Futurist.com History
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The Basics
Futurist.com is a company focused on the dissemination of information about the future and how to create it.
The website is designed to be your window on the future. We provide information about many future related topics, and add to this information all the time.
Most of the information here at the website is at the introductory or intermediate level and provides an overview of a subject and some useful links. Our commitment is to a greater understanding of and enthusiasm about the future and future-related subjects.
Our audience is global, one of the great features of the World Wide Web. Each month about 50,000 visitors from 120 nations stop by the website.
Futurist.com is owned by Glen Hiemstra. The website is designed to acquaint you with our professional services including keynote speaking, long-range planning retreats and consultation, scenario planning think tanks, and programs on the Millennial Generation and on Creativity. All programs are focused in one way or another on the development of the preferred future. For two decades Glen and his associates have assisted hundreds of private, public and non-profit enterprises in thinking about and planning for the long-term future. The web site offers information about programs and presentations, a speaking schedule, and the projects, interviews, books, and articles that we are currently involved with.
Company History
I began as a professional futurist in the 1980′s, having been taught by a mentor, Dr. Ed Lindaman, who had been Director of Program Planning for Apollo at the Rockwell company. I knew him during my first career, in higher education. I made a final break from an academic career to do futurist business consulting and speaking full time in 1987. Early in the 1990′s I learned of a looming technology development called Mosaic, that would change the Internet forever. I also learned that when Mosaic and browser technology became the norm it would be critical to have a “home page”. When I checked into it, I was surprised that no other professional futurist, many of whom had more prominent names, had thought to register “futurist.com”. So I did.
In the mid-1990′s I was completing a consulting assignment with a small town in Washington state, where we had developed a community vision. A key player in that project was Brenda Cooper, the city IT manager, who it turned out was going to build a small enterprise developing web sites in her spare time. So I asked Brenda to work for me in building Futurist.com, the site launched in early 1997 and my company name changed from Hiemstra International to Futurist.com.
Having done the original web design, Brenda continued to provide content as well. Brenda writes for Futurist.com occasionally, while she pursues her full time job as a technology manager in a different city near Seattle, and her science fiction writing career. Brenda is also on the speaking circuit when time permits.
Kanna Hudson worked for Futurist.com team in 2007 as a researcher and now offers programs on the Millennial Generation as an associate, while working on a Masters degree. Amy Frazier worked for Futurist.com as Director of Programs and Marketing in 2008 and 2009. She now offers programs on Creativity as an associate, while working on a Masters degree in creativity.
We have many colleagues and friends who have valuable things to say about the future and how to create it, and they contribute content on an occasional basis. Some are prominent international names, like media futurist Gerd Leonhard, with whom we have created Future Talks. while others you will not know but will find provocative. These are people who pursue a mission to develop, teach and lead intentional efforts to make our organizations and communities better in the future, more sustainable, more productive, more humane, more resilient. If you check out their articles you will also see that some offer organization consulting and programs as well and you can link to whomever interests you.
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