Futuring

I think we all remember the relentless rain that set the film "Blade Runner." It was that type of dystopian gale that soaked Austin, TX yesterday as geeks, techies, designers and, yes, futurists arrived for South By Southwest 2012. One of those futurists, Brian David Johnson, works for Intel and he came to "South by" for a day to talk to us about how the chip manufacturer creates its vision for the future of technology. His message and approach were a welcome contrast to the weather outside.

I found some time this past weekend to read more of ConsumerShift, the new book from Andy Hines, who is a lecturer at University of Houston's Graduate Program in Futures Studies, one of Innovaro's network partners, and someone I've had the pleasure to work with a lot over the years.

Today, the increasing number of futurists, scholars, business planners, and others in the futuring field is a good sign of the usefulness of Futures Studies for humanity, just as Dator wished so 26 years ago (Dator, 1986).

About the March-April 2012 issue of THE FUTURIST
(WFS Members, log in for full access)

With a burgeoning economy that may no longer be providing good jobs, and a growing demand for energy sources that are clean, affordable, and safe, the future’s many challenges elude easy solutions—at least, solutions that we might all agree on and that don’t create new problems.

Will Asia lead the world in green technologies and in the political-economic transition to sustainability? Can Asia bury past conflicts and create stronger regional institutions including perhaps, step by step, an Asian Union? In what ways could Asia’s traditional cultures – Islamic, Tantric, Taoist, Confucian, Buddhist and Vedic – be resources in inventing an alternative more hybrid cultures?

Recently, I’ve been reading blogs. Lots of blogs! Specifically, I’ve been reading blogs by futurists or about the future. I asked members of the Association of Professional futurists for their suggestions, and I asked the World Futures Studies Federation listserv readers for suggestions. Now, I'm asking you and other blog readers from the World Future Society for suggestions.

At this point, I have a list of about 170 blogs (it changes quickly!), and I think the list will grow.

2011 was the year that wasn't. U.S. stock prices were largely unchanged for the year; commodity inflation appeared to be happening, but then didn't; the credit rating of the U.S. government was downgraded for the first time in history, yet long-term U.S. treasury bonds were among best performing assets in the world.

Collectively, it seems like everyone is holding their breath, waiting for "something" to happen. Small investors have fled the markets.  Market timers have been scratching their heads as their trend-following indicators have been getting whipsawed since last summer.

So, with a certain amount of hesitation, I offer the following forecasts for 2012...