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MULTI-SPACE

http://myvintagevogue.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Ladies_Home_Journal_-_May_1960.60150339_large.jpg

In the “old world” everything was sort of clear: you were successful when you became a lawyer or a doctor – that is to say, if you were a man -, you got yourself a trophy wife, bred a couple of kids and – certainly – you had to have a nice house in the suburbs. Being a woman, you were supposed to believe in the same fairy-tale, however in reverse. Only a few counterparts existed of this dream-scenario, since the personal space given to you was mainly linked to family, social class, age or religion. You were so brainwashed for a life that was meant to be, that you just had to live it according to expectations.

At this moment we are in a transit zone warming up for a society where you can be more than one personality at the same time: “a grey mouse” can be her dreamed femme fatale on Second Life, a successful lawyer can be a transvestite during the weekends and a gardener of a park service can decide to recite poetry at night rather than study to become an engineer. Warming up for a world where we can watch television on your PDA, play games on a tattoo printed screen on our arm or download music “copyleft” because you can’t remember the code for i-tunes, out of - one of your many - passwords. Heading for a future where we will live in houses with communicating walls, preferring a robot as a companion because it understands you better, living in a world ruled by governments experiencing more and more difficulties keeping “Das Volk”, under control.

Privacy as we knew it , had gradually vanished throughout the years. When life was seemingly simple and clear, having your own personal space was merely a characteristic of an era. Privacy becomes an issue in times of threat, fear and danger! Writers like George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and – more recently – Michiel Houellebecq have been and are still warning us for societies that are over-controlled, mechanically institutionalized and therefore inhuman. In a way “Free Market thinking” did the same to the financial and commercial sector. With a limited goal of gaining more power in order to make more money – of-course, the reverse is also possible – you need to keep people under control. In order to create and prepare a future environment that allows us to be an entity with our own respected personal space we need to stand up!

Decision makers can’t control a future, with a perspective so different from what we have known until now. An open view is needed, embracing the opportunities progress bring us rather than condemning possible outcome, admitting that our twentieth century perspective is not sufficient to understand singularity, the multiverse or the existence of eleven dimensions. Creative thinkers with a dissolute mind rather than money-driven marketeers should stand up to help scientist and leaders envisioning the future by creating scenario’s for their discoveries and inventions, while philosophers and ethicists should assay possible positive effects and objections. Regular citizens should stand up demanding better education for their children or take initiatives like a Supercool School, creating global DIY education. http://supercoolschool.typepad.com/blog/2010/03/supercool-school-demo-spring-2010-video.html

The inherent nature of the establishment can’t be productive defining guidelines for a manual “how to live in a multi-layered society” Contemporary leaders are needed formulating new rules – although a contradictio in terminis - ideally limitless, generating a self-regulating community.

Please present yourself creative, intelligent and charismatic “front-liners” and help the globe to reveal the source of a “multi-space” leading to harmonious twentyfirst century living.

MONEY-MONSTERS

http://patbarrett.com/labels/monster/

It is so hard to believe that investment bankers cum suis are still convinced that making money, while others suffer, won't effect the continuity of their businesses. Rich people, poor people, companies and now countries, they have been and are still tricked by the greedy "money-monsters" into ventures with only one goal: to fill the pockets of these predators. I was chocked to read that the downfall in Greece is partly caused by practices that have also brought us the worst financial crisis since the last world war. James Rickards revealed these tactics in a very interesting article in the Financial Times:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7168fc6-1740-11df-94f6-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

Please, please... economists, politicians even bankers wake up: only a balanced market has a future. There will always come an end to more of the same. Only a healthy harmony between use and re-use, old and new, rich and poor will bring us stability for our joint future, our personal life, the continuity of our businesses and occupations...

BYE BYE PAST, HELLO FUTURE!

Farewell fear, greed and suspicion, welcome opportunities, co-creation and new energy! The future might lack the security of the past, however huge technological, political and economical possibilities leave us the only option to dive into a bright future!

Climate change or climate sceptic, doesn't matter: it's either saving the globe or making money with a new (clean) business approach. You missed a chance there, negotiators in Copenhagen!

Quick money makers, smart entrepeneurs or crooks: doesn't matter! Successful business from now on is balanced and lasting. Economists start taking secondhand and swapping serious!

Change fear for different views, religions and new developments into a creative, open attitude focused on progress, innovation and well-being for all!

Wishing you a fantastic 2010!

