Adventuring Ventures

Retratos / Portraits - FIELD REPORT 09.2024 "Poets have the ability to tell us something that no one has told us before, but that isn't new to us. Every poet plagiarizes us." - José Ortega y Gasset, 1919 Hi friends, An enjoyable consequence of my work is that at any given time, I’m entangled in a copious (un monton) amount of divergent or seemingly unrelated but intriguing threads - concepts, proposals, mindsets, stories, etc. It’s never boring and I hope you enjoy how I pull them together each month attempting to connect some dots or reveal some pattern. Inspired by the quote from Ortega y Gasset, I bring together, in this issue, three threads to discuss portraits/retratos. First, I want to introduce you to some of the amazing neighbors I met this summer while strolling around. I’ve captured them using short diary descriptions inspired by Gray Notebook by Josep Pla written about 100 years ago. With those people in mind, I want to introduce a great primer on speculative fiction or as they describe it - mental time travels. Finally, I share links to news about the future of consumer research and polling that uses AI chatbots and data based on people rather than actual people. Using data in this way is not new. We’ve been creating personas, behavior types, and performance marketing for a while now. But this is another step in attempting to shorten the feedback loops in consumer engagement. https://lnkd.in/dyyRj7hy

SIGNAL: The Spanish government has raised its GDP growth forecasts for 2025 and 2026 to 2.4% and 2.2% respectively, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Tuesday, as the country's economy outpaces its euro zone peers. The government has hiked its forecasts for the two years by 0.2 percentage points, Cuerpo said in a news conference. "The factors that will drive the growth of GDP in 2025 and 2026 will be private consumption and investment," he said. - - - Tags: economics - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -

SIGNAL: Feeling overwhelmed by the present moment? Find a connection to the longer view and a wiser perspective on what matters - - - Tags: social - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -

Puntos de Partida / Starting Points - FIELD REPORT 08.2024 Begun is Half Done Choose Change Because nothing is gonna change if a good solution presents itself and you reject it. Or you are too uncomfortable to be ready for it. You need to do the internal change work in order to do the external change work. Many of Us and Our Organizations Suffer from not Doing This No matter how compelling the strategy, vision, or direction, if there's no will to try it or no commitment to it, what's the point? We already have tons of solutions in front of us. The problem isn't a lack of ways, it's a lack of vulnerability to admit that we might be going in the wrong direction. https://lnkd.in/d495JbFM

SIGNAL: The Healthy Neighbourhood Explorer tool is built on the principles that cities should aim to create conditions for residents to access essential services and a wide range of urban amenities within a short distance via bike or foot from their homes. - - - Tags: ecological - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -

SIGNAL: Even works of art that we think of as coming from the minds of lone creative geniuses were group efforts: Michelangelo, for example, recruited some 11 painters to assist him with the Sistine Chapel. The contemporary land artist Michael Heizer, who makes sculptures out of dirt, rocks and negative space in the Nevada desert, and whom The Times once called “art’s last, lonely cowboy,” has relied on a crew of construction workers to help execute his vision. Still, it’s only in the past few decades that attitudes around labor and the power of collectivism have shifted, making artists not only quicker to collaborate but also to give credit where credit is due. - - - Tags: social - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -

SIGNAL: The shift towards seeking out organized events is part of an expansion of the experience economy, in which people are more interested in spending money for entertainment and experiences rather than material possessions. The global events industry, valued at $1.1 trillion in 2019, is expected to reach $2.1 trillion by 2032, according to a 2023 report by Allied Market Research. Ticketing app DICE said that 41% more events were created on the platform in 2023 compared to the year prior, while Eventbrite said the company coordinated 302 million ticket transactions in 2023, up 6% from 2022. - - - Tags: social - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -

SIGNAL: Multiple studies show a strong relationship between the emotions of residents and long-term success of streets and cities. Did you know… Shared outdoor spaces with plants and other natural features can reduce stress and loneliness. People are more likely to spend time in and feel positive towards places with art, play equipment, and seating. People are more trusting and feel a stronger sense of community at plazas compared to regular street blocks. Our Public Life Study tool can help you identify these tangible ways that public space impacts community wellbeing. By releasing the tool for free, we aim to build community capacity, increase access to public space data, and support greater investment in placemaking across Canada. - - - Tags: technology - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -

Verano Vacio - FIELD REPORT 07.2024 Lleno de los Compromisos On vacation now in rural Spain, endeavoring to write something, anything, every day. FIELD REPORT reframes signals of external change as opportunities for internal change. My writing experiment challenges me to identify those external changes that might easily elude me. It’s become a little ritual of slowing down and observing what is happening around me, to me, or inside me. The slow hot sparse environment of the “empty Spain” countryside is quite full if you take a moment to notice (As the map above demonstrates, for years this area was not mapped well because the great Spanish cartographers at the time were more excited about other new lands). https://lnkd.in/dufwc5Pb

SIGNAL: La generación eléctrica en la UE a partir del sol y el viento ha superado en el primer semestre del año al carbón y el gas - - - Tags: ecological - - - What is this? Signals are part of Adventuring Ventures' research methodology for exploring possible futures. A signal is a small or local phenomenon and a potential sign of change that might grow in scale, where it shows up, or who it influences. The tags refer to 5 lenses through which we look for signals - society, technology, economics, ecology, and policy. - - -