Category Archives: language

forecasting, language, privacy, society, work

The Googleplex of the Future Has Privacy Robots, Meeting Tents and Your Very Own Balloon Wall

In 2018, Google’s real estate group began to consider what it could do differently. It turned to the company’s research and development team for “built environments.” It was an eclectic group of architects, industrial and interior designers, structural engineers, builders and tech specialists led by Michelle Kaufmann, who worked with the renowned architect Frank Gehry before joining Google a decade ago.

Google focused on three trends: Work happens anywhere and not just in the office; what employees need from a workplace is changing constantly; and workplaces need to be more than desks, meeting rooms and amenities.

“The future of work that we thought was 10 years out,” Ms. Kaufmann said, “Covid brought us to that future now.” Read more (NY Times)

food, kitchen, language, society, sustainability

All I Want To Do Is Look At Ugly Food Photos

As someone who was deeply invested in the era of peak food-blogging in the mid- to late-aughts, I have, in the past, enjoyed many an artful photo of moist cake slices or runny-yolked eggs. Styling these images to pop on Tumblr or Instagram takes real, undeniable skill. But, it’s only recently that I’ve realized that I have moved beyond those specific visual pleasures. After nearly two decades as a social media user, I’ve grown tired of how images, specifically of food, are often presented — that is, perfectly.  Read more (Refinery29)

generations, health, language, society, work

Japan Inc. should use COVID-19 to end excessive formality

Extreme formality runs deep in Japanese business culture, stifling employees’ sense of ownership and suppressing innovation. Unexpectedly, the COVID-19 pandemic offers a chance to disrupt such staid traditions.  Excessive formality hurts companies in three ways. First, it discourages young minds from voicing their opinions. With the business environment shifting so quickly, and the maturity curve of wisdom being flattened — if not reversed — businesses only suffer by being deaf to younger voices. Read more (Nikkei Asia)