Emergent Futures Tumblelog

This is the Tumblelog of Paul Higgins and Sandy Teagle - Futurists from Melbourne and Brisbane in Australia. Go to Emergent Futures to see more or follow on Twitter at FuturistPaul . If you right click on the pictures, titles or links in these posts you will be able to go to the original story on the web. If you click on comments for each post you can either read what others have said or add your own comment via Disqus. If you click on the date of a post it will take you to a single post view where you can copy the web link if you want to send it to someone else. If you click on the tags it will take you to other stories from Emergent Futures with the same tag.

December 15th 2011

Reblogged from fred-wilson|73 notes |# Comments

power to the people, especially the artists

Hi I’m Louis C.K. and this is a thing : IAmA

Louis CK is doing an AMA on Reddit. This is part of his response to a question about his Beacon Theater special, available for download DRM free at louisck.net

(via jericsinger)

Posted at 10:55am and tagged with: business models, business, strategy,.

“
to steal from someone and not feel bad, you either have to be a sociopath or view the act differently. One way is to remove “Someone” from the equation. You’re not stealing from a person. Big companies do a lot to help people view them as less than human. I heard a speach by Noam Chomsky who said that corporations are like super humans. They cannot be hurt like a human can and they never die. They are not succeptible to scrutiny or accountability. this makes them more profitable. If companies want to enjoy these benifits to some degree they have to live with what else comes with being not human. you miss out on compassion, forgiveness, comraderie, empathy, trust all kinds of shit.
”

October 3rd 2011

Reblogged from smarterplanet|257 notes |# Comments

springwise:

LED lighting system for bicycle wheels to revolutionize safety

Regular Springwise readers may remember our coverage of two recent bike related innovations focusing on functionality and style: MAIK’s Bike Crate and the lock that can be worn around the waist. Now Californian start-up Revolights are focusing on cycle safety with their new bike lighting system. READ MORE…

Posted at 3:06pm and tagged with: innovation, startups, Business, lights, lighting, design, cycling, bicycle,.

springwise: LED lighting system for bicycle wheels to revolutionize safety Regular Springwise readers may remember our coverage of two recent bike related innovations focusing on functionality and style: MAIK’s Bike Crate and the lock that can be worn around the waist. Now Californian start-up Revolights are focusing on cycle safety with their new bike lighting system. READ MORE…

September 28th 2011

Video from my Keynote Address to the National Small Business Summit is Available

8 notes |# Comments

I addressed the National Australia Bank National Small Business Summit in July on the Future Competitive Landscape for Small Business. You can see the video and the presentation by going to:

NAB National Small Business Sumit Keynote by Paul Higgins July 27th 2011  

Posted at 8:52pm and tagged with: business, future,.

September 19th 2011

14 notes |# Comments

Firms Aided Libyan Spies


TRIPOLI—On the ground floor of a six-story building here, agents working for Moammar Gadhafi sat in an open room, spying on emails and chat messages with the help of technology Libya acquired from the West.

The recently abandoned room is lined with posters and English-language training manuals stamped with the name Amesys, a unit of French technology firm Bull SA, which installed the monitoring center. A warning by the door bears the Amesys logo. The sign reads: “Help keep our classified business secret. Don’t discuss classified information out of the HQ.”

Paul Higgins: Can we create a world where despite the profits people take moral business decisions about doing this or am i being hopelessly naive? 

Full Story: Wall Street Journal


Posted at 1:40pm and tagged with: politics, business,.

Firms Aided Libyan Spies TRIPOLI—On the ground floor of a six-story building here, agents working for Moammar Gadhafi sat in an open room, spying on emails and chat messages with the help of technology Libya acquired from the West. The recently abandoned room is lined with posters and English-language training manuals stamped with the name Amesys, a unit of French technology firm Bull SA, which installed the monitoring center. A warning by the door bears the Amesys logo. The sign reads: “Help keep our classified business secret. Don’t discuss classified information out of the HQ.” Paul Higgins: Can we create a world where despite the profits people take moral business decisions about doing this or am i being hopelessly naive?  Full Story: Wall Street Journal

September 16th 2011

Reblogged from futuristgerd|994 notes |# Comments

afrographique:

An infographic depicting the percentage share of formal firms that are owned by women in Africa. Data from the World Bank.

