…in the beginning of capitalism — in the 15th and 16th century — capitalism was focused on production, on hard work, on deferred gratification, on altruism. People investing and saving and capitalists acquiring wealth and keeping it in order to do further investments. All in the name of producing goods for people with very real needs and down the line making some profit from it as well. The problem is, today we have not a productivist economy but a consumer economy. And the emphasis today is not on production, but on consuming. And you’ve got a capitalism which is producing an awful lot of goods which are chasing very few needs, while real needs are going unmet around the world.

Very much in line with the previous post on the story of stuff, it seems that fixing the problem has nothing to do with a radical change of economic system but a fundamental [...]]]> The latest book from Benjamin R. Barber, “Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Shallow Citizens Whole” presents a timely critic to capitalism, not as an economic theory, but as a flag to incite mass consumption where there are no real needs. Barber explains about capitalism:

…in the beginning of capitalism — in the 15th and 16th century — capitalism was focused on production, on hard work, on deferred gratification, on altruism. People investing and saving and capitalists acquiring wealth and keeping it in order to do further investments. All in the name of producing goods for people with very real needs and down the line making some profit from it as well. The problem is, today we have not a productivist economy but a consumer economy. And the emphasis today is not on production, but on consuming. And you’ve got a capitalism which is producing an awful lot of goods which are chasing very few needs, while real needs are going unmet around the world.

Very much in line with the previous post on the story of stuff, it seems that fixing the problem has nothing to do with a radical change of economic system but a fundamental shift in our attitudes as consumers.

Barber is a democratic theorist that blogs for The Huffington Post and on his own strongdemocracy.

The mechanisms that will enable society to hyperlocalize, therefore allowing to grow stronger as a unique entity are still to be developed, but if the future is anything like his imagination suggests, we are going to be fine…

That kind of optimism was only hopeful, but coming across outside.in has the power of dismissing any questions about what shape the “mechanisms” that I was referring to will have. By discovering all the conversations taking place in the blogosphere and aggregating them by neighborhood they are in fact allowing the citizens from each locality to discover the personality of the place where they live. Granted, these conversations may only be focused on certain topics right now, but I have no doubt that as the platform matures and people learn to use it, the spectrum and influence of tools like this one will be very important.

If only as an early attempt to figure out which neighborhoods will develop a better-than-average awareness of their hyperlocal potential, here is outside.in top 10 bloggiest neighborhoods in the United States: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York Shaw, Washington, [...]]]> After finding inspiration in the insightful fiction from Bruce Sterling about our hyperlocal future I wrote in hyperlocal culture:

The mechanisms that will enable society to hyperlocalize, therefore allowing to grow stronger as a unique entity are still to be developed, but if the future is anything like his imagination suggests, we are going to be fine…

That kind of optimism was only hopeful, but coming across outside.in has the power of dismissing any questions about what shape the “mechanisms” that I was referring to will have. By discovering all the conversations taking place in the blogosphere and aggregating them by neighborhood they are in fact allowing the citizens from each locality to discover the personality of the place where they live. Granted, these conversations may only be focused on certain topics right now, but I have no doubt that as the platform matures and people learn to use it, the spectrum and influence of tools like this one will be very important.

If only as an early attempt to figure out which neighborhoods will develop a better-than-average awareness of their hyperlocal potential, here is outside.in top 10 bloggiest neighborhoods in the United States:

• Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York
• Shaw, Washington, DC
• Downtown, Los Angeles, California
• Newton, Massachusetts
• Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois
• Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
• Watertown, Massachusetts
• Harlem, Manhattan, New York
• Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California
• Coconut Groove, Miami, Florida

Or you can check the Top 10 Bloggiest cities, although I think that metric doesn’t have as much relevance.

I can’t wait for outside.in to start reporting on the digital noise all around the world.

