in that order — and I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. It’s been four and a half years since Nike marketing chief Trevor Edwards plaintively said, “We’re not in the business of keeping media companies alive.” Translation: We can build direct connections with audiences, thank you very much. The devil is in the details. Brands aren’t set up to be publishers. They don’t necessarily understand the editorial process or have the stomach for the length of time it takes to build an audience. Take AmEx’s OpenForum, for instance. It took four years to get 1 million people aboard, and now it gets about 150,000 unique visitors per month. They have the resources to build and cultivate an audience others may not. Additionally, OpenForum was put on the shoulders of the end-user: small-business owners. These business owners are able to communicate and share ideas with one another, but they must be American Express Cardmembers. AmEx recognized the need to provide small-business owners with a connection platform and information that will help their business succeed..."

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 8:39 AM in Bottom Lines, Branding, Curation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Why I chose a job I love ;)

Image source: Tumblr feed / unknown

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 3:43 PM in Bottom Lines, Quotes, Stuff I Love | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Jeremy Rifkin videos: the empathic civilization, and the third industrial revolution. Must watch!

I have been busy reading Jeremy Rifkin's amazing book The Third Industrial Revolution as well as his other writings (check out his Huffington Post pieces), and wanted to share some of his key videos and resources with you.

His current, and maybe most important topic is the coming convergence of Internet technology and digital communications with energy and environmental issues - the idea of an Internet of Energy. Because of my recent expansion into what I call GreenFutures this concept has really struck a chord with me.

Jeremy Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of seventeen bestselling books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. One of the most popular social thinkers of our time, Rifkin is the bestselling author of The European Dream, The Hydrogen Economy, The Age of Access, The Biotech Century, and The End of Work.

Here is a video of his recent appearance on the Charlie Rose show:

Jeremy Rifkin, 'The Third Industrial Revolution' "How lateral power is transforming energy, the economy, and the world." Charlie Rose 06.01.12 [1080p] http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/7302

At a recent RSA event in London:

Join Jeremy Rifkin as he describes how the five-pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution will create thousands of businesses and millions of jobs, and usher in a fundamental reordering of human relationships, from hierarchical to lateral power, that will impact the way we conduct business, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life.

RSA Animate video

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 10:59 AM in Bottom Lines, BRIC, Broadband Culture, capitalism 2.0, CHANGE, Convergence, Cool people, Decentralization, Disruption, Economic Egoism, Enterprise 2.0, Foresights, Made me think, Must-watch, Networked Society, People, Videos I Like | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Here’s a few screenshots from various TeleMedia presentations (via my Tumblr blog)

Here are a few screenshots from various presentations on one of my favorite topics: Telemedia i.e. the coming convergence of the telecom and media sectors. Get ready - the coming Facebook IPO will hugely accelerate this. Go here to find out more.

via www.futureof.biz (nice carousel function on Tumblr!)

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 4:48 PM in Bottom Lines, TeleMedia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The only recipe for success that I know

Gerd Leonhard

www.twitter.com/gleonhard

i.mediafuturist.com for mobile updates

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:21 AM in Bottom Lines | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The future of media: we are at the intersection !

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:19 AM in Bottom Lines | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

New audio / video interview on the future of branding, business and the Internet (incl. some comments on SOPA), via TribeRadio

A few days ago, I did a fairly lengthy and deep skype interview with Toronto-based Marie Germain from Branding 2.0 (see her Twitter channel here), touching on many issues including the future of commerce, selling, marketing and branding, so-called social media (I much prefer the term Social OS), current issues in technology and the Internet (such as SOPA - the deeply disturbing but nevertheless impending U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act), and media / content trends.

