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Blogging the future

According to economist Alex Tabarrok, new ideas will feed the world through globalization. At a TED event, Tabarrok explains how a global market can increase the incentive to produce new ideas, which in turn will drive growth and prosperity.

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“One idea, one world, one market.”

Free trade and globalization are definitely not new discussion topics. They are, however, ways in which we can turn the world into a prosperous community. At a TED event, economist Alex Tabarrok assures the audience that the “best is yet to come” through idea-sharing and globalization. Tabarrok is the co-author of the hit economic blog, MarginalRevolution.com, as well as the Director of Research for the Independent Institute. Tabarrok’s interest in economics, law, and public policy, has helped him brainstorm ways in which we can feed the world with new ideas.

The equation is relatively straightforward: new ideas drive growth. While an apple can feed one person, an idea can feed millions. In order to produce new ideas, people need to increase the incentive to create these designs. Tabarrok asks, how do we maximize the incentives? The answer is globalization; larger markets generate larger profits.

Tabarrok believes that ideas are meant to be shared. As more countries became wealthier due to globalization, it would allow for more idea creators, such as scientists and engineers. For far too long the United States has been the leader of ideas; if more people worldwide had the ability to generate new ideas, we could increase the number of idea creators and ideas could be shared by everyone.

The world must become more globalized in order to generate and share ideas. Through free trade and a global market, the world could become healthier and more prosperous than anyone could have imagined.

More Info:

• http://www.ted.com/talks/alex_tabarrok_foresees_economic_growth.html
• http://www.marginalrevolution.com

Is it possible to create live architecture capable of regenerating itself just like live organisms do? Thanks to her studies, vision, and ambition, Rachel Armstrong has made this idea more realistic. In fact, by using architecture that grows itself, Armstrong believes that we will be able to save Venice, Italy from sinking.

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Rachel Armstrong has devised a way to bring architecture and biology together. She believes that it is possible to create chemically engineered building materials that can grow, self-repair, and respond to changes. These materials, Armstrong believes, could even be used to save Venice, Italy, one of humanity’s most beautiful cities which is slowing sinking in the ocean.

Armstrong refers to the current method of architecture as “old” and “Victorian”; inert objects such as concrete are used to construct our buildings and homes. While this may not seem problematic to most people, Armstrong does not consider this method sustainable. Instead, architecture should be connected to the natural world, and communicate with living matter. Since these materials do not naturally exist in nature, Armstrong is working to generate them from scratch. She researches “metabolic materials”, which are construction materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to “grow” architecture. These materials would be able to respond to changes in the environment and adapt accordingly.

Protocells, which are basically fatty bags containing no DNA and run by a chemical battery, are able to conduct themselves in a way that can only be described as living. They are able to move around their environments, undergo complex reactions, and follow chemical gradients. Using the protocell technology, Armstrong hopes to create sustainable, metabolic materials. Although this technology will take years to create and perfect, hopefully these materials will be used to save dying cities.

Venice, Italy is built upon wooden piles that have eroded over many years. As the beautiful city continues to sink, Armstrong hopes that the protocell technology will be able to reclaim the city by growing a limestone reef around the piles. These cells would be used for reinforcement purposes instead of just creating a reef in the canals.

Not only does this technology seem plausible, it would be a great innovation for architecture. Now more than ever we stress the idea of being as eco-friendly and “green” as possible; what better way to connect with nature than with this technology? It is our duty to try to salvage historical cities, and metabolic materials may very well be the answer to our problems. Furthermore, as our world becomes more technologically and scientifically advanced, it should seem reasonable to update some of our older practices as well.

More Info:

• http://www.rachelarmstrong.me/
• http://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_armstrong_architecture_that_repairs_itself.html

Innovation and strategy expert Gary Hamel shares his view that management itself needs to be reinvented in order to accommodate the new needs of business.

