Embed: The Future of Work and Play in Europe

A blended ethnographic/futures expedition through London to identify signals of future change.

Transcript

1. Embed Mapping the network of work and play Embed: Mapping the network of work and play William Gibson once said there were no maps for the new territories digital technologies and social change were bringing in. Whilst it is difficult to make sense of the constant change occurring around us, this does not preclude us from using maps, especially if we accept that maps have always attempted make sense of new terrains, knowledge or techniques. Maps have been defined as ‘a figurative representation of dimensions, attributes and relations of things in the physical or logical world’ .13 Typically they are used to communicate information about a specific geographical place and use techniques devised by the military, as in the case of Ordinance Survey maps. Maps define boundaries. They define flows of trade, people, knowledge and recently they define information itself, for example in database design and cybergeogra- phy 14. Maps are such a part of our everyday visual land- scape that we seldom stop to question what information they include or omit. The map you are now holding is designed to challenge some of the everyday assumptions we hold. Maps are nev- er complete; they are suggestive, not definitive. As the bi- ographer Peter Ackroyd notes “London is so large, and so diverse, that a thousand different maps or typographies have been drawn up in order to describe it” 15. Embed rep- resents possibilities for new interpretations of the future landscape of work and play. It represents a multi-layered environment where electronic, biological, intellectual and social networks mesh in an unfolding experience. It rep- resents changes that are occurring around us. As Owen states “The more interesting and subtle changes –for society and for cartography – have been those arising out of the integration of world trade, communications, politics, culture and population, and the diminishing importance of national political boundaries.” 16 Embed attempts to illustrate the milieu of modern European life. In this space there are few fixed boundaries, destinations or arrivals. Instead there are intensities of interactions. 17 Embed represents the emerging awareness of the interconnectedness of the information age which Manuel Castells summarizes as: “a historical trend, (in which) dominant functions and processes are increasingly organized around networks. Networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies, and the diffusion of networking logic substantially modifies the operation and outcomes in processes of produc- tion, experience, power and culture.” 18 Methodology: Attempting to empathize with other socio-cultur- al groups and settings is a qualitative research method with a long history. Rather than attempt- ing to explain a phenomenon, through theory and quantitative methods, qualitative research methods aim to represent the social world as it is lived by participants. By utilizing qualitative approaches, such as ethnography, we aim to get closer to understanding how participants go about making sense of their everyday reality through a constant unfolding process of negotia- tion through language, symbols and codes. The research process underpinning Embed is based upon an exploratory qualitative research strategy. The key difference to other research strategies is the iterative process that oc- curs as the researcher interacts with the research context in a manner that a practitioner might. Ethnographic research- ers remain sensitive to their research setting, in order to ground their interpretation in the participant’s experiences and sense making apparatus. The aim is to produce a richer analysis and deeper representation. This was achieved through a combination of research methods which included; visual sampling (e.g., photography, digital video); aural sampling (e.g., field recordings), interviews and secondary data analysis. References: 1 National Statistics Office, “Census, 2001” www.statistics.gov.uk 2 Leo Benedictus, “Every race, colour, nation and religion on earth “, The Guardian, January, 21, 2005. 3 Chris Lashley, “Chefs crisis hists Curry Mile”, Manchester Online, August 21, 2002 http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/17/17331_chefs_crisis_hits_curry_mile.html 4 Scott Lash and John Urry, “Economies of Sign and Space”, 1994. 5 Canary Wharf, www.canarywharf.com 6 “The City’s Importance to the EU Economy”, February 2005, www.cityoflondon.gov.uk 7 Alexander Bard and Jan Soderqvist, “Netocracy”, 2002. 8 Population Statistics, www.towerhamlets.gov.uk 9 Tarquin Hall, “Salam Brick Lane”, 2005. 10 Creative London “ Vision and Plan”, 2004, www.creativelondon.org.uk 11 Department of Media, Culture and Sport, “Creative Industries Statistical Bulletin”, 2004 www.culture.gov.uk 12 Richard Florida, “The Rise of the Creative Class”, 2002. 13 Richard Fawcett-Tang, “Mapping: An illustrated guide to graphic navigational systems”, 2002. 14 Martin Dodge, “Mapping Peer-to-Peer Networks”, 2003, www.cybergeography.com Peter Ackroyd, “London: The Biography”, 2001. 16 William Owen, ‘Measuring the Dataspace’ in Fawcett-Tang, “Mapping: An illustrated guide to graphic navigational systems”, 2002. 17 Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, “A Thousand Plateaus”, 1986. 18 Manuel Castells, “The Network Society”, 1996. Photo Credits: Andrew Greenman, Scott Smith, Simon Brown. About Social Technologies: Social Technologies helps Fortune 500 companies and large nonprofits meaningfully engage the future with foresight, purpose and confidence. The hallmark of our approach is creating connections—between today and tomorrow, between knowledge and action, between aspira- tions and reality. We help clients look five, ten, and sometimes twenty-five years into the future and, importantly, understand the impli- cations for the present. Successful futures work influences what organizations do today—not just in the future. If you are interested in learning more about Social Technologies and what we can do for you, please contact us at 202.223.2801 or email us at info@socialtechnologies.com. About Embed: The conceptualization and execution of the map was managed for Social Technologies by Cross-fade, a commercial ethnographic research company (www.cross-fade.net). The map format was devised as an alternative way of representing data and illustrates how Cross-fade seeks creative solutions