There are some quite juicy snippets in this interview, such as:

"In an truly digital society we probably don't need marketing as we know it"

"We are moving from a society, and an economy, based on EGOsystems to a society that is based on ECOsystems (i.e. INTERDEPENDENCE)"

"The old days of commerce were based on handcuffing consumers, now it's all about attraction, engagement and conversations (being a magnet rather than using handcuffs)"

This video uses an interesting format in that it is based on an audio track that was recorded on the phone, and superimposes some related images over it. Interesting. If you just want the audio track, here it is:

Gerd Leonhard TribeRadio Interview Jan 2012: Branding, SOPA et al

From the TribeRadio Youtube post: "World-renown futurist, Gerd Leonhard, in this interview speaks of the very serious challenges businesses and brands face; he offers solutions. On a more sombre note he exposes the ploys of controllers on internet freedom, SOPA to be clear. The Wall Street Journal acknowledges Gerd as one of the leading media futurists in the world. Powerful! Incisive! Gerd is simply delicious to the ears. Keynote Speaker, Founder of The Futures Agency, Advisor to top corporations and governments, author of five books, "The Future of Music", "Music 2.0", "The End of Control", "Friction is Fiction" and "The Future of Content". Gerd's background is in music; however, today he is a top game-changer, inspiring entrepreneurship and guiding us into a prodigious digital world. To reach the Host of Tribe Radio, Marie Germain: at her blog, http://Branding20.wordpress.com or her biz site, http://MarieGermain.com..."

Be sure to check out the other audio / video interviews on here channel as well, including Jeffrey Hayzlett ('Running the Gauntlet' book, former CMO of Kodak).

Tags:

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 5:40 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, About Me, Advertising Trends, Attention Economy, Best of Gerd, Bottom Lines, Branding, Broadband Culture, CHANGE, Concerns, Consumer Insights, Content 2.0, Convergence, Creative Rights, Crossmedia, Crucial Stuff, Cultural Industries, Current Affairs, Data is the new Oil, Economic Egoism, EgoSystem EcoSystem, Fragmentation, Friction is Fiction, Future of Advertising, Future of Agencies, Future of Business, Future of Content, Future of Marketing, Future of Media, Future Watch, Innovation, Interviews, Leadership, Likemindedness, Link Economy, Must-watch, My Podcasts, Networked Society, Open Network Economy, Openness Issues, Podcasting, Podcasts, Politics of Content, Realizations, Resources, Social Media, The Futures Agency, Trends, Trust, Videos I Like | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Article: Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders - HBR

Some good points here, see below. "Asking more questions than you answer" is a good way to put it - certainly not an easy position when everyone demands to 'hear the future' but still, a good motto for my 2012 work I think.

Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders - John Coleman and Bill George - Harvard Business Review

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/five_resolutions_for_aspiring.html

Finally, ask more questions than you answer: With the high velocity of change in the world, it is impossible to have answers to all the important questions. Much more important is a deep curiosity about the world and the ability to frame the right questions in profound ways. The world’s toughest problems cannot be solved by you or any one organization. Your role will be to bring the right people together to address the challenging issues you raise.

(via Instapaper)

Gerd Leonhard

Get my free iPhone & Android apps http://mobileroadie.com/apps/Futurist

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 9:26 AM in Bottom Lines | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

100 things to watch in 2012 (via JWT Intelligence)

A very meaty slideshow covering a huge number of key trends (see below... yes, it's a bit of overkill) and a pretty cool video - well worth checking out!