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Gary Hamel, among the biggest experts worldwide of strategy and innovation, entices us to reflect upon the necessity of a renovation of management in order to organize and mobilize human capabilities. The Wall Street Journal recently ranked Hamel as the world’s most influential business thinker, and Fortune magazine has called him “the world’s leading expert on business strategy”.

Gary Hamel, among the biggest experts worldwide of strategy and innovation, entices us to reflect upon the necessity of a renovation of management in order to organize and mobilize human capabilities. The Wall Street Journal recently ranked Hamel as the world’s most influential business thinker, and Fortune magazine has called him “the world’s leading expert on business strategy”.

According to Hamel, the past certainties that every one carries within have had damaging effects in the organizational realities of today and the managers have to have new principles in order to overcome the difficulties that the economy foresees. Moreover, the web is demonstrating an incredible force when it comes to modifying inefficient organizational systems that become consolidated with time.

The authentic innovation is not that of products, process or strategy. The competitive advantage that lasts longest is that which derives from innovation of the organizational methods and the capacity of the people that head the agency.

It is difficult to imagine how something that has remained unchanged for so long could all of a sudden transform. However, we can’t ignore the changes that technology is bringing forth to the organizational structures, changing the relationships of those in power, democratizing the decision-making process, and counting on an ever more refined system of collective intelligence.

More Info:

• http://www.hsmglobal.com
• http://www.garyhamel.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVX8XhiR1UY

At a TED conference, Jamais Cascio, the co-founder of WorldChanging.com discusses how we can solve the world’s problems with effective tools and ideas. Cascio believes that as long as we can see and understand the impact of our actions, we can work towards a better future.

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Jamais Cascio is helping us find ways to solve our world’s problems. At a TED conference in Monterey, California, Jamais Cascio, discusses his website, WorldChanging.com, the award-winning website dedicated to finding and calling attention to models, tools, and ideas for building a better future. As the co-founder of this website, he explains how problems such as the planet’s environment, global development, and international conflicts can be solved using tools and ideas that are outlined on his site.

The website has over 4,000 tools and ideas, such as energy efficient homes and vehicles, which we could easily put into practice today. According to Cascio, we can build a better world because we have all of the necessary things: tools, knowledge, and motive. We have the means and the capability to solve global problems, as well as good reason to do so.

While successful responses are possible, Cascio believes that one of the most important steps is to make the invisible visible. If people are able to see and understand the impact of their actions, it will lead to change. If we can easily see what impacts (whether positive or negative) we are making on the world, maybe it will be easier for us to solve our current environmental problems.

More Info:

• http://www.openthefuture.com
• http://www.worldchanging.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPhuj-W8kyE

At Carnegie Mellon’s 112th Commencement Ceremony, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google Inc., stresses the importance of technology and innovation in our future. According to Schmidt, we need to start using the abundance of information that we have in order to make our own opportunities and learn from our mistakes.

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At Carnegie Mellon’s 112th Commencement Ceremony, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google Inc., leaves the graduating class with some very sound advice: “Mistakes allow you to learn and to innovate and try new things.” As the CEO of Google, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Apple, one could easily make the assumption that Schmidt has a passion for technology and information. In fact, he believes that information itself will make the world a more global and productive place.

Why is it important to have an unlimited source of information? Beyond the fact it makes life more functional, information serves as an equalizer. If everyone in the world had the same access to all information, we would finally be able to solve the world’s problem of inequality. We live in a culture of innovation, where we can find most of the answers to our problems, and make our own luck and opportunity.

Schmidt stresses the importance of using the information that we have to take chances and mistakes, because it is through mistakes that we can learn and improve. He addresses the graduating class with a quote from John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” By living life and foregoing fear, we will be able to be more innovative than ever before.

More Info:

• http://www.google.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiYwUde3wNo

While changing light bulbs and installing solar panels on our roofs can help solve our climate problem, we must also mobilize political will. At this talk hosted by TED, Vice President Al Gore discusses the problem of climate change, and how we must first become active in our democracy in order to solve the climate problem.