Posted at 4:43pm and tagged with: Botswana, Business, Egypt, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, africa, africa visualised, african businesswomen, african entrepreneurs, afro graphics, afrographique, cartogram, change, data visualisation, development, female entrepreneurship, gender, ghana, graphic mapping, infographic, malawi, morocco, mozambique, sex, south africa, world bank, zambia, Visualization, Location,.

afrographique: An infographic depicting the percentage share of formal firms that are owned by women in Africa. Data from the World Bank.

September 16th 2011

Reblogged from futuristgerd|346 notes |# Comments

csmonitor:

From the feature story: Unemployment, Inc.: Six reasons why America can’t create jobs.

Posted at 4:10am and tagged with: Recession, Money, Economy, Business, News, Debt,.

csmonitor: From the feature story: Unemployment, Inc.: Six reasons why America can’t create jobs.

September 11th 2011

Climate Adaptation: Chinese Environmental Groups Again Accuse Apple Suppliers of Causing Pollution

Reblogged from climateadaptation|37 notes |# Comments

climateadaptation:

Chinese environmental groups claim that Apple manufacturers have been releasing harmful pollutants into the environment. A report by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and other non-governmental Chinese environment groups cited, for example, that an Apple factory in the city…

Posted at 10:33am and tagged with: apple, ibtimes, business, economy, jobs, china, pollution, taxes, free market, libertarian, news, hazards, cognitive dissonance, denial, regulations, human health, health, rivers, toxic, environment, environmental law, law,.

September 9th 2011

Mass-Market Paperbacks Sales in Decline

Reblogged from stoweboyd|38 notes |# Comments

stoweboyd:

These are dark and stormy times for the mass-market paperback, that squat little book that calls to mind the beach and airport newsstands.

Recession-minded readers who might have picked up a quick novel in the supermarket or drugstore are lately resisting the impulse purchase. Shelf space in bookstores and retail chains has been turned over to more expensive editions, like hardcovers and trade paperbacks, the sleeker, more glamorous cousin to the mass-market paperback. And while mass-market paperbacks have always been prized for their cheapness and disposability, something even more convenient has come along: the e-book.

A comprehensive survey released last month by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group revealed that while the publishing industry had expanded over all, publishers’ mass-market paperback sales had fallen 14 percent since 2008.

via The New York Times (Subscription may be required for some content)

via infoneer-pulse

Posted at 4:43pm and tagged with: books, ebooks, paperbacks, business, publishing,.

September 5th 2011

Reblogged from smarterplanet|137 notes |# Comments

Augmented reality app illustrates damage to smokers’ lungs

For smokers, it’s one thing to be told that cigarettes are damaging to the lungs; it’s quite another, however, to see a visual depiction of that destruction. Enter London marketing firm SapientNitro, which recently created “AR Lungs,” an augmented reality app that displays the harm that can be done by smoking. READ MORE…

springwise:

Posted at 5:30am and tagged with: Business, health, innovation, startups, tech, technology, healthcare, smoking, AR, augmented reality,.

Augmented reality app illustrates damage to smokers’ lungs For smokers, it’s one thing to be told that cigarettes are damaging to the lungs; it’s quite another, however, to see a visual depiction of that destruction. Enter London marketing firm SapientNitro, which recently created “AR Lungs,” an augmented reality app that displays the harm that can be done by smoking. READ MORE… springwise:

September 2nd 2011

51 notes |# Comments

Sell Big or Die Fast

In recent years, technology companies have been cutting their losses with increasing speed. Google proudly released Wave, its platform of collaborative work tools, to the general public in May 2010. It canceled Wave 77 days later. Palm announced its first tablet, the Foleo, on May 30, 2007. By Sept. 4, the company halted development and the product was never sold.

Pure Digital, maker of the Flip camcorder, had planned to release the Flip-Live on April 13, but Cisco, which had acquired Pure Digital in 2009, shut the entire division on April 12.

Full Story: New York Times

Posted at 2:12pm and tagged with: tech, technology, strategy, business,.

Sell Big or Die Fast In recent years, technology companies have been cutting their losses with increasing speed. Google proudly released Wave, its platform of collaborative work tools, to the general public in May 2010. It canceled Wave 77 days later. Palm announced its first tablet, the Foleo, on May 30, 2007. By Sept. 4, the company halted development and the product was never sold. Pure Digital, maker of the Flip camcorder, had planned to release the Flip-Live on April 13, but Cisco, which had acquired Pure Digital in 2009, shut the entire division on April 12. Full Story: New York Times