Use Twitter to help forecast the future of museum ethics
Center for the Future of Museums
On June 15 at 4 p.m. EDT, join us on Twitter to help examine the future of museum ethics. This Twebevent launches a summer-long forecasting exercise conducted by CFM and the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University. Find out more from the CFM blog.More

275,000 groups lose tax exemptions after failing to file paperwork with IRS
Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Internal Revenue Service said that 275,000 nonprofits have lost their tax-exempt status because they did not file legally required documents for three consecutive years. That move trims the number of tax-exempt groups by about 14 percent. ♦ By our quick count, the list includes at least 1,000 museums, some of which have not actually been active for years.More

The changing demographic profile of the United States
DocuTicker
From a new Congressional Research Service report: "The U.S. population — currently estimated at 308.7 million persons — has more than doubled since its 1950 level of 152.3 million. More than just being double in size, the population has become qualitatively different from what it was in 1950. ... The objective of this report is to highlight some of the demographic changes that have already occurred since 1950 and to illustrate how these and future trends will reshape the nation in the decades to come (through 2050)."More

Field trips on chopping block as expenses cut
The Associated Press via the Stamford Advocate
Field trips, once a fixture students looked forward to in the waning days of the school year, are on the chopping block as more districts cope with a growing budget crisis. It's becoming more common for students seeking an educational excursion to turn to their computers instead of boarding a bus.More

For brands targeting women, it's game on
MediaPost: Marketing Daily
While it's no news that girls and women are diving deeper into gaming every day, a new ranking from NBCU, a media and marketing firm, shows that brands offering women a way to play are gaining buzz. "Brands that allow women a chance to game are seeing a big jump in brand chatter," says a VP at NBCU.More

Good youth programs help teens learn to think not just logically, but strategically
Innovations Report
Teens develop strategic thinking skills in youth activities that they rarely learn in the classroom, says a new University of Illinois study of 11 high-quality urban and rural arts and leadership programs.More

Lawmakers: Make US souvenirs in USA
CBS News
Tourists come from all over the world to visit U.S. museums, national parks and zoos. But finding an American-made souvenir to take home with them is proving to be a difficult task. Lawmakers are now fighting to get more American-made products back in souvenir shops, and for small business owners and manufacturers alike, that's very welcome news.More

6 in 10 Americans likely to reduce restaurant, entertainment spending
Marketing Charts
Six in 10 U.S. adults are likely to reduce spending on eating out (61 percent) and entertainment (59 percent) in the next six months, according to results of a May 2011 Harris Poll. These figures are relatively flat compared to recent history, but down significantly from March 2009.More

Hotter-than-ever summers predicted
Futurity
Stanford researchers say that large areas of Earth are expected to warm up so quickly that by the middle of the century the coolest summers will be hotter than the hottest summers of the past 50 years.More

8 innovative cities leading the way to a sustainable future
SmartPlanet
Cities are leading the way to a sustainable future with projects that are helping their residents move more easily through the city, while using less energy, and breathing clean air. Mayors of some of the largest and most forward-thinking cities from around the world gathered [last] week in Sao Paulo, Brazil to discuss their projects and visions for sustainable cities of the future at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit.More

4 paths for the future of education
Education Week
School reform expert Jal Mehta asks, "What would it take to generate significant improvement in American schooling? ... Broadly speaking, four pathways have emerged that would depart significantly from our present path, and offer some reason to think that they might yield large-scale improvement." These include a mix of policy, staffing and technology changes — but no explicit mention of informal learning environments.More

The future of innovation: Can America keep pace?
Time
Fareed Zakaria writes that "Everyone wants innovation and agrees that it is the key to America's future. ... [But] what is innovation? We don't really have a good fix on the concept. We know it when we see it. But this much is clear: It encompasses more than just scientific or technological breakthroughs, as becomes apparent when you look at which companies are considered the most innovative."More

Futurist Paul Saffo on why Google is like a fungus and what Facebook has to do next
San Francisco Chronicle
Silicon Valley futurist Paul Saffo has been thinking, talking and writing about the future of technology for more than two decades. Among other jobs, he serves a managing director at investment research firm Discern Investments, teaches at Stanford and is on the board of the Long Now Foundation, which challenges society to think of its actions in the context of the next 10,000 years.More

