Michael Rogers

Keynote speaker Michael Rogers is a technology pioneer, novelist and journalist whose consultancy, PRACTICAL FUTURIST, helps businesses and organizations worldwide think about the future.  In recent years he has worked with companies ranging from FedEx, Boeing and Time-Life to Prudential, Dow Corning, GE and Genentech.

He is completing a two-year tenure as futurist-in-residence for The New York Times and also writes the Practical Futurist column for MSNBC.  For ten years he was vice  president of The Washington Post Company’s new media division, guiding both the  newspaper and Newsweek into the new century, as well as serving as editor and general  manager of Newsweek.com.

After a decade as a writer for Rolling Stone, Rogers co-founded Outside magazine. He  then joined Newsweek to create the magazine’s Technology section, earning numerous  journalism awards for his work. Rogers is also a best-selling novelist whose fiction explores the human impact of technology.  His five books have been published worldwide, optioned for film and television, and chosen by the Book of the Month Club.

In 1993 he produced the world’s first CD-ROM newsmagazine for Newsweek, going on  to develop interactive areas on Prodigy, America Online and then a series of Internet  sites including the award-winning Parents’ Guide to Children’s Software, which also  appeared in book form. In 1999 he received a patent for the bimodal spine, a multimedia storytelling technique, and is listed in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. In  2007 he was named to the Magazine Industry Digital Hall of Fame.

Rogers is a frequent guest on radio and television and regularly addresses audiences  worldwide, ranging from venture capitalists and corporate executives to educators, students and the general public.  In 1989 he was founding chairperson of the European  Technology Roundtable, an annual CEO gathering, which he continues to moderate  along with the Asian Technology Roundtable.

Rogers studied physics and creative writing at Stanford University with additional  training in finance and management at Stanford Business School’s Executive Program.  He lives in New York and is at work on his next book.

Management Meets the Future

Managers are facing multiple new challenges: virtual work forces, flattened corporate structures, a

new generation of ambitious and cyber-savvy workers, a heightened atmosphere of public scrutiny—

not to mention the perennial pressure to do more with less.  How are smart managers coping and

what’s next to come?

The State of Trust

In many ways, modern technology has temporarily eroded trust, as bloggers blow the whistle on corporate cover-ups or catch the big media companies in mistakes or misrepresentations.  In families it

has created a new tension between parents and children, as kids seek freedom in the Internet world

while parents worry, quite rightly, about the dangers that lie online.  But there are also some methods

emerging wherein new technology can be used to increase trust among families and communities.

The Virtualization of America

Over the next decade, more and more of our work, what we care about and how we interact with others is going to move into the virtual world, mediated by computers and the Internet.  In addition, we’re

seeing the rise of a new generation of “digital natives” who are remarkably comfortable with virtual

relationships.  What will this mean for how our businesses and organizations must grow and evolve in

the years to come?

The Digital Lifestyle

Computers, the Internet and the digitization of all media are changing many aspects of the American

lifestyle—from how we work, where we shop, how we entertain ourselves and even how we meet our

mates.  It is also beginning to reshape the way our homes are built, furnished and lived-in.  What does

the digital lifestyle mean for what companies must do to reach their customers and how products must

change to meet new needs?  It’s necessary to tie together strands from pop culture, consumer electronics and even home décor to understand fully the scope of the transformation.

Telecommunications and Media

The rise of the Internet and the digitization of all media are having a profound effect on both the telecom and media industries.  The relationship between the creators of content and the owners of “the

pipes” has never been more complex or volatile.  And new technologies such as wireless broadband

and VOIP are only now arriving.  What will the next decade see in content and services delivery, customer expectations, the protection of intellectual property, and the role of traditional media?

Globalization

We have only seen the beginning of how globalization will change our world over the next decades.  The

democratization of information via the Internet, the rise of middle class consumers in the developing

world, the spread of outsourcing to professions like law and medicine, new competitors dislodging Fortune 500 firms in global markets, increased pressure on natural resources…the list will only grow longer as market forces and technology spread across our planet.

Health Care

Information technology and genetic science are combining to create a fundamental shift in the way we

think about and treat disease.  At the same time, however, prices continue to rise and there is as much

pressure to use technology to cut costs as to advance health science.  How do we balance the enormous

potential of advancing technology with the real world questions of delivering affordable health care?

The Next Generation

The first generation never to know a world without an Internet is rapidly approaching adulthood.  It is a

cohort that has fundamentally different ideas and expectations about how to relate to businesses, employers, the media and each other.  How do we market to this new breed?  How will we manage them?  What will they expect from products and services, and what new skills—or deficits—will they bring to the workplace?

Demographics

It’s common knowledge that the US population is graying—but what’s less noted is that the United

States is also the fastest growing industrialized nation on earth.  Between now and 2050, our population

could increase by as much as 40%—and the drivers of that increase are already in place, ranging from

the largest K – 8 population in history to longer lifespans and liberal immigration policies.  Fixed resources—waterfront property, elite educations, room on our roadways, suburban open space—will be

under increasing pressure.  How will population shape our nation in years to come?

Education

After creating the award-winning Parents’ Guide to Children’s Software in 1996, Rogers has followed

education and technology issues closely.  He often speaks to audiences of both parents and educators

about technology and learning—and specifically how the rise of computers and the Internet has actually

increased the importance of the thinking skills that underlie the traditional three R’s.  Too much emphasis on technology, especially in early grades, may actually interfere with the lifelong learning skills that this century will demand from every worker.

Energy Futures

Rogers has followed the world energy picture since he shared the National Headliners Award for coverage of the Chernobyl disaster and its implications for nuclear energy.  He has written extensively on alternative energy and recently participated in the United Nations conference Bridging the Divide on bringing new energy technology to developing countries.