Crossroads Dispatches

SF #1 in Knowledge Competitiveness Index; Stockholm, Helsinki Rising

Dan Drezner blogs about a Financial Times (ugggh, fed up with registration sites) story on an annual survey measuring global regions and their competitiveness in the knowledge economy.

San Francisco (including Silicon Valley) remains in the top spot. (Not a big surprise here. I knew I moved here for a reason from Salt Lake City in October 2002.) In the rankings, only 10 non-U.S. regions even make the top 50 and the top 14 are all in the U.S.

My feeling is that there is somewhat of a power law effect (referencing network theory and social network analysis) in operation for cities or regions in regards to "knowledge workers" sometimes also known "creative class" individuals. I know that I can work remotely from anywhere (and I did this for four years from Salt Lake City while working for Open Market in Cambridge, MA -- which later moved to the Route 128 corridor -- btw, Boston is #2 in this 2004 survey.)

But I found myself craving cutting-edge, stimulating interaction with real, live bright and curious people. For me, anyway, all the social software in the world can't replace the palpable energy and vibrancy of a dinner party or conference hall chat. And I think one of the reasons that Silicon Valley and the greater San Francisco Bay Area "works" is that there are dozens upon dozens of any variety and diversity of face-to-face gatherings every single day. And I think people here are (for most part) curious, have a passion for learning, challenging their own thinking and respecting diverse views.

"Creative agents cluster around other creative agents, reinforcing each other's productivity. Creative agents then come together to form larger economic units or firms. These firms then locate in cities where they grow and develop. Cities in turn grow and develop as locations for creative agents and firms." - Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

One should not lose track of the fact this report is a snapshot for 2004. Regions apparently can move up or down quite a bit from year to year. For instance, Helsinki moved up 18 places and Austin moved down 7 in 2003 (ouch, from #2 last year).

It's not clear without reading the report how much it takes into account future scenarios for growth or decline. I'm primarily interested in "emerging" areas myself -- and eventually intend to visit these emerging creative-class centers first-hand. (I sometimes wonder if knowledge just in and of itself is valuable -- in the end, it must generate social capital or financial capital; so that's the type of knowledge I am interested in.)

The press release does note that Europe is on a slippery slope vis-a-vis Asia. Scandinavia does quite well -- something that Richard Florida (of creative class fame) also noted. The Huggins Associates press release makes mention of the worldwide knowledge competitiveness of Scandinavia saying: "Nordic regions perform well in 2004, with the two best performing non-US regions Stockholm (15th) and Uusimaa (Helsinki) (19th) in Finland rising by 3 and 18 places respectively, compared with 2003."

Now I really wish I had more time in Helsinki and Stockholm this summer!

How Mobile Tech Changes Japanese Society

The article below points out one reason Japan (...if you want to see how mobile telephony is transforming business and culture...) is on the list of creative class centers I'll visit (and Korea for broadband). This summer, I'll visit Finland and Sweden -- besides their creativity and innovation -- to see and understand first-hand how people's lives and the Scandinavian society are evolving due to a mobile lifestyle.

In my view, having a culture that is flexible, adaptive and integrates useful technology (here, mobile) into their lifestyle, customs and processes gives them a competitive edge. I am feeling a little left out here in San Jose, CA, USA.

Thanks to SAP Ventures for pointing out this story:

If you want to see how mobile telephony is transforming business and culture, look no farther than Japan. Adoption of third-generation or “3G“ cellular technologies in Japan far outpaces that in North America, and young people in Japan are coming up with uses for their mobiles--such as staying in constant touch with their boyfriends or girlfriends, free of their parents’ eavesdropping--that manufacturers and cellular providers never dreamed of. But understandably, many Japanese are worried about how the technology is affecting the country’s deeply-rooted social traditions. Now NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s leading cellular provider, has announced that it will open a lab specifically to study the social impact of mobile phones.

DoCoMo says the lab, to be called the Mobile Society Research Institute, will focus on four areas:

• Mobile phone etiquette and other cultural issues.
  
• Mobile spam, the unwelcome use of camera phones, and other forms of privacy invasion.
  
• The impact of mobile phones on industry.
  
