Gore also called for a unified national grid, plug-in electric cars, and a carbon emissions tax. He emphasized the need for the US to be the leader, as well as a major innovator, of renewable energy.

Acknowledging his detractors, Gore said, “Of course, there are those who will tell us that this can’t be done. But even those who reap the profits of the carbon age have to recognize the inevitability of its demise. As one OPEC oil minister observed, ‘The Stone Age didn’t end because of a shortage of stones.’”

Here at Social Technologies, we are interested in seeing the actual plan that will implement these changes, since the speech was vague in that regard. In my opinion, it is a lofty, yet admirable goal. Dear readers, what do you think?

Granted, the popularity and seeming success of this is due in part to Whedon’s large and enthusiastic fan base, but nevertheless, television programming execs should be nervous. You can hit the link at the top to watch but hurry, it is only online for a limited time.

I believe there are a number of reasons for this comic book invasion of movieland:

Technology: New filming techniques, digital cameras, and computer designed and executed special effects make it easier to translate the fantastic from page to screen. James McAvoy dodging bullets in Wanted could not have happened pre-CGI (or pre-Matrix, which really set the bar for what could be done).

Strong storytelling: The stories that comic books today tell have the depth and complexity that can support a serious movie. Whether it is more mature heroes (Christopher Nolan has almost eradicated the image of Biff! Pow! from how audiences think of Batman) to more intelligent themes (300 and The Fountain both started as comics), comics have come into their own as a mature narrative medium. And there is a wide variety of content and stories to pull from: A History of Violence, Persepolis, Road to Perdition, Stardust, and Ghost World were all comic books or graphic novels.

Need for content: With entertainment platforms fracturing, there is an increasing, almost insatiable, need for content. As comics are already at one level a storyboarded movie, it is easy to translate them from book to film. The demand for content is such that the comic Wanted’s author Mark Millar has sold another series to Hollywood based on the strength of the first issue alone. As it is, I think that a lot of comic book writers have one eye on the movie screen as they are writing.

Looking for a hero: As the war on terror drags on, audiences are looking for heroics, for something to lift their spirits. Movies about the actual wars have failed as they hit too close to home. In a time when problems seem intractable, a person who can do the impossible is just the answer.

Audience culture: Two aspects are at play here. The first is age blurring, with adults more and more willing to continue--or return to--the activities of their childhood (kickball, comic books, Lego). This obviously aids the comic book movie. The second is nostalgia. For adults who’ve not kept up with their comic heroes, this is a chance for them to reconnect with touchstones of their youth, and often introduce their own children to these heroes and stories.

Geeks are cool—It used to be that if you were a 35 year-old who still regularly read X-men or the Justice League, you were a nerd, branded an outcast, and ridiculed for never having grown up. Today the stigma of being a genre nerd has abated, and these aficionados often act as unpaid promoters of the movie, based on their own knowledge/love of the characters. This word-of-mouth contingent is important, and often producers who veer too far from the source material will quickly hear about it online and often retreat from their plans in order to keep the “fanboys” happy.

Marketing—On some level it is just good business sense to produce a comic movie, as the original publisher will also be marketing the material the movie is based on. This broadens the marketing approach to bookstores, libraries, and even schools, places where traditional movie marketing might not necessarily reach.

I will admit that while I am excited for the new Batman movie, I prefer my heroes to be a little more Kryptonian.

Image: Silver Smith (Flickr)

"If your corporate career is leaving you stressed out, burned out, or just plain bummed out, you’re not alone.You don’t have to choose between paying the bills and enjoying a fulfilling career.” With humor and personal accounts, she offers a seven-step approach to breaking free: assess your job’s “suck” factor, identify your true calling, develop your escape plan, find jobs that don’t bite, be your own boss, follow your creative dreams, and overcome any obstacle.

Skillings, a career coach who made the leap in 2005, estimates that 80% of the working population fantasizes about leaving their jobs for something better. She admits that making the leap isn’t easy, but it is worthwhile:

It took me years of trial and error to escape corporate America. Once I left, I was amazed at how many people were dying to know how I did it and whether they could do it, too.

Skillings found a compatriot in Hines, who worked in trends and ideation for multinational food and chemical companies before joining Social Technologies in 2006 as director of custom projects. In Skillings’ book, he is quoted in chapter seven: “Swim in a Smaller Pond.”