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Al Gore has been making sure that things are being done to help solve the current climate crisis. But he also believes that more needs to be done before we can feel optimistic. At a talk hosted by TED, in Monterey, California, Al Gore explains that we “need to change the laws, not light bulbs”, and he has been trying to do just that. Before he created the Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, he was the Vice President of the United States. Al Gore, after leaving Washington, DC in order to educate the world about the dangers of climate change, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007.

Gore explains that while he is an advocate for solar panels and hybrid cars, we need to do more than that to see an actual change in our environment. At least for now, we should be focusing on changing laws in order to make a real difference. He uses one of Mahatma Gandhi’s most famous quotes to illustrate his point: “you must become the change you wish to see in the world”. In order for people to be optimistic about seeing a positive change in the environment, they must first be proactive about making a change.

While many people are proactive about local environmental problems, there are regional, and even a global, conflicts that also must be addressed. More often than not, people leave out citizenship in their fight for climate protection; however, it is Gore’s belief that the first thing we should be doing is addressing the government and being politically active.

More Info:

• http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis.html
• http://www.algore.com

Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired and creator of the long tail theory, predicts a world in which everything will be free, without even the need for advertising. The web will change the world and every digital sector will become free.

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We are always looking for ways to spend less money, and get the best deals. We compare prices and wait for products to go on sale. Every opportunity to save money is a good one. But what about spending no money at all? According to Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired and the mind behind the long tail theory: “if free is what you’re looking for, then free is what you’ll get.”

Chris Anderson explains the new zero-cost business model. It has little to do with the current way we live where advertising guarantees revenue; instead, it is based on a new reality in which we will not even have need for advertising. “Everything will end in this economy of waste”, says Anderson. It is his belief that products become so easily produced that they become wasted. How is this possible?

Chris Anderson uses nuclear energy as a prime example. If electricity had been too cheap to meter, to the point where it could just be thrown away, we would have an electric economy. Everything would run on electricity because it would cost us nothing.

This is what is happening today with the technology revolution. In fact, Chris strongly believes that free is the future of business. All of the technologies of the computer revolution are too cheap to meter. As more businesses become digital, services and products will become available through software and downloads. This will lead to everything becoming free.

Companies such as Google and Yahoo, that make billions of dollars, are built upon the business model of giving away things for free. This Gift Economy is based on free labor, and no advertising. “Every industry that becomes digital, eventually becomes free”, concludes Chris. Therefore, we should look forward to a future that is more digital, and more importantly, free.

More Info:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkeCIW75CU

“Thirty years later, the Gaia theory is almost universally accepted, and it forms much of the basis of our current understanding of global warming.” At the annual conference for the Direct Marketing Association, Richard Branson discusses the challenges that an innovative idea must face before being accepted.

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Richard Branson was only 22 years old when he founded Virgin Records. Today, he is one of richest men in the world. His ideas are always original and innovative, and although many of them have been criticized by the general public, they have led to huge successes. It seems that his determination and his ability to sense a good business idea are two qualities that Branson was born with. These talents were even noticed by his teachers; his dean even told his parents one day: “Richard’s has two possibilities in life; he will either end up in jail, or become a millionaire.”

As it turns out, Branson did not end up in jail. But his best ideas, before they were understood and accepted in world market, had to face long and arduous roads, as well as face the skepticism of the masses.

At the annual conference for the Direct Marketing Association, Richard Branson talks about the history of a great idea, a theory that waited three decades to be taken seriously.

Branson introduces the audience to the Gaia Theory, a theory formulated in 1979 by the young scientist James Lovelock. The theory was about global warming, and today could be seen as a prophecy. According to Lovelock, the planet is a living and unique organism, a biological cell that reacts to all of the external stimuli. The Earth’s wellbeing is contrasted by the harmful elements that are introduced. According to the Gaia Theory, the Earth’s overheating, caused by the harmful gasses that are produced by mankind, would lead to Earth’s inevitable reaction to these changes. The reaction would occur in the form of global cooling, and possibly lead to another ice age.

