July 21, 2009

What I do (so...wth is a Futurist?)

I get this question a lot: what do you actually do? What do you spend your time on? What's your own business model? And, above all, of course: what in the world is a Futurist (this usually comes from the non-anglo crowds;).

Here is a simple answer: there are 2 parts to what I do:

  1. Understanding trends, new ideas, shifts, changes, recent developments, people and cultures
  2. Imagining and presenting future scenarios and 3-5 year fore-sights based on that understanding

So, Understanding and Ideas, basically.Imagination guy with wheels spinning head IS
Plus_sign Note: this video clip has been licensed via istockphoto.com and is subject to their copyright.

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Jul 21, 2009 1:23:26 PM | About Me, Futurists, MY PRESENTATIONS, My speaking engagements

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Broadband Culture: my favorite Web 2.0 memes and phrases In the past 5 years I came up with - or more to the point - collected, co-created, PFE'd and remixed quite a few memes and phrases that end up surfacing in my work all the time, and therefore must have some sort of value, I reckon. So, below, I am sharing some of my favorite memes - obviously they are all related and interconnected. Feel free to comment and fill-in the blanks. For my 2009/2010 think-tanks I will soon offer keynotes speeches, sessions and presentations based on these topics, as well - please check out my speaking topics list for more details. Most of these memes will be discussed in depth in my next book, "Broadband Culture" (ETA...? who knows - it's still very much work-in-progress, so stay tuned) Gerd's Favorite Memes (July 2009) The End of Control. This was the main riff in my 2007/2008 blog-book and basically describes the fact that no matter which business you are in, having total control is no longer the single most important factor that impacts financial or material success. Yes, more control equalled more money for a long time - but now, in the inter-connected digital economy, the concept sounds like wishful thinking. In fact, it seems much more likely that in the future, the more control we desire and push for the less successful we will be! If this inspires you, by all means, feel free to download all End of Control chapters here, or google for more stories on this juicy meme. Paying with Attention. This is my much-simplified way of expressing a key trend that I have been observing in many industries, worldwide. Yes, of course we have always kind-of paid with attention in order to receive free stuff i.e. mostly content (e.g. free-to-air TV, broadcast-radio). 'Buying Attention'...
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The Future of Conferences (Video) Robin Good of MasterNewMedia in Rome (one of the leading resource sites for web-publishers) just published a series of interviews and videos on the topic of where conferences and events are going. If you are in the events or conferences business be sure to read and watch this! *Update: please note that I am not at all saying there is less value in face-to-face meetings, events and conferences - the opposite is true: there is more value in that than ever before; it's just that our expectations will be a lot higher, all the time, as well, because of what we can do online already. Here is the video with my contribution:

Gerd Leonhard

Keynote Speaker, Think-Tank Leader, Futurist, Author & Strategist, Idea Curator, some say Iconoclast | Heretic, CEO TheFuturesAgency, Visiting Prof FDC Brazil, Green Futurist

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