Tomorrow Project, definitely worth a bookmark, is dedicated to helping individuals and organisations understand what is shaping their lives. It is set up through the contribution of Tomorrow Network, a group of individuals (currently some 2,500) with an interest in futures work and in the Project. GLIMPSES at a glance are quick outlines that give an overview of the topics in GLIMPSES, with links to whole sections and individual paragraphs.
Tomorrow Project's 'Glimpes of Tomorrow'
For instance: ‘What will shape the next 20 years in the field of Individuals, Identity and Values?’ Make your choice from national identities, ethnic identities, religious identities, local identities, family identities, consumer identities. Great! Let’s pick consumer identities. The story so far is that individuals transform their identities through consumption. Now, let's see what will shape the next 20 years?
- Growth of the 'aesthetic' economy will extend the range of consumer identities
- The democratisation of taste will accelerate
- Self-improvement will be a growing focus of consumer identity
- Consumer identities will have a stronger ethical component
- Fantasy identities will keep proliferating, enabled by advances in media and technology
Here’s what is said about self-improvement as a growing focus of consumer identity, based on Pine & Gilmore’s ‘The Experience Economy’ (1999).
“Over the next 20 years people across the social spectrum will become far more preoccupied with self-improvement. (…) This trend will be taken further as individuals seek to enhance whatever natural 'assets' they have. You think you can cook? As growing numbers do now, more people will take cookery lessons so that they can become chefs in their own homes, have fun and impress their friends. You think you can write? More people will take classes in writing poetry and short stories so that they can have a sense of achievement. A dab hand with the camera? More people will learn how to take stylish photos and improve the results on computer, so that they can win that next competition.”
Source: TomorrowProject / Glimpses at a Glance / Individuals, Identity, Values: Consumer Identities / What will shape the next 20 years?
Trendwatching.com - definitely worth bookmarking too – speaks from STATUS SKILLS:
A value shift in status. From passive consumption to mastering skills. “Consumers were growing bored with the mere consumption of mass-produced products that are the hallmark of the industrial economy. Today they want community and experiences in addition to products."
Here’s an article from International Herald Tribune about ‘status skills’.
Spend/Thrift: The new status symbol: Skills
Another self-improvement example from Tomorrow Projects’ GLIMPSE:
“Insurance companies may use GPS to provide feedback on motorists' driving, with lower premiums for those who improve.”
In context of the insurance industry Pine & Gilmore mention (in their book) the following evolution of economic offers:
- insurance (being sure of payment in case of damage or injury; service economy)
- assurance (feeling of serenity, e.g. regaining self-confidence after an accident; experience economy)
- ensurance (guarantee over event, situation or result; transformation economy)
Pine & Gilmore continue by asking:
“What are the equivalents of insurance, assurance and ensurance in your industry?”
Then take this comment of touchpoint branding (pdf 235kB) expert Rick E. Barrera: "A BRAND is a promise of a GUARANTEED EXPERIENCE"
Conclusion:
Are you?
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