INFORMATION OVERLOAD OR INSIGHT?

http://theerrantaesthete.com/2008/04/20/rip-father-of-chaos-theory/

The dilemma of today is: do you have to read everything published about your field of study or work, or do you take time to think and experience new views. You simply can't read all the blogs, magazines, books or tweets... And if you would have the time to read them all: by the time you're finished it has become old news. To transform information into knowledge and understanding needs reflection and debate. Today's hastiness doesn't leave us room for contemplation, peace and tranquility that might lead to an "epiphany". Let's take time to understand about order where there is chaos - although without trying to control the disorder -. Try to feel and live virtuality rather than transform it into a new "real" life. Embrace the unknown and insecurity and opt for a multidimensional future: there is not one truth in the same way there are not two human characters identical.

V2-AUGMENTED REALITY CONGRES

Last Friday the 4th of December almost 100 people gathered in V2 (Institute for the Unstable media http://www.v2.nl/ ) in Rotterdam to discuss Augmented Reality AR http://www.v2.nl/events/ar-ecosystem an event organized by Kwela Hermanns and Carl Kerchmar http://portaltoyourdreamsblog.blogspot.com/

Developers, academics, artists, users and the industry first listened to presentations from Claire Boonstra (co-founder Layar, Amsterdam http://layar.com/ ), Christina Rittchen (director Mobilizy/Wikitude, Salzburg http://www.wikitude.org/ ), Willi Schroll (Owner Strategic Labs, Berlin http://strategiclabs.de/ ) and myself Truus Dokter (trend forecaster http://www.secondsight.nl/person/5141/nl , http://freshviews-itfits.blogspot.com/

After the presentations the audience discussed in different groups about the feasibility in general, commercial possibilities and long term existential implications of AR.

The development of Augmented Reality today, can be compared with the situation of the early nineties when we tried to portray the future of the internet. While the World Wide Web created a platform for the “real” world to enter the virtual one, AR does the opposite: by means of devices such as mobile phones, special goggles or even a car’s front window, the invisible can be made visible. The idea behind the technology is very simple: a mobile device with camera and compass plus the GPS coordinates from yourself and the “target” you want to be informed about. AR uses a layer program that translates the information about the objective, the device is aimed at. In the promotional film from Layar interested parties can inform themselves on price, ownership and year of construction of any given property: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b64_16K2e08 .

There are many other possibilities: re-staging the past (the roar of the lions in the Colosseum), envisioning the future (rendering a building that still needs to be built) or a guided tour with the Beatles present on Abbey Road.

The approach of layers is easy to understand, however the concept of automatic triggering really brings you into a new world: through RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) you can be recognized when you enter a certain area, for instance an artwork or a game, automatically you are part of the “bubble” you are entering. You can turn of the RFID recognition – or program it only for certain occasions – but what will happen if we can be recognized by our smell, our personal energy levels, even by aura recognition? There are still a lot of questions to be answered. However there is no doubt about it that AR is not only a hype! It will soon be an integral part of our lives: for architects and city developers, in communication and marketing, in the medical world or just for our convenience and fun. The issue of security and the fact that Big Brother get’s closer by the minute, will surely need some of our attention. Fact is that mankind has never been able to stop progress and with this development it won’t be any different. Yes..., we will have to guard our privacy as we have to do now and had to do in the past. Problems are there to be solved!

In this new millenium the twentieth century attitude of control and automation has to be left behind. A world without borders requests an open attitude - cleared from old sore – that embraces the unknown called the future. Where Google concentrates on automation, modern crowdsourcing brings freedom, creativity and limitless possibilities.

One of the interesting parts of this conference was to try to inspire the audience not only to think about the technology and the possibilities of AR, but also to welcome it into the perception of what life will be about in the near future.

In due time there won’t be a difference between real and virtual worlds. It is a challenge to start living and carring out the beautiful marriage between reality and virtuality, maybe even invent a new name for todays ubiquitous – or as Willi Schroll claims cybiquitous – world.

I LOVE TWITTER

To stay tuned we had to read newspapers, weekly's, blogs, newsletters... and now there is twitter. Of course you have to follow the interesting guys, but after awhile you will find your way and by only checking your twitter account - a few times a day - you are totally tuned in. Better than ever I might say! In the beginning I got irritated by the "I am waking up" or "I am back" messages of friends but now it has become sort of cozy. The best of Twitter is the possibility of customizing your daily news and information flow. There are people reluctant towards yet another network to be part of, I believe it gives us - besides loads of information - more freedom to choose.

THE END OF FASHION BLOGS?

