Long Now Foundation

Business Profile

Core Value Proposition

Long Now Foundation provides civilization-scale long-term thinking resources, ideas, and experiences to encourage imagining and planning across the next and last 10,000 years.

Target Customer

Educators, researchers, policymakers, cultural institutions, nonprofits, and members of the public seeking civilization-scale long-term thinking; listeners/viewers of Long Now Talks and the Long Now podcast; donors and members.

Key Differentiator

A nonprofit organization delivering tangible, time-scale projects (the 10,000-year clock, Rosetta language archive, Long Now Ideas) alongside public programming (Vision Talks, The Interval) that connect the ancient past to the distant future and promote long-term thinking.

Implementation Timeline

Not specified; programs are ongoing with regular talks and events, including upcoming talks (dates listed on the Talks page) and continuous online content (podcasts, videos).

Pain Points

1Short-term thinking and a lack of civilization-scale planning
2Need for durable cultural artifacts and knowledge preservation (e.g., language archives) across millennia
3Limited access to public spaces and programs that cultivate long-term thinking and dialogue

Key Features

1Vision Talks: civilization-scale ideas from leading thinkers (400+ speakers) and accessible via live events, podcasts, and videos
2The Interval: a bar, cafe, and community space in San Francisco with exhibits on long-term thinking
3Rosetta: a durable archive of over 1,500 human languages, with offworld copies on a comet and the Moon
4Long Now Ideas: a living library of long-term thinking with articles, frameworks, and concepts
510,000-year clock: a monumental timekeeping project designed to run for the next ten millennia

Target Customer Industries

Decision Makers

1Stewart Brand — Cofounder
2Danny Hillis — Cofounder
3Brian Eno — Cofounder

Client Results

1Increased exposure to civilization-scale ideas and long-term thinking through talks, podcasts, and videos
2Access to durable language and cultural archives (Rosetta) for research and preservation
3Public engagement and community building around long-term thinking through physical spaces (The Interval) and events
4Educational and inspirational content that grounds future-oriented thinking in historical context

Competitive Advantages

1Unique focus on civilization-scale timescales spanning thousands of years
2Combination of public programming, physical spaces, and durable digital/physical archives
3Proven track record (founded in 1996; Talks since 2003) with a global audience via podcasts and videos
4Distinctive projects (10,000-year clock, Rosetta archive) that physically embody long-term thinking

Key Benefits

1Access to civilization-scale ideas and content

2Engagement with a wide range of long-term thinking projects

3Preservation of languages and cultural knowledge

4Community spaces and events that foster long-term dialogue

5Publicly accessible media (podcasts, videos) that broaden reach

Additional Product Information

Product Description

A nonprofit cultural institution dedicated to long-term thinking, offering public talks, enduring projects (10,000-year clock, Rosetta archive), a community space (The Interval), and a living library of long-term ideas (Long Now Ideas).

Target Market

Educators, researchers, policymakers, cultural and scientific institutions, nonprofits, and the general public interested in long-term thinking and civilization-scale perspectives.

Unique Value Proposition

Combines tangible, time-scale projects with broad public programming to institutionalize long-term thinking across education, culture, and policy.

Technical Requirements

No specific technical requirements indicated; content delivered via live talks, podcasts, videos, and online archives; physical venue (The Interval) and field projects (Rosetta archive, clock) exist.

Pricing Model

Donations and memberships; pricing specifics not disclosed in the provided content.

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