“No offense against corporate places, but they are not always the most interesting,” says Hines. “A lot of the attraction of my current company was the ability to work for people who are really interesting. Who else would work as a professional futurist? You have to be a little nuts, and I like that.”

Last year's iPhone hype was all about the hardware. The iPhone combined everything great about the iPod with a quality mobile phone complete with the best touchscreen the world has ever known.

This time around, hardware is less important (though the 3G and GPS have raised the bar). A lot of the hype is focused on software, namely the App Store, a new service that makes it simple for iPhone owners to find software that takes advantage of the hi-speed Internet access of 3G and the location-based information from the GPS. For example, Loopt has an application that combines online social networking with GPS info, so it's easier to find where one's friends are hanging out or where the cool events are happening.

With the launch of the App Store, Apple has taken a very difficult process--finding quality software for mobile phones--and made it much simpler. The App Store has already sold $55,000 worth of software within its first day.

The App Store's success seems to be driven by the innovative software developers who are contributing to the project. Apple recognized they needed to make it possible for developers to create their own applications for the iPhone, and instead of leaving that innovation to hackers, they've managed to create a successful platform that will likely continue to fuel consumer interest in mobile Internet services and, even more importantly, the mobile phone as a computing platform.

Apple has really hit another home run by giving up control over iPhone software development. And I, as a new iPhone owner, am quite thankful.

Image: velorowdy (Flickr.com)

The piece ran in the Dallas Morning News, among other papers, and Culp interviewed Social Technologies' futurist Andy Hines about how to connect with Millennials via their interest in environmentalism and sustainability, community, social responsibility (including humanitarian issues), and the Internet.

Appealing to those things is essential, said Andy Hines, a futurist in the Houston office of Social Technologies LLC. Mr. Hines said that Gen Y's questions are geared toward obtaining tangible results, such as "How do we make the community a better place, the environment safer? What do we do to translate into people getting more food?"

His advice to business leaders: "Bring in a Gen Y intern to mentor you."

For more information on what appeals to Millennials, read a study that Hines and his team at Social Techonologies conducted last year for MTV on the "Future of Youth Happiness: What makes 12-24-year-olds happy?" Or, view the entire presentation.

At a very man-friendly bar called the Black Sheep Pub and Restaurant in Philadelphia, CBS Early Show anchor Maggie Rodriguez talked to five men who each represented one of the personas outlined in the study.

From the plaza of the GM building in New York City, she introduced the piece with this:

Let's talk about men. The guy network Spike TV teamed up with Social Technologies and discovered there are basically five different types of guys, as I've mentioned: young carefrees, worry warriors, good ol' boys, mac daddies, and above-average Joes. And lucky me, I got to spend time with each type earlier this week at the Black Sheep Bar in Philadelphia.

She then cut to the segment in which she interviewed each guy--as well as Chris Carbone, Social Technologies' Director of Programs and author of the study, and Kimberly Maxwell, the senior director of brand and consumer research for Spike TV. Some excerpts:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: To understand the modern day man, just look around this table. What's more important, time with your girlfriend or time with the buddies?

Mr. DREW McKENNA (Young and Carefree): Oh! Time with the girlfriend.

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: It shouldn't be so hard to answer.

Mr. McKENNA: It was pretty quick, it was pretty quick.

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: What about you?

Mr. NICK COONEY (Young and Carefree): Time with the girlfriend is also more important. Looking for and dating the sort of girl I would want to marry, though not wanting to get married right now or any time soon.

RODRIGUEZ: Spoken like a true young carefree, the first category of men.

Mr. CHRIS CARBONE (Futurist, Social Technologies): The young carefrees, they're really all about their friends. Their friends are their real focal point.

RODRIGUEZ: So, you know, other young carefrees are Justin Timberlake and Zach Braff. You think you're like Justin Timberlake? Do you think you relate to him?

Mr. COONEY: Yeah, people compare me all the time to Justin Timberlake. Yeah.

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I can see that.

From carefree men to the opposite: worry warriors. These men are stressed out, well-educated, high earners, like father of two Seth Aurebach.

Do you think that you are a worry warrior?

Mr. SETH AUREBACH (Worry Warrior): I like the warrior side of it better, you know, the worry--yes, you know, finances and, you know--you know, just the sense of keeping up with the Joneses a bit. So, yeah.