Thirty years later, scientists all around the world are finding Lovelock’s hypothesis to be plausible, if not scientifically sound. Only now are they taking his findings seriously. During the years in which Lovelock was introducing the world to his hypothesis, Richard Branson was occupied with his own ideas. Branson himself fought hard to prove to the world that a nonconforming young man, who hated the formal jacket-and-tie lifestyle, would someday become one of the most brilliant minds in the United Kingdom.

What does Branson’s empire have to do with Lovelock’s theory? In reality, not much. However, one of the most important aspects of both ideas lies in the fact that not all innovative ideas are accepted immediately. In fact, it may take years for society to accept an idea. The important message is to never stop dreaming and creating.

More Info:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDk8QmoaS_s

At an EG (Entertainment Gathering) conference, Kevin Kelly shares a fun statistic: The World Wide Web, as we know it, is only 5,000 days old. Now, Kelly asks, how can we predict what’s coming in the next 5,000 days?

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“The Internet is only 5,000 days old…”

Did you know that there are 2 million emails sent per second? How about the fact that there are 100 billion clicks on the internet per day? Today, people are all, for the most part, always connected to the web, whether through a computer or a cell phone. However, for the most part very few of us spend much time thinking about the never-ending supply of information and opportunity that the web actually represents.

Kevin Kelly, the executive editor at WIRED magazine, points out that most people have accepted the Internet into their lives without any doubt or hesitation. The web is an example of how people come to accept the seemingly impossible. Continuing with this idea, he believes that what is even more interesting is what is to come in the next 5,000 days. If we have been able to come this far in such little time, what marvels will evolve in the years to come? Kelly points out that if anything, the web has taught us that we need to get better in believing the impossible. Fifteen years ago, no one would have believed what we are now able to accomplish with the click of a button. In merely 5,000 days, we have constructed a single global machine through the web. All of the devices that we use (computers, cellular phones, etc.), are simply access points through which we enter into this enormous global net.

This theory, in which the Internet is seen as a super computer and a super brain, is becoming more common: Kelly looks beyond this theory in anticipation for the future. The presence of this super brain is evident everywhere; we are constantly connected.  And it can only be assumed that the web will continue to evolve and improve. In the future, the Internet will not be solely an enormous database. Instead, Kelly sees a symbiotic relationship forming between man and the web. All of us will become an extension of this mega brain.

What could be the implications of such a phenomenon?

The next 5,000 days of the Internet will not simply be better, but different. For example, perhaps the Internet will no longer passively supply information, but also give it a value or significance. I would like to propose an alternative ending to Kelly’s argument: although in the future machines will be able to solve all of our problems, the critical capacity still comes from man. The Internet can continue to exist for the next 5,000 days, but without man, it stands for nothing.

More info:

• http://www.kk.org/
• http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

According to Daniel Burrus, a leading technology forecaster and business strategist, the manufacturing industry will be reinvented by a collaboration of four generations. For the first time, we will see a partnership between the old and new generations, as technological advancements and experience becomes the core of the new global market.

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It is no longer unusual for an employee to have a boss half his age, or to find a company that has employees ranging from early twenties to around sixty years of age. For the first time in history, four generations will work together; future workers will mix with past workers. Daniel Burrus, one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and business strategists, discusses the future of the manufacturing industry. In the near future, businesses will have to be rebuilt based on the principle of collaboration and being relatable. The young will have to use their technological and cooperation skills, and the old will have to impart their wisdom and experience. The need to work together will put an end to the professional competition between the young and old.

The winning strategy of businesses will be to understand beforehand, thanks to the symbiosis between the generations and new technology, what problems clients will face and be able to solve them by means of a product or service. According to Burrus, noted as a business guru by the New York Times, relationships will be one of the most important aspects for a global market, and therefore people need to focus on reinventing manufacturing through collaborations.

More Info:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFopTJuS6p0