to market research problems. The Future of Work and Play in Europe, London 2005: The aim of this Global Lifestyles meeting is to explore how an expanding, integrated Europe can sustain a balance between work-life and leisure, while facing a future driven by aging, economic pressures, increased immigration, new technologies and distinct regional visions and values. How will the work and leisure patterns of the next genera- tion of Europe’s workers be different than those of today? What does a balanced lifestyle look like over the long- term? Can it be sustained? How will new technologies impact on the future of work and play? The meeting is comprised of two days. On Day One, participants will engage in scenario planning to explore alternative futures and discuss the impact implied by these changes on consumer markets in Europe. On Day Two, par- ticipants will be guided through three key sites in London to witness the underlying social, economic, technological and political changes discussed on day one. Participants at the meeting will take away with them a deeper understanding of the drivers that will change European consumer culture in the next 20 years.
2. Why London? London is a key choice for exploring the blurring of lifestyle and work in Europe. The city amplifies socio-cultural changes affecting the region due to the accelerated changes to the traditionally distinct realms of production and consumption. This is evidenced by the fact that London’s two key industries are finance and creative production. This is closely followed by tourism, itself driven by cultural tourism. The east end of London provides an excellent site from which to observe con- temporary changes and glimpse future trends. The physical route of the ‘tour’ is designed as an exploration of London as a knowledge city. In the networked economy we can not longer visit a single site, such as a factory, to observe contemporary and future working patterns. Instead, this map and experiential day are comprised of three interrelated theoretical spaces which illustrate the three key elements representing work/life changes. These are mapped to represent a nexus as follows: Vital Signs: Population: 7.5 million, 30% (2.5m) born outside England. 1 300 languages spoken. 50 non-indigenous communities with over 10,000 people. 2 Curry is the nation’s favorite dish worth £2.8 billion, there are 8,500 curry houses with 70,000 employees. 3 Embed Canary Wharf Financial and media moguls: The power seat of European netocrats responsible for financing future trends. Clerkenwell Cultural Intermediaries: Fashions and fads are codified into products and services via knowledge economy special- ists such as publishers, advertising agencies and designers. Brick Lane Cultural Melting pot: Future trends are forged in a milieu between cul- tural producers and the immigrant class in one of the Europe’s most vibrant after dark economies. Site 1 Canary Wharf: Netocrats and the Flow of Euro-Capital Site 2 Brick Lane: Melting Pot: After Dark Economy Site 3 Clerkenwell: Cultural Intermediaries From docks to derivatives, Canary Wharf represents the transition from the physical production and distribution of goods to an economy of signs and spaces where ‘all that is solid melts into air’.4 History: 1930s: 100,000 dock workers, 35 million tons of goods worth £700 million. 1980s: 3,800 employees, 20% of all employment in the area is lost. 2002: 65,000 employees in Canary Wharf boosting the status of the City of London to a global financial hub with £2,600bn ($4,800bn) assets under management. 5 Today: The city contributes 3% of UK GDP, or 13% of London’s GDP. London gener- ates 20% of the UK’s GDP and is Europe’s leading financial centre: 25% of employment in the city is generated by EU member states. 6 The rise of a new power elite, or Netocrat, which are defined as: “The decisive factor governing where in the hierarchy an individual ends up is instead his or her attentionality: their access to and capacity to absorb, sort, overview, generate the necessary attention for and share valuable information. Power will be more difficult than ever to localize.” 7 Brick lane exemplfies how the flow of ideas results in cross-pollinzation of cultures. Hybrid identites emerge from this and other such melting pots as old and new ways of organising work and play collide. History: 17th c. Hugenot French silk weavers 30,000 workers 18th c. Irish Potato famine 19th c. 100,000 Jewish immigrants 20th c. Bangladeshi Siylheti 58% of residents from non-white British origin 33% of residents from Bangladesh Largest population of 20-34 year olds in UK. 57% aged 20-44 compared to UK average of 41.5% 8 “London demands the continual influx of new blood, whether for the high or lower work.” Walter Beasley, East London, 1901 9 Ideas and creativity mean little without specialists, such as publishers and media communications agencies. These intermediaries refine and articu- late the value of emergent trends into commercial products and services. This ‘creative class’ blur work and play, lead ‘boundaryless’ careers and are increasingly self-aware of their role in the knowledge economy. Their reli- ance on the netocrats, for financing projects, completes the cycle between production and consumption. The creative industries contribute £21 billion to London’s GDP. One in every five jobs in London is in the creative industries making 500,000 jobs in the capital. London accounts for 30% of all UK jobs in advertising, Music, Publishing, TV and Radio and Designer Fashion. 10 The creative industries grew three times faster than the UK average from 1997-2002 and account for 4% of all UK exports. 11 “The synthesis that the creative class are living is not just a matter of sticking a bohemian lifestyle onto an organization value set…these people see themselves as creative people with creative values, working in increasingly creative workplaces, living essentially creative lives. And in this sense they represent a new mainstream, setting the norms and pace for much of society.” 12 Start > Shopping Mall > Cafes & Bars > West India Quay > Site 2 > Start > Spitalfields Market > Fournier / Princelet Street > Brick Lane > Site 3 > Start > Naked Communications > St Johns Street > Smiths of Smithfields > End • Global Structured Competition Disembedded Leisure time Power Frenetic Professional labour Emotional Labour Local Diversity DiY Hybrid Collaboration Risk Raw Refine Boundaryless career Codify Creative Labour Articulation Intermediary Specialist IPR