P ace C2
J V f e jU A r iŸ f tV 1999 •
BLACK MKTORy M ONTH 1999
JüCaa
_
Global Trendsetter: Future Teenagers Represent
Billions of Dollars
B-i
G ina R. R icker
While studying abroad in Tokyo,
Japan in 1993 and 1994,1 was amazed
at the impact black culture had on
their youth The streets o f Shinjuku
and Shibuya were crawling with 16
to 2 5 year olds adorning baggy pants,
pierced belly buttons, listening to
hip-hop music and using electronic
gadgets that have yet to hit the streets
ofAmerica.
Before going to Japan, 1 studied
the language for 4 years, so it was
fairly easy for me to communicate. 1
also discovered how to communi­
cate via an unwritten, yet mutually
understood culture. It is a culture
that is spreading with the speed o f
the Internet. It represents the growth
o f a new culture known as the “G lo­
bal T eenager.”
This emerging group o f teens is
more technologically advanced, and
are more culturally accepting than
past generations. However, like all
teens past and present, they share
common characteristics o f adoles­
cent stage. These are the years when
they come o f age- filled with exuber­
ance, innovation, confusion and re­
bellion against old structures.
This is true everywhere in the
world. Youth tend to identify with
each other anywhere, apart from any
other age group. The mere size o f
their numbers (approx. 2 billion by
the year 2005) will be so immense
that it will reshape the world and the
way we do business. This is an es­
sential factor in transitioning small
businesses into this new age o f tech­
nology, telecom m unications and
business incubation.
Who would make a better partner
than these emerging young innova­
tors? They are creating new mar­
kets, new styles, new technology
and a new way o f communicating.
They represent a new lightening rod
o f collective energy and creativity
that if trained and channeled prop-
erly will have a significant impact on
new and old business markets. This
new collective entity encourages
self-employed young people to work
together for the benefit o f the whole,
which in turn supports the individu­
als. In this process o f building for
their collective success:
Morale will go up.
Mistakes will go down.
Motivation will be at an all-
time high.
The bigger picture.
As research analysts, we have
poured over thousands o f news ar­
ticles, reports and reviews that ap­
pear daily in journals, newspapers,
and magazines. By reviewing and
constantly sifting through news de­
tails, we are able to extract the major
trends, giving us a glimpse o f the
future “bigger picture.”
More important still, these trends
are often in their earliest stages. They
are just tiny fragments o f change
that have no collective force, out of
sight and largely ignored.
However, they are under the ra­
dar screens o f futurists, economists
and corporate consultants. As Ur­
ban Futurists, we use advanced in­
formation to steer safely and pros­
perously, through the tumultuous
changes that lie ahead. We recog­
nize what is coming just in time to get
prepared and seize every advantage.
Practicing the “Science o f Seeing”, a
model and simulation process de­
v e lo p e d by re s e a rc h e r Paul
McDonald, allows us to lay out the
future before our eyes.
Through the “Science o f Seeing,”
we share business strategies with
full confidence, as we anticipate all
the twists and turns that lie ahead.
Having studied the future, as scouts
for the small business industry, it is
imperative that we heed three major
trends:
1. Business Incubation as the en­
gine that drives small businesses
2. Technology as a tool to cooper­
ate and commu­
nicate in the glo­
bal economy
3.The "Global
T e e n a g e r” as
our future part­
ners and custom­
ers.
Ifwe, as Afri­
can Americans
heed these trends
and act on them
responsibly, we
can benefit like
every other com­
munity in the In­
formation Age.
We may not have
been in position
to capitalize on
the Indu strial
Age, but we are
for the Informa­
tion A ge...let’s
not m iss out
again.
Ready For Chaos Or Comm
B y S harif A bdullah
Do you think Y2K doesn’t
affect you because you don’t
own a computer?
At some point you will real­
ize that you life is surrounded
by micro-chips, in phones,
cars and street lights, any of
which may fail because of
Y2K. One survey said that the
average American encounters
seventy micro-chips every day
- before lunch. The following
is a story that could happen
because of Y2K.
First Scenario: “What’s
Going On?”
You wake up in the morn­
ing. You notice that your alarm
clock did not go off. In fact
the digital readout is blinking
“ 12:00’. You dress hurriedly,
thinking you may have to stop
after work at the supermarket
for a new clock. In the bath­
room, the water is only trick­
ling out of the faucet.
On the way downstairs, you
pick up the telephone to tell
your co-workers that you will
be late. There is no dial tone.
Did you pay the bill? You go
back down the hall to your
son’s room and check his
phone line - his line is work­
ing! You make your work call
from his room; no answer, not
even a voicemail message.