Cisco chief futurist: The Internet of Things is here
Channel Buzz
When futurists talk about technology to come, it's easy to start imagining tales spun by the likes of Isaac Asimov and William Gibson (or whoever your favorite science-fiction author happens to be), and that's the case with Cisco Systems' chief futurist. However, some of what Cisco's futurist talks about regarding the Internet is already here. An evolution in the fundamentals of the Internet is happening right now, and it's only going to continue.More

Van Gogh painting is a vertical green wall
TreeHugger
It's the first living painting in London's Trafalgar Square, and maybe the first anywhere. A Van Gogh picture has been turned into a green living vertical wall. Depicting Van Gogh's painting, A Wheatfield with Cypresses, it's a new way to draw people into the National Gallery to see the real thing.More

Williams College art museum takes a modern look at old objects
Bennington Banner
The Williams College Museum of Art is currently presenting "A Collection of Histories," which focuses on the museum's two well-known Assyrian reliefs. The two reliefs, which have been in the collection since 1851, serve as a case study for how works of art accumulate collections of histories over time. To encourage a dialogue around the issues of history, the exhibition incorporates an HD flythrough animation of the palace of Ashurnarsipal II and an innovative virtual reality station with an intelligent tour guide.More

Transit Museum becomes accessible to disabled
NY1
The New York Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn unveiled a new entrance that provides access for visitors who cannot use stairs. ♦ We note the irony of a transit museum playing catch-up on accessibility issues.More

New sensor network protecting art in New York museum
WPVI-TV
An advanced network of wireless environmental sensors that are designed to prevent damage to artworks is being tested at a New York City museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is announcing that about 100 of the sensors have been positioned around the medieval masterpieces at its Cloisters branch in northern Manhattan.More

World's largest OLED globe to be unveiled by Mitsubishi Electric
Gizmag
Mitsubishi Electric will unveil a huge, 19.7 foot wide OLED globe at Tokyo's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation on June 11. Billed as the world's first large-scale spherical OLED screen, "Geo-Cosmos" is made up of an aluminum frame covered with 10,362 tiny OLED panels, each measuring 3.7 x 3.7 inches. The sphere will display images of clouds and other views of the Earth coming from a meteorological satellite as it hangs almost 60 feet above the museum floor.More

3-D printed bikini
designboom
Designed by Continuum Fashion, the N12 bikini is the first completely 3-D printed, ready-to-wear item of clothing. The bikini demonstrates the intricacy possible with this technology, as well as the technical challenges of creating a flexible surface. Thousands of circular plates are connected by thin springs, creating a wholly new material that holds its form as well as being flexible. ♦ Another designer is experimenting with a solar-powered bikini, which is outrageous but also suggests more serious applications of small-scale green power technologies.More

Digital signage and green grocery promotions
SmartPlanet
According to ABI Research, the global market for digital signage technology will reach an impressive $4.5 billion in 2016. Digital signage technologies (think airport monitors, mini-screens in taxis, hotel lobby displays) "matter because they offer all manner of businesses a more efficient way to distribute their message to a specific target audience, while cutting back on the creation of reams of printed materials that often find their way into garbage cans or recycling bins."More

Adobe: Expect location-linked mobile apps
CNet News
In the future, somebody walking into a hotel room or a museum will get the opportunity to install an app for that location, Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch predicted. The idea, which Lynch demonstrated at the Open Mobile Summit to show just how feasible it is, stems from the ever-tighter links between the physical and virtual worlds we inhabit. And it shows that there's still plenty of room for mobile devices to become even more important in people's lives, as if there were any doubt.More

A Russian ATM with an ear for the truth
The New York Times
Russia's biggest retail bank is testing a machine that the old KGB might have loved, an ATM with a built-in lie detector intended to prevent consumer credit fraud. Consumers with no previous relationship with the bank could talk to the machine to apply for a credit card, with no human intervention required on the bank's end. ♦ Is voice analysis software in the future for museum interactives as well?More