About This Issue
 

Trends and Their Impacts on Different "Worlds"

In the previous two issues of THE FUTURIST, we examined the 55 major trends shaping tomorrow's world, but in this issue futurist Andy Hines reminds us that there is more than one "world."

In the first of two articles, Hines explores some of the major trends affecting consumers everywhere, such as aging societies, migration, changing family structures, the growth of the middle-class, increasing time pressures, and more. He then explores how these trends vary in our planet's three "worlds"—the more affluent "W1" (World One) nations, the majority in the middle "W2" emerging economies, and the struggling "W3" economies in dire straits. See "Consumer Trends in Three Different 'Worlds' (Part One)," page 00.

One trend, accelerating technological change, has undeniable effects on our future. Publishing is one industry that is being spectacularly altered by technology, notes FUTURIST senior editor Patrick Tucker. Writers will still write, and readers will read, but for publishers to make money in an era of free content on-demand requires new levels of creativity. In "The 21st-Century Writer," Tucker gleans insights from some of the leading thinkers in this rapidly changing field. See page 00.

Crime is, unfortunately, another part of our world dramatically affected by technological turmoil. Criminal justice scholar Gene Stephens has been following the phenomenon of cybercrime for THE FUTURIST for more than a quarter of a century; here, he reflects on a few of his past forecasts and offers some frightening speculations of what future crime fighters might have to deal with. See "Cybercrime in the Year 2025," page 00.

The world of business is certainly reeling from all these changes, and the future promises only to be even more tumultuous. Business professor Paul Bracken shows how adding futuring techniques such as scenario analysis to the curriculum could help future business leaders not only cope with these changes, but also discover new opportunities. See "Futurizing Business Education," page 00.

—Cynthia G. Wagner

Managing Editor

Cwagner (at) wfs.org