When I explained how the imaginary global citizen Phileas Fogg“feels just as comfortable drinking his morning coffee at a Paris bistro as bargaining for the best fruit in a street market in Oaxaca. A true global citizen with knowledge of world affairs”, I was well aware that these activities require certain amount of cultural knowledge and the occasional tourist will always fall into the usual traps. The etiquette for coffee in Paris, according to Phyllis Flick Know that having an espresso while standing at the bar will cost you considerably less than having it at a table. [...]]]> A few days ago I had a very stimulating conversation with a group of friends, each one sharing their account of recent travel abroad. While talking about Prague and Budapest evoked great memories, it was the story about cultural shock on a trip to India that had me fascinated. Was it not for the fact that I know the couple that had this experience very well, I could’ve dismissed their approach to Indian culture as narrow-minded. But they were very articulate to explain how even with the best of attitudes participating in a foreign culture successfully can be a though challenge.

When I explained how the imaginary global citizen Phileas Fogg“feels just as comfortable drinking his morning coffee at a Paris bistro as bargaining for the best fruit in a street market in Oaxaca. A true global citizen with knowledge of world affairs”, I was well aware that these activities require certain amount of cultural knowledge and the occasional tourist will always fall into the usual traps. The etiquette for coffee in Paris, according to Phyllis Flick

Know that having an espresso while standing at the bar will cost you considerably less than having it at a table. Sitting on the terrace will cost you the most; think of it as renting a piece of prime real estate for an hour or so. If the table has a placemat and silverware it is designated only for those customers who are eating; if the table is bare you are welcome to sit and have only a drink.

While I’m no expert on bargaining for the best fruit, I remember vividly the experience of walking into the food aisle of Benito Juárez Market in Oaxaca only to be overwhelmed by the loud invitations of every merchant in the area to join their already crowded space for lunch. It took me a while to figure out that the correct protocol was to buy something from each merchant: the tortillas from one, the meat from another, the drinks and the seat at a table from the last one in the aisle. The unbelievable amount of noise soon turned into a purposeful serenade of commands that you had to be attentive to in order to accomplish the simple task of having lunch there. I can see how a tourist, not familiar with the culture or not versed in the language would feel completely abused and manipulated. Walking into that space without warning may shock visitors as it seems to overflow with unnecessary chatter.

A few days ago I had a déjà vu while riding the subway to work. A group of teenagers, likely on a school trip, hopped in and as soon as they did the level of noise quickly raised to a point where most people already there seemed noticeably uncomfortable. Unlike conversations among other groups, theirs tend to happen in many simultaneous threads and their volume raises to compete for the attention of their distracted buddies. There was no structure, but after listening to them I was certain that all individuals within the group had accomplished their communication goal. To the unfortunate man that happened to be standing in the middle of the group during the ride I’m sure the experience was as close to a cultural shock as walking into Oaxaca’s market with no knowledge of Spanish.

At this point I’m reminded of my post a billion spaces in which I link to sources that suggest that teenagers are the most frequent users of such sites as MySpace that have become famous for the incredibly unproductive conversation that takes place within. I can’t help but realize that the noisy conversation taking place within the virtual realm only mimics the seemingly chaotic approach they use in real life when in large groups. And then I wonder if this may be some sort of axiom: any group of people that uses such intense methods of verbal communication will excel at methods put in place by modern tools such as blogs, chat groups and instant messaging. Furthermore, in my role as a global citizen I feel compelled to transfer one cultural mechanism into another context where it may flourish.

This kind of cultural transfer is exactly what Rising Voices attempts to do, as explained by the post Blessed unrest and Rising Voices by my now friend and utmost global citizen David Sasaki. Daring to find ways to transfer the tools of one culture into another. If as William Gibson says “the future is here, is just unevenly distributed”, the Rising Voices team is perhaps one of the very few organizations doing something about this gap.

In a fascinating dispatch from the future, author Bruce Sterling brings us the ultimate global citizen: Harvey Feldspar, who as a modern Phileas Fogg describes his encounter with world cultures with the only difference that he does it from the year 2017.