• The impact of mobile phones on the “social infrastructure.“
  

Scandinavia, UK this summer

Just a quick update on the global trek. I'll be departing to Helsinki on June 20 and touring Finland, Sweden and Estonia as well as various nations in the UK to see what makes people and organizations "tick" in the creative class regions (referencing Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida) and emerging tech centers of the world.

I wasn't intending to go to Sweden, but now I am as it turned up as #1 in a list by Richard Florida in the February 2004 Harvard Business Review (not available online to non-subscribers). Since the book, Florida has also studied western Europe and Scandinavia -- and Sweden outranks US in the creative class criteria.

Technomad - Now That Has a Nice Ring to It

Anyone that really knows me knows I am already living a highly nomadic (hmm, nomadic rhymes pretty well with irratic!) lifestyle and I rely heavily on WiFi Internet access. In fact, I'm at a WiFi-enabled cafe right now. It's just going into hyperdrive when I take off on the global trek.

Head's up on this event - I'll be there! The next Berkeley Cybersalon takes place March 21, 2004...

"and explores Technomads: Wanderers of the Wifi Age, with mountaineer/memoirist Arlene Blum; Third World network builder Bill Woodcock; bicontinental CEO Isabel Maxwell; and nomadic developer Art Tyde, who will park his techno-trailer in front of the Hillside Club."

Journey to Europe & Russia this summer

The world is good and belongs to everyone." -- Anton Krotov, Academy of Free Travel

Reading about Russia, I found myself admiring itinerate hitchhiker's Anton's philosophy. He "assumes that most people are kind and happy to give bed and board to a traveller -- you only need to find the key to their heart." -- Lonely Planet, Russia and Belarus

I am now planning a mini-pilot of the extended round-the-world journey to the emerging tech centers of the world that will take me into Europe and Russia this summer. So far my reservations have me arriving into Moscow on May 20 and departing from the British Isles August 11.

I am curious about how people derive meaning and joy in their lives, how people perceive the world differently and how technology affects their world and enhances it. Why are some cultures "naturally" creative and entrepreneurial? What is the role of myth, spiritual traditions and cultural identity in a region's growth and progress?

The intent is to really immerse myself and understand the lifestyles and mindsets of the world. I can read about the Finns' wireless culture or their worship of the spa, but nothing substitutes for first-hand experience. Really deep hanging out.

I will use inquiry, listening, empathy and an open mind as my main tools.

"It is fatal to know too much at the outset: boredom comes quickly to the traveler who knows his route as to the novelist who is overcertain of his plot." - Paul Theroux, To The Ends of the Earth

The cities/places I'll visit include: Moscow, Tallinn (Estonia), Helsinki, Stockholm (strong possibility, not definite), London (only as a stopover but I have a feeling an interesting meeting will pop up and I will stay for a day), Cardiff, Dublin, Findhorn, Scotland (an intentional community - interesting in and of itself, but also in comparing and contrasting real-world intentional communities to online communities).

I will be funding the majority of the trip myself, but I really need help in-country to ensure that the interviews, observations, and blogging are valuable to others and not just a fantastic experience for myself. Here's what I need:

• Letter of invitation in order to secure a business visa for Russia. Visas are not an easy thing to secure in Russia and this is crucial. Please contact me at evelyn at korugroup dot com if you can help in this regard.
  
• Places to stay. The only way to really immerse yourself in a culture and get to know local people. Staying in hotels totally misses the point.
  
• Personal recommendations. If you have specific recommendations of people I should meet or organizations and centers I should visit, by all means introduce us or fill me in.
  
• Translators in Moscow, Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm.
  
• Bonus. I'll give it my best shot, but if there are any folks with real filmmaking skills for videotaping some of the interviews and capturing the essence of deep hanging out in any of the cities, let me know.
  

I have a gear wish list too, but I'll post that separately. Things like a digital video camera, pan-European cellphone (I'd like to be a participant in the mobile culture first-hand wherever I'm at), and an ultralight PC (that captures handwritten notes and audio is ideal) such as the HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1100. Loaners are fine.

Contact me directly at evelyn at korugroup dot com, or if you have general useful comments, share with all of us - comment!