Fashion blogs like the Satorialist or Facehunter played a very important role in the fashion industry the last couple of years. When the Sartorialist started in 2005 it was so refreshing: real people in real - personalized yet fashionable - clothes. Unfortunately after every success story, a period of decay often is near. Throughout the years the pictures became less spontaneous, the people more designer-fashionable and the cooperation with magazines more important than the blog itself. Just recently on the 13nd of October a post on the Sartorialist showed "fashion blogging on the run": too old, too new, too desperate....

http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/1049Bon3308Web.jpg

AUGMENTED REALITY

Check this video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb0pMeg1UN0&feature=player_embedded TAT AUGMENTED ID

And my comment on Qik http://qik.com/video/2977563

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY-POWERED ART AND FASHION DESIGN

Last week from the 15th till the 19th of July, the Netherlands Media Art Institute in Amsterdam had an exhibition and several lectures about wearable technology.

In the video you see some examples of Sarah Kettley and Elena Corchero.

Very soon all the lectures will be available on line.

I'll keep you informed!

GROWING OLDER ON HALOGENLIFE.COM

A very interesting article on this link about the growing population of older people in the world: http://www.halogenlife.com/articles/2849-in-2040-there-will-be-so-many-old-people

A lot of new business opportunities are awaiting us!

SWAPPING THE NEW SHOPPING

Consuming will always be part of our lives, however over-consumption has died with the credit crunch! We have become more aware of our personal balance sheet, we have our shoes repaired and are open to re-invent our present wardrobe. Checking behind the jackets you normally wear, you'll often find some long forgotten still fantastic outfits. You should try it! Once you've got the "hang" of it, you'll continue with second-hand purchases, renting and - yes -  even swapping clothes with your friends at swapping parties or total strangers at swapping sites.

Merchandise (almost) for free as a unique selling point! It will be hard for  die hard business people to adjust to, however soon it will prove to be not only inevitable also great fun!

"I HAVE A DREAM"

"I have a dream" (Martin Luther King, 28th of August, 1963): a quote with a "colored" past, recently came true with the inauguraton of President Barack Obama.

Are we closing a black page in history? Are we even heading for a brighter future? 

Injustice, predominance and disrespect were the main charateristics of slavery. Just imagine if we would proclaim again: "I have a dream", but now, with the people in mind that are the victims of power games of the financial markets, the industry and the old boys network in general? What if dreams of the working class and middle management  would come true, what would the future be like than?

The credit crunch reveils so many misdeeds of people in power that you wonder: "How much longer will the people in the street accept to have to foot the bill again? At least in some countries in Europe, politicians have a hard time fulfilling the demands of the silent majority -of the past-, will the captains of industry be the next to be held accountable for their deeds?

Let's go back to the dream - of course - we all want to be rich, with a nice house, a big car and a loving family, but unfortunately happiness and money are like drinking and driving: a consideration that would help economists to have a more realistic view on economic thinking in general. People don't always are in need of more, have to consume more or sell more! In a world of abundance there comes a moment when enough is enough! It seems we have reached that moment.

Why to produce more when you can buy the same at ebay, why to buy a new car when the technology is still from the past and why to buy a new computer when you still haven't figured out how your old one works?

TO BE CONTINUED

FREEDOM OF CREATION

The beauty of today is that we can almost create everything we want - even with limited skills and resources -. Children and creative people have always been following their dreams often portrayed in real life. Thanks to modern technology we have computers, digital camera's and most importantly the internet, that have provided the freedom of creation to a wider audience. The more people that are discovering their ability to go of the beaten track, opening new roads to fulfillment in life, in their work, in relationships, the farther we will stand from neo-conservatism, old-fashioned dogma and fear. Will this ultimately lead us to a better world?

UNIVERSAL THINKING

Why are we so restricted in our thinking. Why aren't we taught to also have a helicopter view besides our personal competency? Why do we stick to comparing the growth of national and global economies to one year ago instead of five or even ten... because let's get real - at least in the Western world - what crisis? Okay, it's sad people are loosing their jobs, but there is still enough money to support them as long as necessary...

Shouldn't we change our views of never ending growth and try to think in terms that the bucket might be full? -At least nature tries to tell us that we have reached a few limits.- Isn't it time for a universal view on life, on economics, on politics? The euro is a success, maybe we should get serious about the "global" currency? Why...? What will be the answer: on a micro level "normal" people, workers they seem to have answers, unfortunately on a macro level the power game is still ruling. Obviously there is still a long way to go to a better understanding of our universal problems.

LET'S DO SOMETHING NEW IN 2009

HAVE A FANTASTIC, INSPIRING AND INNOVATIVE NEW YEAR!!!