If there is a lesson to be learned from his adventures is that the future knows exactly where you are. And this knowledge is transformed into a myriad of location-aware transactions that blend your reality with your virtual self into one coherent experience that enhances your appreciation for local cultures. People worried that ubiquity would create a boring global techno-monoculture from Seoul to Siena. But it doesn’t play out that way. In Dubai, 80 percent of everybody is a foreigner, yet its characteristic bazaars and souks thrive. That’s partly because they automatically match global demands with local supply. The more the place hyperlocalizes, the more like itself it becomes.

I had explored the idea of homogenization -or monoculture- in the post jazz & macdonald’s and have constantly pushed forward the idea that migrants are among the most important forces shaping local cultures around the world; but the mastery with which Sterling [...]]]>

hyper as in linked, and local as in location

In a fascinating dispatch from the future, author Bruce Sterling brings us the ultimate global citizen: Harvey Feldspar, who as a modern Phileas Fogg describes his encounter with world cultures with the only difference that he does it from the year 2017.

If there is a lesson to be learned from his adventures is that the future knows exactly where you are. And this knowledge is transformed into a myriad of location-aware transactions that blend your reality with your virtual self into one coherent experience that enhances your appreciation for local cultures.

People worried that ubiquity would create a boring global techno-monoculture from Seoul to Siena. But it doesn’t play out that way. In Dubai, 80 percent of everybody is a foreigner, yet its characteristic bazaars and souks thrive. That’s partly because they automatically match global demands with local supply. The more the place hyperlocalizes, the more like itself it becomes.

I had explored the idea of homogenization -or monoculture- in the post jazz & macdonald’s and have constantly pushed forward the idea that migrants are among the most important forces shaping local cultures around the world; but the mastery with which Sterling settles the concerns the public may have had with the threat of global brands taking over our culture is possibly visionary. The mechanisms that will enable society to hyperlocalize, therefore allowing to grow stronger as a unique entity are still to be developed, but if the future is anything like his imagination suggests, we are going to be fine even if surrounded by information-hungry gizmos

Making it home is laborious, but fascinating if you’re up to it. I’ve been in Toronto for more than 3.5 years, and I keep discovering corners and stories that make me appreciate it all the better.

At this point his post does a very interesting analysis of urban archeology, digging precious bits of information about his adoptive city from an old map, circa 1898. In the process of doing so, he has probably become more knowledgeable about Toronto (Canada) than many native Torontonias. And before I get all kinds of rants denying this fact, let me point out that I’ve seen this effect take place very commonly. In fact, I admit that it was only after I left my country of origin that I found myself interested in its history and culture in ways that were [...]]]> Jorge from Catenary has a brilliant post about life as an immigrant:

Being an immigrant can be an alienating experience: you come to a strange city and you just take it for granted –you’re there but you could be anywhere, the city’s history is a blur, it’s just a place where you sleep, eat, and work, it’s a space that simply is not home.

Making it home is laborious, but fascinating if you’re up to it. I’ve been in Toronto for more than 3.5 years, and I keep discovering corners and stories that make me appreciate it all the better.

At this point his post does a very interesting analysis of urban archeology, digging precious bits of information about his adoptive city from an old map, circa 1898. In the process of doing so, he has probably become more knowledgeable about Toronto (Canada) than many native Torontonias. And before I get all kinds of rants denying this fact, let me point out that I’ve seen this effect take place very commonly. In fact, I admit that it was only after I left my country of origin that I found myself interested in its history and culture in ways that were never so strong while I lived there.