Access Everywhere 9. Electric Fleets 1 0. Leadership Shakeups 4 1. Rooftop Farming 6 3. Tokyo Sky Tree 8 2. Album Evolution 0. Facebook’s IPO 2 1. Lighter Cars 4 2. Roots Revival 6 4. Tom Daley 8 3. All Things Military- 1. Facial Recognition 2 2. Loosecubes 4 3. Scooter Surge 6 5. Toys for Tablets 8 Inspired Fury 3. Lytro 4 4. Screened Dining 6 6. TV Commerce 8 4. Antique Eats 2. Fat Taxes 2 4. Marques Toliver 4 5. Screened Shopping 6 7. “Ultra” 8 5. Anywhere, Any-Way 3. Flipped Classrooms 2 5. Mobile Security 4 6. Senior Cohousing 6 8. Unwrapping the 8 Shopping 4. Floating Yoga 2 Process 6. Motivational Objects 4 7. Silence 6 6. App Overload 5. For-Profit Chains, 2 9. Vdio 8 7. Mushrooms as 4 8. Silicon Valley Siblings 6 7. Apps for an Nonprofit Stores Functional Food 0. Video-grams 9 Aging World 9. Smaller SKUs 6 6. Fuel From Waste 2 8. Mushrooms Go Green 4 1. Virtual Fitting Rooms 9 8. The Attention 0. Smart Clothing 7 7. Garden Camping 2 9. Myanmar 4 2. Voice-Based 9 Economy 1. Smarter Check-ins 7 8. Gen Z 2 0. Nadine Ponce 5 Microblogging 9. Batuka 2. Social Seating 7 9. Gesture Recognition 2 1. Olympics’ New Sport 5 3. Voice Control 9 0. Benefit Corporations1 3. Solar Gets Simpler 7 0. Healthy Vending 3 2. Online Lives, in Print 5 4. Web Chat Everywhere 9 1. Book Club 2.01 Machines 4. Spiking Food Prices 7 3. P-to-P Experiences 5 5. Wii U 9 2. BYOD (Bring Your 1 1. Heirloom Everything 3 5. Split-Personality 7 Own Device) 4. The Personal Retailer 5 Smartphones 6. Women-Only Hotel 9 2. The Hobbit 3 Floors 3. Cloud Security1 5. Play as a Competitive 5 6. Stationery 7 3. Honey 3 Advantage 7. Your Public Story 9 4. Crowdsourced 1 7. Stripped-Down 7 Commutes 4. Hydration Stations 3 6. Pluerry 5 Products/Services 8. YouTube, the New 9 5. Indian E-commerce 3 Boob Tube 5. Crowdsourced 1 7. Public Bookshelves 5 8. Sundance London 7 Learning 6. Inhaling 3 9. Zimbabwe 9 8. Rainwater Harvesting 5 9. Sustainable Palm Oil 7 6. Curbing Food Waste1 7. Internet-Enabled Cars 3 1 00. Zink 9. Remaking “Made in 5 0. Tablets Replace Paper 8 7. Danger Zone Travel1 8. iTV 3 China” 1. Tap-and-Pay Incentives 8 8. Digital-Into-Physical 1 9. LCD Art 3 0. Rolling Stones’ 50th 6 Postcards 2. A Titanic Anniversary

JWT: 100 Things to Watch in 2012

View more presentations from JWTIntelligence

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 9:22 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, Advertising Trends, Attention Economy, Bottom Lines, Branding, Broadband Culture, CHANGE, Consumer Insights, Convergence, Crossmedia, Emerging Markets, Future of Advertising, Future of Agencies, Future of Business, Future of Reading, Good reads, Predictions, Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

How to Capitalise On 21st Century Content Economics…

Here is my short letter via the Terrapinn blog announcing my opening keynote speech at the World eReading Summit in London, May 15/16, 2012.

"I am a longtime commentator on how the digital, mobile and social-media revolution has left Publishers reeling and in a state of total change or even disruption. This is a call to action to transform your business to embrace and conquer the digital age. Failure to do so will mean inevitable friction, market confusion and possibly a dysfunctional content ecosystem, when on the other hand you could stand to profit from long term revenue generating opportunities.

It is often said that where attention flows money follows (*Kevin Kelly kk.org), but the question is how, where and when to convert them. Today, digital natives are viewers, users, followers, friends, co-creators, co-producers or crowd-sourced collaborators, all-in-one. Going forward, data is becoming the new oil, and understanding, analysing, predicting and staying ahead of your ‘connected consumers’ is quickly becoming a MUST for your business in 2012 and beyond!

