Getting the big picture on global trends has long been an interest of mine. Over time, I’ve collected resources that help me get a sense of the directions in which the world is shifting, and the way things are today. Recently I was thinking about the research I would like at my fingertips, but don’t [...]

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Do you “look Chinese”? Well, if Beijing’s taxi drivers don’t think so, you’ll find it much harder to hail a taxi than the locals. Beijing taxi drivers avoid foreigners I’ve heard various explanations – non-Mandarin speakers are difficult to understand, and apparently it causes a ‘loss of face’ for a taxi driver to admit that [...]

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Futurist Mark Pesce sent out a tweet today: “ZOMG, mobile handset sales are falling in Australia!!! That’s unprecedented.”. My instant reaction was, “Good – so they should be falling. Doesn’t pretty much everyone in Australia have a phone by now?!”. Considering Annie Leonard’s Story of Stuff, we ought to be proud of ourselves for not [...]

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The Story of Stuff is a simple, effective video that explains the ‘top-line’ messages that everyone ought know about where the ‘stuff’ we buy comes from and ultimately where it ends up. Produced by Free Range Studios (of ‘The Meatrix‘ fame) the video is a perfect example of using new media in an engaging way [...]

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John Doerr’s presentation at TED highlighted several responses to climate change worth knowing about. He made it to the platform in part because he has been instrumental in his business investing $200 million in what he calls “greentech”. Before I go on to my notes, here are a few resources introducing Doerr (most noted for [...]

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