Screens

[box]This post originally appeared on the FTMF.info planning blog.[/box]

Within the pages of Watchmen, Adrian Veidt, the so-called “smartest man in the world”, esteemed business leader and founding member of the Crimebusters is shown at a wall of televisions, each tuned to a different channel. He uses this clatter of imagery, sound and motion to make sense of the current geopolitical and social climate and to act upon it:

Reads a bit like Social Media Monitoring, doesn’t it? But Adrian Veidt, AKA Ozymandias, was multi-screening before it was even a thing. Nowadays, we do it by default, up to 60% of the time, and in the age of 4.6 connected devices per household it just comes naturally.

Multi-screening can be simultaneous (same journey across devices, as in the above case), sequential (different journeys across devices simultaneously), or separate (different journeys across devices simultaneously) – but it’s an emergent behaviour that needs much further inquiry. There are few real thought leaders, except for SecondSync perhaps, or Microsoft, who so succincinctly define the terms I’ve used here.

One other thought leader is Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired, whose view is that as screens proliferate further into each aspect of our lives, their role becomes not just to display but also to help filter information – we’re literally ‘screening out’ the stuff we don’t want to see.

Watch his talk on ‘screening’ and five other ‘Verbs for the New Web’ below – it’s great:

And finally, screens can also be mirrors, lenses or even windows. Clever, aren’t they?!

Underwater Mushroom

Thought this was a cool discovery. It’s the first report of a mushroom species fruiting underwater, according to Wired.com’s 10 New Species Discovered in 2010.

There are a few others featured too, but I just love the idea that these things have gone unnoticed in the scientific record for so long. The cheeky buggers!

WIRED Intelligence Briefing

My esteemed colleague Mr. James Wheatley this morning attended the first of WIRED magazine’s Intelligence Briefings, where they aim to share some of the trends that they feel are going to be most impactful over the coming year.

He has identified the main ideas from their presentation, which I repost here:

A New Era of Etiquette:

Through social media our online reputations now require careful management. Our social profiles are available for numerous people to see, share and comment on – and there is an emerging importance on the etiquette attached to these public profiles.

The most important etiquette rules identified were: Always credit the work or links of others; Always be respectful even in disagreement; Companies can not pose as customers; You can ignore friend requests; Privacy must always be respected.

Social Networks have a Half-Life:

We’ve seen this from Friends Reunited, Bebo and Myspace – is Facebook in danger of having peaked already, or by allowing companies to come in and create widgets, will they be able to stay in the sun?

Google’s Achilles Heel:

Twitter has stepped ahead of Google with their developments in realtime search. Will Google be able to keep up and is this the first technological challenge to Google?

Individuals vs Corporations:

The internet has allowed new ways for individuals to organise outside of their organisations. Companies will be transformed as new generations of employees introduce expectations of transparency (think whistle blowing scandles, MP’s expenses, etc).

The Media are Becoming Unpoliceable:

With media consumption and production more liberated from geographic boundaries, attempts to monitor and control consumption will be increasingly difficult for UK regulators.

New Types of Abundance Require New Types of Scarcity:

With so much content now available online to users, attention from consumers is becoming a greater challenge and a scarce resource.

Watch Out, Sport:

First it was music and films, now “pirate” sports streams are on the rise – 27% of WIRED readers would consider illegally accessing a live broadcast of sport. Piracy normally grows due to high costs or lack of access – and sport ticks both those boxes.

Comments were that the Premier League in particular need to tie up their access via one central publisher/access point globally, and make access more affordable – otherwise pirate streams of premier league football will continue to thrive.

Nice one James, it sounds like it was really interesting session, and be sure to check back to see if any of my readers have any questions for you!

Quite an open format – their aim was to share some of the trends that they feel are going to be most impactful over the coming year. In typical WIRED fashion, everything is centred around fresh thinking and innovations rather than being market focussed, but still quite interesting.

Have summarised the main trends below – I’ve got a handout if anyone wants to read anymore as well:
A new era of etiquette: Through social media our online reputations now require careful management. Our social profiles are available for numerous people to see, share and comment on – and there is an emerging importance on the etiquette attached to these public profiles. The most important etiquette rules identified were: Always credit the work or links of others; Always be respectful even in disagreement; Companies can not pose as customers; You can ignore friend requests; Privacy must always be respected.
Social Networks have a half-life: We’ve seen this from Friends Reunited, Bebo and Myspace – is Facebook in danger of having peaked already, or by allowing companies to come in and create widgets, will they be able to stay in the sun?
Google’s Achilles Heel: Twitter has stepped ahead of Google with their developments in realtime search. Will Google be able to keep up and is this the first technological challenge to Google?
Individuals vs Corporations: The internet has allowed new ways for individuals to organise outside of their organisations. Companies will be transformed as new generations of employees introduce expectations of transparency (think whistle blowing scandles, MP’s expenses, etc).
The Media are becoming unpoliceable: With media consumption and production more liberated from geographic boundaries, attempts to monitor and control consumption will be increasingly difficult for UK regulators.
New types of abundance require new types of scarcity: With so much content now available online to users, attention from consumers is becoming a greater challenge and a scarce resource.
Watch out sport: First it was music and films, now “pirate” sports streams are on the rise – 27% of WIRED readers would consider illegally accessing a live broadcast of sport. Piracy normally grows due to high costs or lack of access – and sport ticks both those boxes. Comments were that the Premier League in particular need to tie up their access via one central publisher / access point globally, and make access more affordable – otherwise pirate streams of premier league football will continue to thrive.