You go out to your car and
start it up. All of the red lights
on the dash start flashing, and
the on-board computer voice
says, “Warning: your car is in
need of servicing. Driving your
car in this condition could
cause major damage.” As you
pull out of the driveway, the
message starts repeating.
When you get to the inter­
section, traffic is jammed be­
cause the lights are malfunc­
tioning. Once through the in­
tersection, you pull over to
stop at the ATM for some cash.
There is a long line at the cash
machine, with many people
getting angry. One yells, “The
ATM is saying my account is
closed!!!”
There’s an ATM at the su­
permarket; you’ll stop there
and get your clock, too. You
crawl through five more blink­
ing light intersections, then pull
into the supermarket parking
lot. As you approach, you see
a long line - no one can get
into the supermarket because
the computer-controlled secu­
rity locked everyone out.
It slowly dawns on you that
you have a different kind of
problem now: if they can’t get
the doors open, what are you
going to do for food?
The above is considered a
"m oderate” Y2K scenario.
Consider the “serious” Y2K
scenario:
Scenario Two? Y2K
Breakdown
You wake
up in the
morning. You
notice that
your alarm
clock did not
go off. It isn’t
working at all:
the electricity
is off.
What woke
you up was a
series of ex­
plosions com­
ing from the
direction of
the industrial sector of the city.
You find a battery-powered
radio and turn it on for news,
but all you get is static.
You try the telephone - there
is no dial tone on any line. You
try the car - it doesn’t start.
You start walking down­
town, trying to find out what’s
going on. You notice people
running past you. One of them
you recognize as a neighbor.
“Food, man, there’s no more
food! I’m going down to the
store to get what’s left!”
You start to run also, car­
ried along by the crowd. There
is a steady stream of people in
and out of the broken doors of
the supermarket. People are
emerging with shopping carts,
baskets, wagons, bundles
wrapped in coats and shirts.
In the dark store, the sound
o f display cases breaking
pierces an ominous silent shuf­
fling. You walk past the sport­
ing goods section, noticing that
the guns and ammunition have
been cleared out.
On your way out, you no­
tice a gang of youths with
baseball bats stopping an eld­
erly woman with her full shop­
ping cart. You turn away
quickly; there’s nothing one
person can do. You have re­
sponsibility to get your bag of
food to your family.
As you turn your street, you
notice six young men coming
toward you. They are carry­
ing shotguns, some with the
price tags still attached.
“Where you think you goin’?
one asks softly.
Before you sink into despair,
consider this third scenario?
Scenario Three: Y2K
Breakthrough
You wake up in the morn­
ing, to the sound of your wind­
up alarm clock. You junked
the digital one months ago.
You go to the bathroom, ad­
miring the two holes drilled
into the wall: one provides
water from your rooftop cis­
tern that collects rainwater,
the other empties the bathtub
water into the water tank that
waters the vegetable garden.
You go downstairs. “Who’s
fixing breakfast today?” Your
partner checks the schedule
taped to the refrigerator door.
“Ms. Thompson down the
street.” You hold your head in
mock grief, “Damn! Lumpy
oatmeal again!” Your partner
retorts, “ I like her lumpy
oatmeal!” The 21 houses in
your area have been organized
to provide hot meals through­
out the community, on rota­
tio n .
The designated households
are paid in community credits.
The credits are worth more
than money; the community
credits get you what you re­
ally need: heat, energy, com­
munity services, etc. Your turn
to cook comes next Thursday;
you will be fixing lasagna.
On your way outside, you
run into ten young men stand­
ing on the corner, hats pulled
down and hoods pulled up to
ward off the cold. They are
waiting for their ride to work.
They are self organized into
teams, called “gangs,” that cut
firewood, bag coal, deliver
food and services to the eld­
erly, recycle newspapers and
turn them into toilet paper, op­
erate the hydrogen production
station and the wind p.ower
generator. They used to be in
violent street gangs, but got
the Y2K message: “you don’t
work, you don’t eat.’
You walk over to them.
“ How’s Ms. T hom pson’s
oatmeal today?” They look at
each other, then say, in uni­
son, “Lumpy!”. You leave them
as they are laughing and ex­
changing high-fives.
On your way to Ms.
Thompson’s house, you no­
tice Oscar coming toward you,
highly agitated. “My phone
won’t work! Neither will the
water! My car won’t start!
I’m going downtown and see
if I can get some money from
the ATM!”
You say with irritation,
“Man, what is your problem?
Didn’t I tell you this would
happen? You had a whole year
to prepare, to become a part of
this community and you did
nothing. Now look at you. In­
stead of going downtown, why
don’t you go read that com­
munity preparation workbook
I left with you half a year ago?
Why don’t you decide to be a
part of this community?”
I
GinaR. Rucker, Urban Futurist.