RnDAO Talks Ep 20 | Tim Stock: Culture Mapping Better Futures

The RnDAO Podcast

Tim is the co-founder of scenarioDNA a research consultancy that advises global clients on how to leverage cultural trends. Tim is also a Part-Time Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons the New School of Design where he teaches trend analysis and design strategy. He is the co-inventor of a patented methodology of Culture Mapping that analyzes patterns in language using computational linguistics and machine learning to identify and visualize trend narratives and forecasts. His work helps companies understand and leverage the dynamics of cultural change for a broad range of innovation challenges from new product and brand development to horizon scanning. Clients include Honda, KEF Acoustics, IKEA, Nike, Hilton Worldwide, and Verizon. Tim is also a frequent speaker on topics related to culture, society, and trends and has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, USA Today, Vogue, Fast Company, and Quartz.
​Culture is a story system. Today's challenges require a social science approach to analyzing culture and applying actions in sync with the natural cycle of power and dissent, from protest to policy. We can see the results of shortsighted and top-surface methods to cultural insight imploding around us. From greenwashing in the midst of a climate "permacrisis", to the commercial laziness of relying on celebrity influencers for relevance that quickly devolves into toxic hate speech. Culture matters. But our strategies need to reflect that. In this talk, Tim will explain how the concept of Culture Mapping can help us understand the system of language and stories and speculate and cultivate divergent possible futures. New prompt engineering tools like Midjourney are rooted in language and cultural bias. If we can unlock the linguistic system of culture we can take a more a more generative yet expansive approach to make our future more sustainable.