About the project and blog

As technologies such as wireless, sensors, digital displays, and others diffuse into physical environments, distinctions between physical and virtual spaces, experiences, and interactions will fade. In the process, many spaces will be re-invented, acquiring new social meanings and serving as focal points for new types of interactions.

The IFTF team and our affiliates are conducting in-depth observations and interviews in several global hotspots—Silicon Valley, Finland, Switzerland, Japan—to identify shifts in the evolution of physical spaces and to understand the new social meaning of such spaces and their usage.

By conducting observations in technology-enabled cafes, trains, workplaces and various public spaces as we are trying to answer some of the following questions:

• What are these spaces evolving into? How is their meaning changing?
• How are the social interactions being reinvented in such spaces?
• What are the new types of communities being created?
• How does the evolution of physical spaces transform entertainment and work patterns? What are the emerging opportunities for new products and services?

We welcome your participation and feedback.