Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Week Four for the Interns
This week marked the transition from IFTF-guided instruction to intern-driven innovation. So naturally we had some great moments and some troublesome roadblocks. Before I delve into that, let me first mention the speakers we had this week.
Bryan Alexander from the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) visited on Tuesday. He presented on the work of his organization, explaining how it networks with several hundred small colleges in the U.S. and abroad to promote future thinking. As Bryan explained, many colleges and unviersities are either technologically behind the curve, or blind to the radical changes that NITLE predicts in the coming years. So his job is to run workshops, create dialogues between academic administrators, and cater the college landscape fort he coming change. Some fascinating and controversial views Bryan has on American higher education include the abolition of tenure and the invasion of digital content both inside and outside the university.
On Wednesday, Mathias, Anna, and we five interns trekked up to San Francisco to visit Jay Nath, the Director of Innovation for the city. Jay explained how he created his position from scratch to address the extreme need for technological progress in San Francisco. He discussed the underlying mechanisms behind San Francisco's successes (such as the digitizing of government forms) and failures (such as the city-wide broadband project). His view can be summarized in one sentence he said: "Technology moves fast, and governments move slowly." It was interesting to see the government's approach to the future - how it can leverage a tiny budget and tiny workforce, aided by a willing populace and a host of new technologies. Jay was very cordial and made it clear that he values the open communication between the city government and IFTF.
The next day we took a field trip to the Computer History Museum in Moutain View. In a sentence, the museum is incredible and we all highly recommend you go if you haven't already.
Kathi Vian completed this week of talks on Friday with an introduction to mapping. Since the end of the thick-packet format of forecasts about ten years ago, mapping has been the critical component of IFTF's corporate work. Kathi helped elucidate the different structural components and styles of the multitude of maps the IFTF has produced. She described the differences in basic architectures - geomaps, landscapes, matrices, mandalas, clusters, and timelines - and showcased maps of each style. In addition, Kathi outlined the graphic team's design policies, explaining how different client demands result in different graphical strategies. The maps range from what she calls "circus" style, to more linear layouts, to spiraling webs of forecasts and trends. It was wonderul to finally have a clear sense of how the IFTF produces its content.
Well, that was a long introduction, so I'll keep the rest of this post short. Between these talks we interns have been delving deeply into the structure and content of our summer's project. Out of our four original ideas - the future of language, FUTR radio, secret gardens, and future camp - we retreated per Jason and Anna's excellent advise down to the radio and ARG space. We debated the pros and cons of each for many hours. The FUTR radio has the advantages of attracted a wide, diverse audience, and providing that audience with a compelling narrative. The downside of an audio-based platform is trying to incorporate interaction. The future camp idea allowed for interesting and provoking interactions, but we couldn't devise a way to tie the interactions together with a narrative. So, after lengthy reflection, we have decided to synthesize the ideas.
Our final project, to be ultimately presented to the IFTF and investors, will be an audio-based narrative of the future that draws listeners in through interactive missions. Stay tuned for details!