MediaFuturist: capitalism 2.0

Stowe Boyd on Slow Capitalism

A very good comment by my Futures Agency colleague Stowe Body: we need to reboot capitalism. Underpaid Genius • Slow Capitalism

http://www.underpaidgenius.com/post/18065701516

‘Sustainable Capitalism’ is a term dreamed up by enlightened and benign members of the 1%: an admonition by the members of the elite to the elite, saying in effect that they should to play more fairly. But it’s not broadly based enough for the 99%, who demand a system rooted in justice, not just a suggestion that the overloads agree to crush us a bit less. What we need is ‘slow capitalism’. A system that rewards all for their work and investments, but which is founded on the full accounting of costs in the world. Businesses cannot be allowed to make a huge profit by moving operations to an unregulated corner of the world where there are no environmental regulations, and spewing poisons into the air and ocean. Investors cannot be allowed to make money on pointless financial transactions that add no value, but simply bleed money from a broken system. And the time horizon of our considerations must be reckoned in decades, not in quarters or microseconds.

Like slow food — which is not really about having leisurely meals, but is all about our obligate connection to the food chain and the earth that sustains it — we need slow capitalism: a world order based on our obligate connections to each other, based on the premise that economic forces should not be used to do harm, but to benefit us all.

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 9:04 PM in capitalism 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Audio podcast of Radio New Zealand interview with Futurist Gerd Leonhard: the opportunities and friction of ultra-fast broadband (and the future of paid content)

This short interview on my last trip to Auckland was fun - check it out. The interviewer is Kathryn Ryan (and she really knows her stuff!). Thanks for having me, Kathryn.

Ntn-Gerd Leonhard Interview Radio New Zealand

From Nine To Noon on Tuesday 21 February 2012

Gerd Leonhard has been dubbed "one of the leading Media Futurists in the World" by The Wall Street Journal. He is the co-author of the 'The Future of Music Music2.0' and 'The End of Control'. He is the keynote speaker at the Commerce Commission conference The Future with High Speed Broadband: Opportunities for New Zealand. Play (Windows) Play (Other)

Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 1:55 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, Broadband Culture, capitalism 2.0, Conferences, Copyright, Creative Commons, Creative Rights, Cultural Industries, Eoc: Music Industry, Future of Broadcasting, Future of Cable TV, Future of Media, Gerd in the media, Podcasts, Politics of Content | 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)

Income inequality: Who exactly are the 1%? | The Economist

"The richest 1% earn roughly half their income from wages and salaries, a quarter from
self-employment and business income, and the remainder from interest, dividends, capital gains and rent. According to an analysis of tax returns by Jon Bakija of Williams College and two others, 16% of the top 1% were in medical professions and 8% were lawyers: shares that have changed little between 1979 and 2005, the latest year the authors examined (see chart). The most striking shift has been the growth of financial occupations, from just under 8% of the wealthy in 1979 to 13.9% in 2005. Their representation within the top 0.1% is even more pronounced: 18%, up from 11% in 1979..."

via www.economist.com

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 8:16 AM in capitalism 2.0, Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Read this manifesto for sustainable capitalism (good Al Gore quote)

Manifesto for sustainable capitalism | Climate Spectator

"We are once again facing one of those rare turning points in history when dangerous challenges and limitless opportunities cry out for clear, long-term thinking,” Blood and Gore argue in their Wall Street Journal article. “The disruptive threats now facing the planet are extraordinary: climate change, water scarcity, poverty, disease, growing income inequality, urbanisation, massive economic volatility and more. Businesses cannot be asked to do the job of governments, but companies and investors will ultimately mobilise most of the capital needed to overcome the unprecedented challenges we now face.”

My personal keywords: clear and longterm thinking. Full stop.

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:42 AM in capitalism 2.0, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A key thought on capitalism - so where to go from here?

so very true. what a challenge!

"Capitalism is based on the economics of the industrial era, economics of scarcity. And they don’t fit the information world..."

—Monitor Group founder Chris Meyer at TED Global (via wiredvanity)

(Source: curiositycounts, via wiredvanity)

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 9:11 AM in capitalism 2.0, Realizations | 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)

Thomas Friedman video on 'that used to be us': must-watch for everyone in the U.S.!

A lot of really great insights here on what is going wrong in America, from technology to education to innovation. I don't agree with all of it but his talk (and the book "That used to be us") is brilliant, no doubt.

From Youtube: "Reid Hoffman introduces, again, three time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of That Used To Be Us, Thomas Friedman.Mr. Friedman was our first inDay speaker and our first to return. He won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for The New York Times after becoming the paper's foreign-affairs columnist in 1995. Previously, he served as chief economic correspondent in the Washington bureau and the chief White House correspondent previously. In 2005, Mr. Friedman was elected as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board and now spends time looking to recognize others for transformative work. More about Thomas Friedman: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com "

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 7:30 PM in America, Asia, BRIC, capitalism 2.0, Cool people, Must-watch, Videos I Like | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The latest updates from my Tumblr blogs

Greetings! In addition to the blog posts on this site I also post on 2 other sites, see below.

The latest updates from my Future of Business Tumblr Blog

The latest updates from my Green Futurist Tumblr Blog

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 3:13 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, About Me, Attention Economy, Blogging, Broadband Culture, capitalism 2.0, CHANGE, Concerns, Consumer Insights, Content 2.0, Future of Business, Going Green, Good reads, Green Futures, Inequality, Innovation, Likemindedness, Link Economy, Must Reads, My writings, Networked Society, Open Network Economy, Politics of Content, Predictions, Privacy, Real-Time Web, Realizations, Resources, Social Media, Sustainability | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Great interview with Don Tapscott, some key insights for 2012 (video)

I have always admired Don Tapscott's work and his really powerful books (Wikinomics and the latest update, Macro-Wikinomics) which are a must-read for anyone interested in the future. In this very candid interview Don shares some great insights and realizations - well worth it!

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 11:46 AM in capitalism 2.0, Consumer Insights, Cool people, Current Affairs, Future of Business, Future of Media, Green Futures, Inequality, Innovation, Inspiring, Predictions, Privacy, Realizations, Smart People, Videos I Like | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Blood & Gore’s Manifesto For Sustainable Capitalism - must read (and chew:)

“We are once again facing one of those rare turning points in history when dangerous challenges and limitless opportunities cry out for clear, long-term thinking,” Blood and Gore argue.

“The disruptive threats now facing the planet are extraordinary: climate change, water scarcity, poverty, disease, growing income inequality, urbanization, massive economic volatility and more. Businesses cannot be asked to do the job of governments, but companies and investors will ultimately mobilize most of the capital needed to overcome the unprecedented challenges we now face.”