RODRIGUEZ: Not surprisingly, these worrywarts are most likely to have a mid-life crisis. Think Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

(Excerpt from "Curb Your Enthusiasm")

RODRIGUEZ: You're rugged, stoic and pragmatic.

Mr. LARRY CONNOR (Good Ol' Boy): Mm-hmm.

RODRIGUEZ: Are you?

Mr. CONNOR: I am.

RODRIGUEZ: Larry Connor is considered a good ol' boy, macho and traditional, like Josh Brolin and Harrison Ford.

In a perfect world, would you be the breadwinner and your wife would stay home with the kids?

Mr. CONNOR: If my wife could stay home and take my kids to Gymboree and take them out and--like she does right now all the time, you know, for the rest of their lives, it's perfect.

Mr. TROY DAWES (Above Average Joe): I'm not really a macho type of guy.

RODRIGUEZ: Finally, the above average Joe, metrosexual males like Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, who look at the ladies in their lives as equals.

So I bet that you're the kind of dad who really helps with changing the diapers and making the food.

Mr. DAWES: Well, the diapers part is coming along. I try to make sure when I come home I try to give her a break from spending so much time with seven year olds and a four-year-old and a one-year-old. So, you know, whatever I can do to help out I'll try.

RODRIGUEZ: Wow. Will you marry me? He's already married and so am I. So what do you think, Jamal, what are you?

JAMAL: I'm one of like the hottest guys you're ever going to have on the TV screen.

RODRIGUEZ: Oh, OK. That wasn't a category, but it works.

JAMAL: I'm one of the carefree guys.

RODRIGUEZ: One of the carefrees. Now you know, you can quiz the men in your life.

We wrote about the multisensory marketing trend in our Global Lifestyles (pdf) project a few years back, and the interest continues to build. Here are a couple recent items of note we've come across about the use of smell in selling:

• A recent article in Emirates Business 24|7 (registration required) suggests that global spending on aroma marketing will hit $220 million in 2010, up from just $30 million in 2003.
  
• There's a new book out called Whiff, by C. Russel Brumfield, that looks pretty interesting. He was the keynote speaker at the First International Scent-Marketing Conference in NYC. See a couple minutes from him on AdAge.com.
  
• Travellodge UK is now offering scented rooms. Their press release mentions scents including the sea, baby powder, fresh cut grass, apple pie, and chocolate.
  
• And if those scents don't please you...there is always the AromaUSB...which uses power from a computer's USB port to deliver scents, and according to the website is perfect for "marketing campaigns...[and] keeping your brand or business in customers' minds."
  

Image: Joe M500 (Flickr)

Hat tip to airsensenews.com.

Social Technologies handled the qualitative portion of the project. We mined our trendbase, did expert interviews, and created a set of hypotheses about the current and future state of American men. The polling firm Penn, Schoen & Berland (PSB) tested the hypotheses through an online quantitative survey, and we worked in parallel doing focus groups in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Minneapolis to hear from guys in their own words.

Using a segmentation provided by PSB we created a set of composite personas to help bring the survey and focus group findings to life. We also used the personas as a way to talk about where these segments might be headed in the future.

Five types of American guys

The segmentation revealed 5 types of American guys aged 18-49:

1. Young Carefrees (23%)—friend-focused digital natives enjoying their post-college years
2. The Above Average Joes (29%)—modern guys, thriving in their role as fathers and husbands
3. The Good Ol’ Boys (13%)—traditional guys with traditional views; rugged, stoic, and pragmatic
4. The Mac Daddies (20%)—the alpha guys…intense, successful, and in love with their gadgets
5. The Worry Warriors (15%)—hard working, well-off…but totally stressed

See the public version of the Spike TV report here, with detailed descriptions of the segments and the personas we used to bring them to life.

What happens if your waist isn't as slim as the government wants? The individual recriminations are mild: dieting guidance and health classes. However, Japan is making employers responsible for their employee's health, and businesses will face financial penalties if their employees' waists don't measure up.

This is all in an effort to reduce Japan's obese population by 10% in the next four years and 25% in the next seven years. It all seems a bit much, no? Japan's population is already much less obese than other World 1 countries--only 3.2% of Japanese are considered obese.

Image: Omid Tavallai (Flickr)