WIRED Found: The Ultimate Collection

I love WIRED magazine. It has excellent features; interesting contributors; an unpatronising writing style; awesome graphic design; unannoying ads; even the paper it’s printed on is good quality. WIRED is, to many, an opinion leading and culturally significant title both on and offline.

It’s future facing attitude really suits my own, so I’ve been reading it regularly for years. Now the UK title is in print, I buy both that and the US version. Ubergeek, aren’t I?

One of my favourite features was always the back page, the ‘Found’ section, which featured potential realities of our future daily lives.
Sadly no longer supported by the magazine, ‘Found’ lives on as an online Photoshop contest, where readers can submit their own images on subjects such as chewing gum and rehab.

I wanted to find the original images though, and I’ve managed to source the earliest online record (Jan ‘04) up to the last published image (Jul ‘08).

So here they are, in reverse chronological order. They are packed with all sorts of detail and easter eggs, so click on them to see the full images:

The Final Found

From WIRED July 2008, predicted for 2018:

Wine Spectrometer

From WIRED June 2008, predicted for circa 2020:

Smithsonian

From WIRED May 2008, predicted for 2096:

Risk

From WIRED April 2008, predicted for 2027:

Home Shopping

From WIRED March 2008, predicted for circa 2016:

Tattoo

From WIRED February 2008, predicted for the near future:

Windshield

From WIRED January 2008, predicted for 2013:

Responsibeer

From WIRED December 2007, predicted for 2012:

Waste Management

From WIRED November 2007, predicted for circa 2025:

Halloween

From WIRED October 2007, predicted for 2015:

Birthday

From WIRED September 2007, predicted for 2079:

Fruit Stand

From WIRED August 2007, predicted for circa 2020:

Comic Book

From WIRED July 2007, predicted for 2021:

Fido Fusion

From WIRED June 2007, predicted for 2016:

Reunion

From WIRED May 2007, predicted for 2052:

Bug Spray

From WIRED April 2007, predicted for circa 2050:

Medicine Cabinet

From WIRED March 2007, predicted for 2013:

Speeding Ticket

From WIRED February 2007, predicted for 2054:

Crayons

From WIRED January 2007, predicted for 2013:

Christmas Shopping

From WIRED December 2006, predicted for 2017:

Organ Farming

From WIRED November 2006, predicted for 2015:

Bluetooth

From WIRED October 2006, predicted for 2019:

Report Card

From WIRED September 2006, predicted for 2018:

Diet Cola

From WIRED August 2006, predicted for 2019:

Contact Lens

From WIRED July 2006, predicted for 2020:

Bookstore

From WIRED June 2006, predicted for 2021:

Operation

From WIRED May 2006, predicted for 2027:

Tax Day

From WIRED April 2006, predicted for 2021:

MTA Route Map

From WIRED March 2006, predicted for 2067:

Love Tester

From WIRED February 2006, predicted for 2015:

Mood Ring

From WIRED January 2006, predicted for 2009:

Christmas Morning

From WIRED December 2005, predicted for 2016:

Diaper

From WIRED November 2005, predicted for 2024:

Sharper Image

From WIRED October 2005, predicted for 2012:

Space Elevator

From WIRED September 2005, predicted for 2032:

Crossword

From WIRED August 2005, predicted for 2019:

Nightstand

From WIRED July 2005, predicted for 2017:

Antivirus

From WIRED June 2005, predicted for 2022:

Bumper Sticker

From WIRED May 2005, predicted for 2012:

Horoscope

From WIRED April 2005, predicted for 2056:

Insurance Form

From WIRED March 2005, predicted for 2069:

Taste Tester

From WIRED February 2005, predicted for 2009:

House Call

From WIRED January 2005, predicted for the near future:

Barf Bag

From WIRED December 2004, predicted for 2047:

Election Day

From WIRED November 2004, predicted for 2012:

Bathroom Vendor

Scanned from WIRED October 2004:

Lost File

Scanned from WIRED September 2004:

Box Set

Scanned from WIRED August 2004:

Power Gym

Scanned from WIRED July 2004:

20 Big Ones

Scanned from WIRED June 2004:

Postcards

Scanned from WIRED May 2004:

Nanobot Inhaler

Scanned from WIRED April 2004:

Bulletproof Fashion

Scanned from WIRED March 2004:

Chococeuticals

Scanned from WIRED February 2004:

Mood Machine

Scanned from WIRED January 2004:

Thanks to Rhaomi for the brilliant Metafilter article Artifacts from the Future, and to Stuart Candy for his scans that complete the collection, found here on his site.

Any I’ve missed? Let me know!