Let’s file this one under “How to spin science.”  Earlier this month IBM released a list of “five innovations that will change our lives over the next five years” courtesy of emerging technologies being developed in the IBM Labs.  The list includes “smart energy” technologies that will make it easier to manage your carbon footprint, intelligent traffic systems to keep traffic moving and curb pollution and the use of 3D avatars for everything from shopping to medical procedures.

When reporting on IBM’s list, however, Computerworld issued an article with the attention-grabbing headline “IBM Dishes Five Predictions for Future.”  To be perfectly fair, the title is much sexier than IBM’s story and its marketers could learn a little something about how to write a press release.  So what’s my gripe? It has to do with the fact that as far as I can tell, IBM is in no way trying to predict the future; they simply released a (somewhat mundane) list of emerging technologies that have been reported on in various forms more times than I count. But headlines claiming to predict the future get attention, especially if they include the name of a Fortune 500 company.  

OK, enough grousing, here’s The List (click here for a list of fact sheets that explain each of these in more detail):

It will be easy for you to be green and save money doing it: A range of “smart energy” technologies will make it easier to manage your carbon footprint and control your appliances via your cell phone or web browser. Intelligent energy grids will also enable utilities to provide you with the option to use green energy sources, like solar and wind, to fuel your home.

The way you drive will be completely different:  In the next five years, a coming wave of connectivity between cars and the road is going to change the way you drive, help keep you safe, and even keep you out of traffic jams.

You are what you eat, so you will know what you eat:  Advancements in computer software and wireless radio sensor technologies will give you access to much more detailed information about the food you are buying and eating, from the climate and soil the food was grown in, to the pesticides and pollution it was exposed to, to the energy consumed to create the product, to the temperature and air quality of the shipping containers it traveled through on the way to your dinner table.

Your cell phone will be your wallet, your ticket broker, your concierge, your bank, your shopping buddy, and more:  In the next five years, your mobile phone will be a trusted guide to shopping, banking, touring a new city, and more. New technology will allow you to snap a picture of someone wearing an outfit you want and will automatically search the web to find the designer and the nearest shops that carry that outfit, as well as see what that outfit would look like on your personal avatar right on your phone.

Doctors will get enhanced “super-senses” to better diagnose and treat you: In the next five years, your doctor will be able to see, hear and understand your medical records in entirely new ways. In effect, doctor’s will gain superpowers - technologies will allow them to gain x-ray like vision to view medical images; super sensitive hearing to find tiniest audio clue in your heart beat; and ways to organize information in the same way they treat a patient.

In this YouTube video, famed writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke (2001: Space Odyssey) reflects on his “90 orbits around the sun”, saying in part:

The golden age of space is just beginning and that over the next 50 years space travel and space tourism will one day become as commonplace as traveling to exotic locations on our own planet;

The mobile phone is “turning humanity into an endlessly chattering global family.” And while technological tools help us to gather and disseminate information we still need qualities like compassion and understanding between peoples and nations;

That “real globalization” would mean overcoming our tribal divisions and acting as if we are one family.

His three wishes for his 90th birthday (because hey, when you’re ninety you get to have three wishes!): 1) to see evidence of extraterrestrial life (Clarke has been quoted:”Sometimes I think we’re alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we’re not. In either case the idea is quite staggering”); 2) that we kick our addition to oil; and 3) to see lasting peace established in Sri Lanka (Clarke’s adopted country, where he’s lived for the last 50 years).

Sincere and eloquent thoughts from a great mind who’s been there, imagined that.

I asked my 6 year old nephew recently what he wanted to be when he grew up.  After considerable pause and reflection he said: “Well, I think I’ll either be a professional football player or a paleontologist.  Or maybe I’ll fix trucks.” Ask an adult the same question and the response is usually filled with self-absorbed navel-gazing.

It’s no surprise that the youngest among us often think the most imaginatively and optimistically about the future.  So it’s great to see a project that taps into the creative genius of children, at least in part. The “Fifty Forward: Metro Atlanta’s Futures Forum,” is a planning initiative to explore possible future scenarios for Atlanta via public forums to encourage people to think about the needs and goals of the region in the future. As part of the project a group of fourth and fifth graders were asked to think what the region will be like 50 years from now and to send a postcard to the future. Here are a few:

Tristan’s Postcard to the Future

We come in peace.

We are sorry that we polluted the sky and water.

We are also sorry that we brought aliens. But, we have new transportation like flying cars, hover boards and jetpacks.

Your pal, Tristan       

Eva’s Postcard to the Future

Dear Future,

I love the way you get around!!! It’s cool how the work buildings are connected. The monorail will help a bit with the traffic accidents, since it stops everywhere.

The future is really cool!

Your friend, Eva

Michael’s Postcard to the Future

Hey you in the future,

I think there will be slides to everything so you can get to places quicker. Do you like that future?.

Cars, space ships, anything you can think of ….all you have to do is ask, and it will be yours.

And, best of all, there is a “life” tree, so you never die.

Thanks, Michael

This fabulous video compilation of postcards and interviews with the kids should be required-viewing for every lawmaker (and not just in Atlanta). One can only hope that Atlanta’s decision-makers embrace exploring the future of their city as creatively as these kids.

Every since James Surowiecki articulated the principle in his book The Wisdom of Crowds companies have been trying to tap into the collective knowledge of their organizations to improve business functions or spur innovation. However, with a few exceptions, most have failed to engage their employees or customers in any meaningful way - or at least in any way tied directly to the bottom line.

Will Brooks, however, is betting his company on it.

Specifically, he’s betting that thousands of passionate engaged (and yes, sometimes crazed) fans can run a sports team better than a handful of expert coaches and professional managers.

The company is My Football Club and it’s a U.K.-based football (soccer) club started by Brooks, a former sports writer for the BBC.  Late last spring he proposed the idea of a fan-owned, fan-run football club, in which the each of the owners would have an equal say in the day-to-day management of the team.  The twist is that the club has over 53,000 owners.

Yes, that’s more than fifty three thousand individual owners (the actual figure is likely higher), each of whom paid £35 (about $70) for an annual membership, giving them one share and one vote, and an equal say in team selection, player transfers and the running of the club.

So far the experiment in mass-management is working. Twenty percent of members login to the website every day, posting thousands of messages and debating issues such which players to recruit to how to increase attendance at games. Using forums on the club’s website the members recently voted to purchase a controlling stake in Ebbsfleet United Football Club. And though the deal isn’t finalized yet, some members independently raised £1300 to buy Ebbsfleet new goals and equipment as a good-will gesture to the team.

Time will tell whether the wisdom of fans will translate into a winning team, but this is good one to watch.