MediaFuturist: Future of Cities

New video: Digital Media Strategist Carlo Donzella and Futurist Gerd Leonhard talk about Smart Cities

This is the 3rd pilot for my new web-tv show called Meetings of the Mind (MotM), soon to be available at www.meetingsofthemind.tv). In this episode I talk to Carlo Donzella, in Rome / Italy see http://twitter.com/nerissimo

As an advisor to the Lazio Region of Rome, Carlo has recently been involved in the Futouring.it project which has created 6 world-class digital media experiences for 6 world-heritage sites within the Lazio region. Carlo also teaches the "Brave New Media World" course at the Master in Development, Innovation and Change (MiDIC) of the University of Bologna (Italy) and at the PopAkademie of the University of Mannheim (Germany).

A reviewer for dozens of international projects, he has covered various executive and consulting roles with many public agencies and private enterprises.

We discuss Carlo's work in digital, smart cities, and ponder what the future may hold for cities that use social local mobile video and cloud applications to engage with their visitors, citizens and fans. This is a wide-ranging discussion that covers a ton of stuff - hope you like it. Audio track will go up on www.futuretalks.com soon, as well!

Audio-only (podcast)

MotM3 Carlo Donzella Gerd Leonhard Smart Cities

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 4:43 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, Future of Cities, Futurists, Mobility, My Podcasts, My videos, Open Network Economy, Openness Issues, Podcasts, Politics of Content, Video, VIDEO BLOG, Videos I Like | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

When will we start driving like this (I look forward to that moment...)

From Discover Magazine

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 1:20 PM in Bottom Lines, Future of Cities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Green Affluents: The Newest Market Segment? (Co.Exist on Future-Proofing ;)

Interesting take on "future-proofing" brands, below; great example with BMW. Made me think!

Green Affluents: The Newest Market Segment | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

"...the big insight here? With the rise of megacities, consumers will most likely drive less. But they’ll continue to search out exciting ways of getting around. By intersecting this need with BMW’s expertise in creating exciting transport, the car manufacturer is today cornering a market that to many other companies is still invisible. It’s futureproofing its brand. BMW i Brand Manager Uwe Dreher says that a surprising insight is guiding the carmaker. Dreher says that in the course of research the company conducted as part of the new sub-brand’s development process, the team discovered a group of affluent consumers—particularly in the San Francisco area—who were expressing their politics by driving seemingly downmarket cars. As Dreher said, “It seemed incongruous for someone to live in a $5 million home and drive a $35,000 Prius instead of a Porsche or Ferrari. But that’s what’s happening.”

www.futureof.biz

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Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 12:40 PM in Future of Cities, Futurism, Futurists, Going Green | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The video of my presentation at the Google Think-Travel event in Sydney: the consumer of tomorrow

This is a brand-new and very nicely produced video - a big thank-you to Google Australia for making it available so quickly. If you are in the travel business, do make sure to watch this video, and check out the other speakers and their presentations, as well. Enjoy, RT, Google + this :)))

Posted by Gerd Leonhard at 4:53 PM in 21st Century Content Ecology, Advertising Trends, Attention Economy, Branding, BRIC, Broadband Culture, CHANGE, China, Conferences, Consumer Insights, Content 2.0, Data is the new Oil, Decentralization, Disruption, Fragmentation, Free!, Friction is Fiction, Future of Advertising, Future of Business, Future of Cities, Future of Selling, Future of TV, Inspiring, Mobility, Monetizing Content, Must-watch, MY PRESENTATIONS, My speaking engagements, My videos, Networked Society, Realizations, Social Commerce, Social Media, Telepresence, The Cloud, Travel, Travel industry, Trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

City design: A digital revolution | Smarter Cities | Future of Cities (via the Guardian)

Jemima Kiss of the Guardian interviewed me for this feature which is a must-read if you are interested in the topic of the Future of Cities
City design: A digital revolution

As smart cities evolve, the real and online worlds will meld, fundamentally altering the way we interact with the world

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Jemima Kiss

guardian.co.uk

Digital city. Composite image of a city skyline superimposed with alphanumeric digits. Photograph: Christian Darkin/Science Photo Library

From transport to entertainment, work to education, our lives are already being transformed by high-speed internet that will help create the fully wired city. Within 10 years, faster, comprehensive, wired and wireless networks will not only become the norm, they will become free, says Gerd Leonhard, chief executive of the business thinktank The Futures Agency. The reason? The enormous benefits to government and education.
Many of us are familiar with the internet telephony tool Skype. But an even more advanced, 3D and interactive virtual version of the technology could revolutionise education and business (among other areas), putting anyone, anywhere in the world, in visual touch with anyone else.
"The telepresence business is going to become huge and it will be standard for people in workplaces to connect over screens," says Leonhard. "There will be virtual schools for education and training you can access anywhere, especially in developing countries." He predicts business travel will be substantially reduced, saving money and the environment.
Retail will be revolutionised by 3D printing, technology that is already making it possible to "print" clothes. And while the debate about appropriate use of our personal data will continue, consensual services could be to our benefit.
"You'll walk past a department store and the window will show a personalised display with your size and preferences," says Leonhard. "We'll also be able to download and make things at home, including electronic devices – it will just be a question of downloading the blueprint."
For travel, our behavioural patterns will be studied and utilised by tools which then advise us of delays in realtime and suggest alternative routes. While some mobile phone applications already do this, the system will become more comprehensive, connecting trains with buses, planes and road information according to our schedules.
By 2020, 26m UK homes will be fitted with a smart meter that monitors energy use and encourages homeowners to be more efficient. At IBM, Andy Stanford-Clark, the company's chief technology officer for smart energy, has been exploring how wiring our homes to the web could make them more efficient.
"The autonomous homes of the future can monitor everything on our behalf," he says. "The dishwasher, tumble dryer and washing machine will talk to the electricity grid so they could turn on in half an hour at a cheaper rate."
Read on here

Photograph: Christian Darkin/Science Photo Library