So far, technological content protection measures have not been successful. Instead, future ‘protection’ will need to come from the business models and from social cohesion. Delivering tangible value and inventing new free, freemium, feels-like-free models will be crucially important. Just look at Skype, Spotify, Amazon and the undisputed master of ‘free’ – Google. You need to asses the role ‘free’ will play in your business. How will you monetize your content and which new and innovative revenue generating concepts will transform the commercial prospects of your business? Yes, methods of monetizing content are fragmented, but also much more powerful, immediate and liquid than ever. This industry, this transitional period and the World e-Reading Congress 2012 are all key opportunities to harness your digital footprint and develop strategies that will pay dividends in solid revenue. I look forward to meeting you all at the World e-Reading Congress next May.”  Gerd Leonhard, CEO, The Futures Agency – Opening Keynote Speaker 2012.

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 4:59 AM in 21st Century Content Ecology, Announcements, Bottom Lines, Broadband Culture, Conferences, Content 2.0, Copyright, Creative Rights, Cultural Industries, Data is the new Oil, Disruption, eBooks, EgoSystem EcoSystem, Free!, Future of Books, Future of Content, Future of Media, Meet me @, Monetizing Content, My speaking engagements, Networked Society, News, Open Network Economy, Politics of Content | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Bottom lines: Steve Job's Vision of the World

Not to be a total Steve Jobs fanboy here ... but this is a pretty amazing bottom line delivered by a bearded Steve :)

"When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you're life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That's a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again"

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:14 PM in Bottom Lines, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

This video is a great summary of what is important to me, as well (Charlie Chaplin)

This video clearly spells out so many points that I also believe in - very important stuff.

(Song: Window by The Album Leaf) One of the most inspirational speeches in recorded history was given by a comedian by the name of Charlie Chaplin.

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:31 PM in amazing, Bottom Lines, Must-watch, Networked Society | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Really nice illustration: Visions of a Networked Future (ITU Telecom World event)

Further to my last post and the video about the ITUWorld event on October 26, 2011, in Geneva, here is a really nice illustration / visualization of the key statements and memes, created and kindly provided by Sarah Clark at Clear Thinking Communications in Switzerland.

You can view and download a large version via this link .

...from a really interesting session at ITU Teleworld 2011 in Geneva yesterday, October 26, 2011. http://forum.world2011.itu.int/sessions/f17-storytelling-2-visions-of-a-netwo... has further details and the complete 86 minute video.

This Quickfire Storytelling session brings together some of the world's leading futurists (see below) to share bold ideas and conflicting predictions of how the world might look in 10 years' time. This video (which we shot ourselves using a Kodak HDCam and Sony bluetooth mic) shows the first 10 minutes i.e. Gerd's introduction, the 5 minute talk and brief discussion with the other speakers and the audience. Twitter buzz is here You can download the 10MB PDF of my presentation (unfortunately, the slides are not really visible in the video), here.

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:48 PM in amazing, Bottom Lines, Broadband Culture, CHANGE, Conferences, Current Affairs, Images, Innovation, Inspiring, Interesting, Made me think, Must-watch, My speaking engagements, Networked Society, Predictions, Realizations, Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

158 posts categorized "Bottom Lines"

February 16, 2012

Behind I.B.M.'s Big Predictions - NYTimes.com (automated mobile language translation)

What Does Technology Look Like in an Age of Abundance? | Peter Diamantis

February 13, 2012

Good read: Brands Want Content Curator Jobs | Digiday

February 11, 2012

Why I chose a job I love ;)

February 07, 2012

Jeremy Rifkin videos: the empathic civilization, and the third industrial revolution. Must watch!

February 06, 2012

Here’s a few screenshots from various TeleMedia presentations (via my Tumblr blog)

January 23, 2012

The only recipe for success that I know

The future of media: we are at the intersection !

January 14, 2012

New audio / video interview on the future of branding, business and the Internet (incl. some comments on SOPA), via TribeRadio

Tags:

January 10, 2012

Article: Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders - HBR

January 03, 2012

100 things to watch in 2012 (via JWT Intelligence)

December 06, 2011

How to Capitalise On 21st Century Content Economics…

December 04, 2011

Bottom lines: Steve Job's Vision of the World

November 21, 2011

This video is a great summary of what is important to me, as well (Charlie Chaplin)

November 01, 2011

Really nice illustration: Visions of a Networked Future (ITU Telecom World event)

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