TAKING THE FUTURE SERIOUS

We have almost entered the second decennium of the twenty-first century, however our mind and consciousness is still very connected to "the century that changed everything": two world wars, dealing with a lot of old dogma and prosperity for more and more people. 

After hundred years of activity, one is tended to sit back, thinking that the speed of life will shift to a lower gear. However, these times never come when we have planned them, instead we are now confronted with a credit crunch that hasn't shown it's real face yet.

Professionals and experts proclaim: "... uh no, we hadn't foreseen this, or yes, we have almost reached the highest point."

What is happening? Progress and development can't be stopped and will always have huge changes as a result, especially considering the inspiration we found in last centuries achievements. For instance mobile communication and the virtual world have changed our daily environment completely. So, it is very likely that the integration of technological innovation will continue at an even faster speed than we have experienced until now. The question is if our twentieth century minds are ready to except developments - already feasible - like: transforming a human into a cyborg, to collect energy with a space solar panel and beam it to earth, even sperm becoming superfluous in our reproduction. Climate change that can't be stopped anymore by mainly CO2 reduction and what to think of the food crisis, obviously caused by the environmental problems, however also influenced by the vanishing of large population of bees and the growing amount of chemicals in the food chain. Nature lost it's balance and it seems society - with the financial sector in the vanguard - acted accordingly.

The credit crunch has become a metaphor for improvidence and superficiality, portrait in unbridled greed initiated by slyboots unable to manage their "trics"

This is also the core of the matter: if you don't understand what you are doing, nor are able to define changes in society, how can you manage them? Contemporary politicians and managers often don't know what they manage, which only gets worst because they think and act according twentieth century parameters, inadequate to manage todays demands.

We have to start taking the future serious: new technique's and new social circumstances require a modern approach and methodology.

It is a fact that we entered a new millennium where distance between mankind and machine will diminish, chaos will take over from rationalism and discoveries done in the last two hundred years will be dismantled.

NEW ENERGY

(http://www.csem.ch/corporate/Report2007/strategy2007.htm)

Energy had been the solution for the great depression, will energy again help us to overcome the current financial problems? Why not? Prices of solar energy had dropped with a factor ten since the last oil crisis in the 1970-ies, we have been able to optimize the absorption of solar energy by using nano-coatings on solar panels that need a very small surface to collect sufficiently to provide the entire world. And if collecting solar energy in space will be affordable in due time oil and nuclear power will be history forever.
We need mental energy to generate and establish creative thinking in a modern society. Energy-lobbies soon will find competition from individuals that will invest in solar or wind energy in the surroundings of their houses. In difficult economic times people have always been surching for new business possibilities, the interesting aspect in modern times is that we can think big and small!

ISN'T IT TIME TO ENTER THE NEW WORLD?

(Hugh MacLeod - http://www.gapingvoid.com)

Why does the world still thinks and lives in the past? 

We are almost entering the second decade of the 21th century and still we stick to old mechanisms: we stimulate the economy with some incentives here and there, we invest in clean energy only when we can afford it and we help the industries that have been responsible for the mess we are in... 

We don't have the guts to take drastic measures, because we are scared and we lack vision.

We should open up to possibilities that new technological development give us like having your new chair printed with a 3D printer rather than buying it at IKEA, believing in the possibility of owning a 100% electric car within 2 years - or rather demanding from the industry that they provide you an electric car within 2 years - or wanting to be in charge of your own food supply while living in the city.

We are living in the 21st century, the technology of improvement is there: let's claim it, let's use it and let's stop allowing people in power to slow down progress for their own good.

THE COLLAPSE OF OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM

The financial world is collapsing after decennia of greed and self enrichment: the world is in despair! Banks are nationalized, black Mondays are followed by black Tuesdays and interest rates are lowered up to a point that money will be for free. I never understood a free market without regulations, especially since supervision of power and protection of  "main street" is in the hands of politicians and other civil servants.  

Isn't it ironic, we have to feel devastated about our financial system that actually is responsible for it's own decline? The positive side is that actions are being taken by National Governments all over the world. But will the question be answered: "Why didn't anybody use his or her common sense?" Is it so difficult to imagine that a deal of 24 billion, that a year before should have been 10 billion isn't a good deal, but just an ingenuous construction - if not fraud - that brings a lot of money to hedge funds and shareholders? Yes, it is sad what is happening with the mortgages and savings of Mr. & Mrs. Jones, but the collapse of the financial system might be the start of a fairer future. Let's only hope that the people responsible will be held accountable for their actions.