So here it is January 10,2009!! I am officially 34 years old today!
It’s great to know that 34 years ago the world was EXACTLY the same as it is now! (sarcasm mode on)
However, two young, nerdy entrepreneurs,Bill Gates and Paul Allen, created a little company called Micro-soft.
Betamax was introduced and it was revolutionary way to not only watch movies at home, it soon become the broadcast standard for camera’s. In fact, Fusework Studios still relies heavily on this format!
Anywho,enough about 1975! Let’s get back to the topic at hand
I broke my iPhone just as the big 3-4 hit!
(It fell just enough to not break the screen but jar the inside connector loose,I think. So I can hear it ring but can’t answer calls and the screen is white)
Now, those of you that don’t know about the magic of the iPhone…I’ll tell ya
I am completely crippled without it. I can’t use another phone to call “Brian” because I don’t ‘know’ his number! I can’t text anyone because,well my phone’s broken. I use it check my 15 email accounts, get directions, play music and videos, surf the web, send Twitter messages, check my Facebook blah blah blah.
So I get drive at full speed to the AT&T store, they are completely clueless and send me to the Apple Store. The Apple store tells me I don’t have appointment!
Appointment? What is this a doctors office?? So they schedule for me to come in at 4:20 (seriously) I guess i could have registered online at Apple.com, but I didn’t.
They also informed that I would have top pay a $200 repair fee as it had some visible damage to the case that honestly, has been there for months! Ugh… Remember kids, there are no breakage plans on these!
So now I wait, phoneless. Like a heroin junkie waiting for a fix. Or a motherless child…
As we venture into 2009, and all the negativity going on in the world. I’m watching other nasty trends peeking inside social media sites.
It’s not a Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, MySpace, text message or email issue. It’s goes back to the people behind it.
Now, if you’re reading this and I’m not making sense, let me clarify.
A while back I contacted a CEO of a well known tech company. He’s a great guy, offers great products and I know him personally.
He absolutely hates talking to people when he doesn’t have to…
Why? 1. Well he’s a busy guy for starters. 2)He’s too busy wrapped in 200 kinds of New Media to have the time to respond personally!! 3.) I’m not sure he really enjoys talking to most people!
IF you want to reach me, contact me on these xyz platforms?!?!?
Now I understand that text messages are ‘easier’ and ‘more convenient’ than calling somebody or answering the phone. Right?
Well it depends. It seems the more tools that we have at our disposal, they more we misuse the best tools we have- ourselves.
Text conversations will never had the intimacy a phone call will nor will virtual meetings completely replace one on one meetings. Nor should they.
Now I know that we all communicate differently, and some of us with lesser social skills like the non-intimate and more elite types of social media. Just remember, we ARE human behind these keyboards NOT robots.
I’m not asking people to become something they aren’t; we’re hard coded down to the DNA! I just want to clarify that we use these tools to promote all that we believe in. They should be used to join the masses, not separate them.
Google has indexed over 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) unique URL’s.
The first Google index in 1998 already had 26 million pages, and by 2000 the Google index reached the one billion mark.
There are approximately 115 Million blogs. 122 new blogs a minute or 2 blogs a second!
The web is only 12% percent porn (not 98%!)
That’s 4.2 million unique sites and earns $5 billion a year.
Tim Berners-Lee coined the phrase world wide web in 1990.
Sweden has the highest percentage of net users. (75%)
Oh boy, I was so excited when my wife approved the purchase of a Flip HD for my birthday this weekend. The caveat, of course, is that she returned the picture frame I bought her that I HAD NO idea she already had. Also, she wants to win Super Bowl tickets making a quick a dirty home movie for an online competition.
Here is why I HATE most retail stores. We return the frame, I see the Flips and ask the “salesperson” at Best Buy if they had the HD model. Of course, the guy has NO IDEA what I’m talking about , gives me the rolling eyes look and then looks it up on the computer. BTW… you can’t call Best Buy and get anyone to answer the phone! Customer service?? Yes, you are needed.
Turns out no dice; online order only! I then call Wal-mart, Target, Fry’s etc… all the big box box stores have the standard models but no HD!! It appears everyone is trying to blow out the standard def models for the new HD series. I even tried smallerindiana.com and Twitter, where local New Media king Kyle Lacy exclaims “THE FLIP HD!”
Ok, normally when someone like Kyle makes a suggestion, you heed his advice. Kyle researches stuff like crazy, so he’s like a built in web filter!
Now after checking out the video above from Chris Prillo (I LOVE BLOGS)
Chris does a review of all three here’s his consensus:
* Flip Mino HD Likes: small and lightweight; has decent software that runs on both Mac OS X and Windows; decent “foreground subject focused” audio in noisy situations.
* Flip Mino HD Dislikes: Touch controls are too sensitive; there’s a plastic protector that flips out along with the USB connector; colors are always washed out; flat video quality; white balance is impossible; tons of noise in low light; my skin tone never looks right indoors; built-in YouTube uploader decreases quality automatically; tiny LCD screen; cheap plastic wrist strap.
