How are we going to earn money in future?

Hi, I’m Jack and that’s the question I’m trying to answer.

How we have earned money hasn’t changed much over the last century, but I believe it’s about to change a lot.

I have a background in real estate + innovation + strategy (linkedin profile) which has led me to this topic via:

  • Almost a decade at Lendlease (a leading global property developer) thinking about the future of the built environment and topics like the Future of Work.

  • Working in and around Proptech and real estate innovation, both as the Head of Innovation for Lendlease Asia, and as the Founder of Disrupt Property.

  • Now working in a Strategy and New Business role at one of Japan’s largest technology companies, where I regularly research and write strategies on emerging technologies.

There are multiple things going on here:

  • A broader societal move away from a single job (previous generations), to a job with a side gig (current generation), to many jobs and technology enabled ways to earn income (our future).

  • Our data = our money: we are seeing a shift from web2 where big tech owned our data and monetised it via advertising, to platforms where when we collect and share our data, we recieve income for it.

  • Community tokens: thanks to blockchain technology, new platforms can launch and community members can earn digital tokens. You could call it community equity, or just a new form of rewards program but the technology itself opens up new ways to reward human activity.

  • Artificial Intelligence: the ultimate and still unanswered question of not only what happens to our jobs, but how will we leverage AI to work on our behalves to earn income.

What you can expect?

I write regularly on new platforms as they emerge, both with a practical look at whether they work and how to earn, but also a more conceptual view of where are we going with this.

With a world of converging technologies like AI, robotics and blockchain fast upon us, one of the fundamental questions we need to face is how will we earn money in future. The signs are already emerging and Future Earn is my attempt to put these pieces together, and give my readers a headstart on how to embrace it.

Content will include:

  • Platform deep dives (like this example on BULB, a write-to-earn blogging site).

  • Shorter updates flagging opportunities, launches and early access

  • Founder interviews.

  • Thought leader interviews with others who are thinking about this ever evolving future.

Who is it for?

  • Everybody: First and foremost it’s for anyone who wants to earn a bit more money, even if it’s just a few dollars.

  • Early adopters: a lot of this requires trying new things and in particular getting exposed to the basics of crypto. If 5% of the world owns crypto, then less than 1% of the world is playing around with this stuff.

  • Thinkers: futurists, business consultants and future of work leaders & HR experts need to be across this because it affects all workers, and all employees.

  • Smart City Industry: the innovations around decentralised hardward (DePIN) - for example, creating wifi networks using individual’s devices or enabling community ridesharing - will create a whole new layer of smart city.

  • FIRE community: the Financial Independence, Retire Early community is a natural fit for this line of thinking. Extra income from anywhere is always welcome.

  • Reward / Points collectors: most of what is required involves doing something to collect points or digital tokens. Sometimes it’s a bit of work, sometimes it’s passive, but it suits people who are happy to keep digging away, be patient and build their rewards.

I hope this is of interest and if it is, please subscribe to the free mailing list. Also, please always feel free to reach out to me directly with feedback.

Also, some early readers have commented that there is a lot of new terminology and/or expected knowledge. Please check out the FAQ page if this is you.

Jack