Social technologies have become one of the most defining technologies of the 21st Century, impacting all aspects of our lives, including businesses. We can expect that there will be another wave of innovation as we discover what can be done when social networking, the internet of things, location awareness, the growing availability of data and metadata (both user-contributed data, and data about activity on the network), and the deployment of new sensors (e.g. for individual health monitoring) come together.

The goal of the XVII Future Trends Forum is to explore the landscape of Social Technologies in 2015, in terms of winning applications and impact across business (not only on the IT and media providers). Social Media goes beyond social networks like Facebook. More specifically, Social Technologies are considered as the "blending of technologies (such as web-based and mobile technologies) that enable peer-to-peer interaction to co-create value”.

At the XVII FTF 3 major issues are to be addressed:

• Which trends will drive the next wave of Social Technologies?
• What will be the leading Social Technology applications after social networks?
• Who will be affected by the next wave? Verticals? Information companies? Technology vendors? (Chicken and egg question)

About FTF

Future Trends Forum (FTF) is the Bankinter Foundation of Innovation’s most established project.

This is the only multidisciplinary, multi-sector and international forum, constituted by an exclusive group of over 300 leading opinion experts from five continents, working together to foresee the near future by detecting social, economic, scientific and technological trends and analyzing their possible application and impact on current business models

The FTF is a unique think tank in Europe, focused on innovation.

This is a forward-thinking effort to create a more advanced and competitive community by filling a gap where needed and attracting international talent to our country.

About the Foundation

Bankinter Foundation of Innovation, founded in late 2003, emerged naturally from the bank’s culture as an extension of Bankinter’s strategic values and pillars. Its resolute mission form its origins, is to implement a breakaway model for societal commitment and contribution, radically distancing itself from the traditional, universally accepted concept of a "foundation". The Foundation is different for many reasons: its focus, target audience, management model, projects, constituent members, partners and collaborators, media presence, the value it brings to society, etc.  The Foundation's mission entails generating and consolidating innovation in the Spanish business world, in support of its ongoing commitment to bringing long-term value to all groups, but especially to entrepreneurs and those who have an impact on economic change. 
The Foundation strives to stimulate wealth creation in the Spanish business environment by seeking knowledge networks that promote tangible innovation anywhere in the world and that anticipate new trends.  The target audience consists of all active agents capable of fostering sustainable wealth in the society over any time frame, whether they are existing decision makers (businessmen, entrepreneurs, high-level executives…) or those of the future (university students).

The only foundation in the European financial system committed to fostering innovation-sustained wealth.