* Kodak Zi6 Likes: decent saturation; decent audio; great LCD size; uses AA batteries; uses SDHC media; macro switch; great quality when not blurring.
* Kodak Zi6 Dislikes: unpredictably blurred recordings in low light; no clear audio when noisy; no Mac software support; can be oversaturated in certain scene; heavy construction.
* Creative Vado HD Likes: great balance of color and saturation in the average shot; tends to favor skin tones; wide angle lens; can record two hours; replaceable / rechargeable battery via USB; lightweight; sharp definition.
* Creative Vado HD Dislikes: included skin doesn’t accommodate battery replacement / hard reset; audio is treble muted from behind (in narration); skews to light which isn’t always neutral; has a wrist strap slot but doesn’t come with a strap.
Now I’m still leaning on the Flip as it seems to have better video quality and better sound. But the Vado Has twice the capacity 8GB, removable battery and better wide angle lens!
I didn’t really think too hard when I named this blog. Yeah, it’s the title of a book by Aldous Huxley.
In this book (1931), Huxley deals with developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society.
According to answers.com, A Brave New World is a world or realm of radically transformed existence, especially one in which technological progress has both positive and negative results. That’s the whole premise of mine, as well many other blogs.
Society, as a whole, is evolving technically at a rate that is exponential and so much faster than our brains can comprehend.
Ray Kurzweil wrote “The Law of Accelerating Returns” in 2001. It explains how much the 21st century will greatly differ from the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th and 20th century.
“An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate). The “returns,” such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to The Singularity — technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. The implications include the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light.”
So while he points out how this growth will affect us; it’s ultimately going to lead to artificial intelligence that could ultimately control humans or destroy our current civilization.
Terminator anyone??
Marketing guru Seth Godin has one key point. Interruption Marketing doesn’t work! Now, most of you Internet Marketing guru’s know who Seth is. (if not click his name in blue)
I agree with what Seth has to say regarding how traditional marketing such as TV and Radio don’t work like they use to. I agree that society has changed all this, but one person proved it isn’t all lost.
My 2 year old daughter Sophia!
Sophia doesn’t understand the web other than you can play Dora the Explorer and that people probably spend too much time banging on the keys. (as she enjoys!) The ‘puter to her is nothing more than a toy. For a very young child it is.
However, brand identity is built into our DNA. McDonald’s comes to mind first. The second we tasted the greasy goodness of a fry we were in heaven. Mix that with a cheap novelty toy from the latest Disney movie and you’re in golden arches clutches forever!!I would wager that anyone 35 or younger that was a natural born U.S. citizen does not remember the first experience! 50 billion cheeseburgers and several continents later I think we have a well defined brand that hasn’t changed much in 50 years. STAYING POWER! Try driving in a car with a young child past those blasted arches and see if you don’t have to stop! Have I been interrupted?
I also learn more about how children think of brand identity from my daughter. She knows EXACTLY what Nick Jr, Icarly, Drake and Josh and every Disney movie are! (and the commercials that follow)
I don’t think these shows are hurting from a ratings perspective. I’m sure that ad revenue is down due to the recent Viacom/ Time Warner dispute.(FYI, I worked for Time Warner over a decade ago!)
My daughter also knows the Harley Davidson logo. There are two reasons she knows this. Her father and uncle both own one! When she saw the logo and said ” Harley Davidson Motorcycles” I thought she was a genius!
I could go on and on about how a two year child has taught me things about branding and marketing that I thought were dead. They’ve just changed to a more exclusive and younger market.
I’d like to thank Derek McClain for sticking a video camera in front of my face the other day and getting me to address a subject. This is all of the cuff and I promise the 2:34 won’t be TOO boring. BTW Derek writes really cool blogs about Social Media and new gadgets! Check him out www.derekmcclain.com
A commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. In other words, copper is copper. Rice is rice. Stereos, on the other hand, have many levels of quality. And, the better a stereo is, the more it will cost. The price of copper is universal, and fluctuates daily based on global supply and demand.
I guess what I’m trying to say is YOU are a commodity! Your education, work experience, technical abilities, work ethic, creativity and networking abilities etc. all combine to form what is known as your personal brand.
“Few things can have greater impact on your personal brand and your organization’s brand recognition than developing and sharing your expertise with the world. Whether you call it becoming a thought leader or a public expert, or, as marketing guru Steven Yoder’s book espouses, Getting Slightly Famous, you should do it. Trust me. I’m living proof that it works.
My first job was with Imperial Chemical Industries. I was fresh out of college at Yale, and like all new graduates, I didn’t know much. But when I noticed that Total Quality Management was the consultant-driven business trend du jour, I decided to make that my expertise. I studied all the texts that were available, interviewed experts at conferences, and endlessly discussed and debated the issues with my colleagues. Soon, I was writing articles, contributing to a self-published book, teaching inside the company, and speaking at conferences. And when it was clear I was one of ICI’s three go-to guys for TQM knowledge, the company crafted a new position for me as one of the leaders of TQM in North America, a promotion that certainly bolstered my application to Harvard Business School.