However, realizing that we have explored this topic in much more depth here I felt compelled to add a few comments to their post: You address the usual issues: remittances, migrant integration and even suggest a few novel ideas such as micro-financing which is proving to be quite effective for certain type of action. Allow me to share what I’ve learned after almost a year of editing the Global Culture blog:

To talk about the North and the South as [...]]]> One of my favorite sites, WorldChanging posted the article Can Migration Change the World? by Alex Steffen. I applaud the fact that migration is recognized as a force that can shape the world and lead positive change:

Maybe we need to start to rethink migration, not in the light of the discussions we’ve had in the past (huddled masses and all), but in the light of a 21st Century, globally-intertwined society. Migrants, though they may be looking to better themselves, ought perhaps to be seen (here in the Global North) as our partners in creating the prosperity we expect; and we ought to perhaps regard our interactions with them as the best opportunity we have for global diplomacy and sustainable development

However, realizing that we have explored this topic in much more depth here I felt compelled to add a few comments to their post:

You address the usual issues: remittances, migrant integration and even suggest a few novel ideas such as micro-financing which is proving to be quite effective for certain type of action. Allow me to share what I’ve learned after almost a year of editing the Global Culture blog:

To talk about the North and the South as if each belongs to different kinds of people is an outdated view. Look around, wherever you live and realize the South IS in the North. While migration waves are not as strong as they were at the beginning of the XX century, they are close to those numbers and modern globalization is just getting warmed up. So, there is no point in talking about policies to manage migrants as within a generation they will be well rooted into whichever destination they pick.

Instead, we must emphasize on an education that promotes global awareness, that embraces the fact that there is a profound connection between almost any two cities, because this will be true in the not-too-distant future. We must learn from the cities that have thrived as a result of their numerous migrant populations because these social experiments are the most likely scenario for all others.

In a true Global Culture, empowered global citizens can embrace their new identity as cultural ambassadors, finding ways to create links with their places of origin. There is very strong evidence that second-generations to the current wave of migrants will produce masses of Third Culture Kids with ample sense of tolerance for other cultures, allowing more profound integration.

Regardless, I think is a huge step to share the goal of a better future through the proper understanding on global issues such as migration.

Over the next little while I expect to improve this feature by adding other ways of visualizing the rich set of data that has been discussed throughout the posts.

Thanks to John at backspace.com for the map technology and the useful documentation on how to customize it.

He is likely going to be one of the first candidates to participate in a blogging workshop that will allow him to explore new ventures by teaching him basic skills. While I know it is unlikely that anybody will make enough money through blogging, specially at an amateur level, the essential lesson is that people coming from remote corners of the world to the big cities should not dismiss their cultural baggage, and instead should take advantage of the wealth of knowledge. Blogging is just the mechanism to make them realize their potential.

A few months ago, I posted think culturati, an early attempt to describe what this blog [...]]]> Yesterday I got a call from To√±o, one of many Mexicans that have come to Canada looking for better opportunities. He is young but his voice conveys a very calm attitude, almost zen-like. He has completed engineering studies back home, but the lack of local acreditations have him working as cheap labour. He is in survival mode and as such is likely willing to try almost anything. I worry that if I can’t help, someone will take advantage of his situation.

He is likely going to be one of the first candidates to participate in a blogging workshop that will allow him to explore new ventures by teaching him basic skills. While I know it is unlikely that anybody will make enough money through blogging, specially at an amateur level, the essential lesson is that people coming from remote corners of the world to the big cities should not dismiss their cultural baggage, and instead should take advantage of the wealth of knowledge. Blogging is just the mechanism to make them realize their potential.

A few months ago, I posted think culturati, an early attempt to describe what this blog was all about. The idea has evolved in directions I didn’t expect, but at the core I believe the principle of bringing the conversation of this blog to tangible results continues to be important. At the time I was spending a lot of time working with Wikipedia, so it seemed a good idea to use the army of migrant bloggers to produce information useful for bridging cultures. Today, I’m a little bit less concerned about structuring information and more about helping raise awareness to the issue of migrants shaping Global Culture.

So far this initiative is running out of my own pockets, and I expect to be able to take it much farther on my own, but if you have any ideas on how to organize a blogging workshop in the Toronto area (space, rentals, tools, volunteers, grants), please drop me a line as the first one is likely going to take place within the next couple of months. Even better, if you know anyone who would be good candidate to participate, send them my way.