By Umar Sheraz, Awais Nazir & Saba Nazir
About an year ago, the Journal of Futures Studies (JFS) blog was created as an experiment to explore the utility and facilitation that a blog could provide to an academic journal. This article reflects on the journey of the JFS blog, almost an year after its inception.
Introduction
The Journal of Futures Studies is a global watering hole of foresight practitioners and is an established journal with an impact factor and is indexed in the ISI web of Science. About an year ago,the idea of a blog was presented to the Journal of Futures studies management, as an exciting and hassle-free medium of engagement, communications and influence. There were multiple reasons for presenting such a case. First and foremost, the institution of foresight is well established in the developed world. The developing world however has still not come to grips with scenario “fantasizing”, as it is stuck in the ‘now’ and finds it hard to move from the rigors of today and the present. To quote directly from a policy maker, “foresight is a luxury for the developing world”. A connecting second problem is that a lot of foresight relevant work is present in voluminous form or in the form of journal publications and policymakers/ audiences simply don’t have the time or luxury to read such work and be enlightened. A blog on JFS, would present an opportunity for contributors to escape the rigors of journal publication and get their message across the global community, with their distinct flair in a hassle free manner. Finally there was a need to create a melting point of ideas for contributors outside the domain of futures studies. These contributors are a valuable source of insights, disruptors and nuggets of emerging wisdom from various facets of the knowledge ecosystem. So whether the domain is think tanks or peace building; health or nanotechnology, the blog would serve as an exchange point to explore how different knowledge domains interact with the world and contribute in shaping the future.
So in May 2018, the JFS blog was created as an experiment. This in itself is an innovation as academic journals are still grappling with the idea of a pop-corn medium like a blog site. The Journal publication space is closed loop, only open for academics who have access to expensive digital libraries and no immediate critique. With open spaces, the praise or critique is immediate, bloggers can get their research and point of view across a wider audience plus no worries about citations or APA style. A point of departure of the JFS blog from other blogs in the futures domain, is that there is no fixation on technology as the Messiah, the blog does not follow a cult personality and is free from the politics of glorifying the West or the East, as an image of the future. Instead the JFS blog is a space for exploring transformative ideas for social and socio-ecological change as well as challenging “used futures” – i.e. powerful framing of and narratives and assumptions about the future which have been uncritically adopted.
A waterhole for futurists worldwide
From 30 July 2018 to 15th June 2019, 37 blog submissions have been published by the JFS blog. This includes 24 authors from 16 countries, giving the blog a truly international and multicultural vibe.
A Forum for Sharing Unique and Original ideas
When the blog kicked off in July 2018, a major concern was about attracting submissions. Initially authors used to be requested to resubmit their articles, which were published elsewhere. There are 24 original articles and 13 republished articles on the blog site (last updated 15th June, 2019). Not surprisingly, in the first few months, there were mostly republished articles but since October 2018, there have been 20 original submissions & only 3 articles have been republished from elsewhere. So things are looking up and the JFS blog is slowly but surely standing on its feet.
The thing that excites me the most about this blog experiment has been the quality and provocative nature of some of the blogs. So for example, a video log on NIUN, which reimagines the society in Saudi Arabia in a tech-savvy alternative world. Russell Clemens used the blog space humorously, colorfully and intelligently in questioning elephant futures in his excellent article on “Can Elephants Fly?”. A blog on the “Alternative Futures of Iran Nuclear Deal after the US Exit” by an Iranian author is the most read article with hundreds of viewers in the USA, European Union and other parts of the world.
A Diverse Canopy of Blog Submissions
In terms of categories, the blog has attracted an assorted canopy of submission categories. These include 2 video blogs, 3 book reviews, 5 workshop proceedings, 1 interview, 14 personal reflections, 9 policy analysis and 3 teaching/expert advice submissions.
Our Authors, Our Heroes
The real heroes of our blog are the people who committed their time and effort in contributing to the JFS blog. Dr. Sohail Inayatullah & Dr. Leopold P. Mureithi have contributed the most submissions with 6 articles, each. At JFS blog, it is of immense pleasure to us, that the blog has found contributors outside the domain of futures studies. These valuable contributors have provided valuable insights, disruptors, and nuggets of emerging wisdom from various facets of the knowledge ecosystem.
For the authors, the blog affords the opportunity to listen to their original and unrestrained voices. Take the example of Dr. Sohail Inayatullah, who is one of leading futurists in the world and has published more than 200 journal articles. Through the blog space, we get to see another dimension of him as a futurist, where he has expressed himself more freely and on a wide range of topics, free from the rigors of academic publishing. On the JFS blog, he has published on workshop proceedings in Armenia in his own style; shared insights into his work with the PROUT parliament and lessons for policy makers; reflected on the seven super powers of futurists and how to be successful as a futurist; provided expert advice on disruptions in Asia 2038; and (my personal favorite) an insightful analysis of the power structure and power play in the Olympics, with his personal flair. The blog also contains an interview which one of the authors conducted with him. So on a personal note, the JFS blog offers futurists the opportunity to showcase their inner self and display their wares using flair, style and inner voice, in an assorted umbrella of submission categories.
We have had some really interesting perspectives from female bloggers. While every effort has been made to incorporate a diverse range of voices, only 6 of the 24 writers are females. These authoresses have contributed 4 original submissions and 2 republished articles. Engaging more female voices, from around the globe, is an important aspect which will be integrated into strategy in the near future.
Moving ahead
There are three challenges that we would like to focus in our second year of operation.
- We wish to move away from the traditional hub and spoke model of traditional blogs, where all submissions have to pass through a central authority. The idea is to move towards an innovative community model, where people who contribute to JFS get a sense of belonging; have an increased ability to interact with other authors; see what each other is doing and are increasingly driving content autonomously and relationally. The ‘How’ of this community model, will be explored by the JFS digital team.
- We have had some really interesting perspectives from female bloggers and we would like to engage more female voices, from around the globe. This is an important aspect which will be integrated into our strategy.
- Finally we wish to make the blog a place to highlight avant-garde and innovative approaches to futures thinking and exploration, such as through design, gaming, virtual and augmented reality, theater, drama and art. Different themes and ideas are being explored in this regard.
Concluding Remarks
Successful blogs teach readers something and can possibly make a difference in their lives. One year since its inception, the JFS blog site provides value of discovering and exploring a diverse range of futures related content that is easy to digest and relate. As we move forward to our second year of the JFS blog site, we are determined to bring together ideas from the best and brightest minds in the field of futures thinking and practice. At JFS Blog we are continuously exploring, discovering and exploiting opportunities for the use of digital, virtual, social and interactive approaches to connecting with new audiences and co-creators. We will continue to engage contributors outside the domain of futures studies for valuable insights, disruptors and nuggets of emerging wisdom from various facets of the knowledge ecosystem. So while the future is uncertain, the JFS blog is firm on moving on from the initial baby steps of conquest and exploring the vagaries of the consolidation phase.
At JFS Blog, the blog team ( Umar Sheraz, Saba Nazir and Awais Nazir), would like to take this opportunity to thank our blog contributors who have contributed their time, resource and experience. Also a vote of thanks for the people who have been helpful behind-the-scenes in making the JFS Blog dream a reality. Dr. Sohail Inayatullah, has been a champion of the JFS blog, an avid contributor and has continued to motivate people to write for JFS blog. Jose Ramos, senior consulting editor, has been the silent behind-the-scenes force, who has helped in the smooth functioning of the blog. There are many other silent warriors and we salute them for their professionalism.
Saba, Awais, and Umar, look forward to more merry adventures with your creativity and look forward to future contributions.