This simple formula: 1) Build expertise, 2) Get people to recognize it — is one I used throughout my career. At Deloitte Consulting, my rise from post-MBA consultant to chief marketing officer was accelerated by my “getting slightly famous” in the fields of re-engineering and customer relationship management. Then it was sharing my marketing acumen that helped me land jobs as CMO of Starwood Hotels and CEO of a computer games startup, as well as founding my own sales and marketing consultancy, Ferrazzi Greenlight.
Even today, it’s that simple one-two formula that we help large sales forces, marketing departments, and senior executives implement through Ferrazzi Greenlight coaching and training.
For our purposes now, we’ll assume that you already have an area of expertise. Here are the five steps to getting people to recognize it (originally taught to me at Deloitte by Bo Manning, who is now CEO of Orchestria).
1. Talk about your expertise, with everyone you meet. Your clients, colleagues, superiors, everyone. Even in social settings, it also makes for the perfect, confident response to the inevitable question: “What exactly do you do?” Hey, if you can explain it to your in-laws, you can explain it to anyone.
2. Prepare a formal one-hour talk with a deck of slides. This forces you to organize your ideas and structure your arguments to make the most profound impact on an audience. When you have it ready, give the talk whenever and wherever you can – a lunch meeting in the office, conference breakout sessions, and professional organization meetings.
3. Write an article. It doesn’t have to be on the front page of the Wall Street Journal to be effective. With a little bit of effort and a few phone calls, I guarantee you can find a publication that’s eager for your contribution.
4. Write more articles. Yes, this is important enough to warrant its own step. Turn sharing your knowledge into a habit, and your thought leadership will command much more respect.
5. Write a book. Everyone, even you, can write a book. In fact, if you’ve written a series of articles, the book has already written itself. All you’ll need to do is add a few anecdotes. If you can get a contract with a major publisher, great. If not, no worries. A good friend of mine, executive coach and productivity consultant Stever Robbins, published his first book It Takes A Lot More Than Attitude…To Lead a Stellar Organization by simply combining his best articles, and it’s been a great calling card for his growing business. As long as it’s bound and it doesn’t look like it came from a personal printer, you’ll be fine.
While following these steps, I guarantee you’ll begin to see your personal and organizational cachet grow in the marketplace. And if you complete step five and have that book in hand, you’ll enter a club I never knew existed before I was a published author. Because being a thought leader does take hard work, people have tremendous respect for those who have taken it to the final stage. And they put their money where their mouth is.”
2008 is a year of change and uncertainty. Some amazing things happened this year. The most obvious being the election of Barack Obama .
The collapse of our economic system due to the collapse of several big companies and most likely demise of several large and small organizations throughout the country and possibly the world.
Not only are we in a MAJOR recession, we are facing the possibility of things getting worse. Just about everyone I know is uncertain if they will have jobs in the coming months.
It was also unique that we saw gas rise to $4.20+ a gallon in July by the greedy oil companies ,only to to see consumer confidence drop so low that gas fell to under$1.50 a gallon by the holiday season. Fuel efficient hybrid cars became the rave as gas prices ballooned out of control only to become less in demand over the coming months as the prices fell. It reminds me of the gas shortage in the ’70’s and how we tried THEN to use alternative fuels and sources to combat this issue. We have thus found ourselves back into a similar scenario. Will we change our evil ways?
2008 also showed new tech trends. Apple’s Iphone 3G again proved that a phone was no longer just a ‘phone’. It was a way to connect to the web, social media, play music, shop, pick movies and restaurants in ways that only a few short years we never would have imagined possible.
The world became engrossed in Social Media. Facebook, Twitter and blogging became not only a means of connection, but also established new groups and outposts.
Social Media also proved that traditional Marketing efforts like Radio, Print and Direct Mail weren’t working. That the web was truly a porthole for permission or inbound marketing.
I could go on and on about this year and it’s positive effect on me i.e. Good job, great family, watching my daughter grow up etc. I can also openly say that I’m nervous and excited about 2009. I’m nervous that I could lose my job just like everyone else but also optimistic that I know that I am needed and posses the dynamic skills needed for the unknown. Could their be pain? Absolutely! Could their be pleasure? You betcha!
I firmly believe that 2008 is truly the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. We will see amazing things happen by amazing people over the coming years and that things have come and gone for a reason and the new world will be a better one!
So everyone hang in there and stay strong. We will get though this and amazing things are around the corner!
My name is Justin Bryant and I’ve spent the past 16 years years in the Media industry. From hired gun guitar player to Producer, Engineer all the way to IT, Web and Social Media evangelist! This site will hopefully combine all these dynamic elements into a fun and enjoyable experience.
I thought this video produced by Fusework Studios would be a hilarious way to get started on my new blog. The premise of this site is to be an informative source of all things New Media. There will be tons of great information here for both tech and non-technical individuals alike.
The idea is to combine all the elements of the constantly changing and dynamic New Media world we live in today. I want to make sure that the topics are all in small digestible pieces that most people will enjoy.
Visit often as there will be many exciting and hilarious posts!
