Sharing in a Narcissistic World

We are connected by no more than six degrees of separation. You may know someone who knows someone who knows me, done. And with close to seven billion of us walking the earth, that remains a fascinating reality.

Johannes Gutenberg was the person most attribute to the invention of the printing press around 1439. It revolutionized the world and allowed ideas to be spread faster between people across vast distances.

Connected by Thumbs

Depending on who you ask, the Internet is somewhere around forty years old. The look, feel and ease we see today began in the early 90’s. The ever expanding electronic web has revolutionized the world. It has allowed ideas to spread in an instant through computers and mobile devices. The digital world is more social. Or is it?

Mitch Joel has been studying the digital space and human behavior for more than two decades. He is the president of Twist Image - an award winning digital marketing firm in Toronto and Montreal and in his spare time he speaks all over the world, writes one of the best marketing blogs in the world and has a podcast and a book of the same name - Six Pixels of Separation. Mitch suggests we may not be as social as all the chatter suggests. He explained during his recent keynote at TEDx Concordia in Montreal.



Kneale Mann

video credit: TEDx Concordia

Integration Happens Every Day

The Power of Horses

Today’s automobile stems from a steam powered vehicle introduced by Ferdinand Verbiest who was member of a Jesuit mission in China in 1672.

There is currently a car for every eleven people on the planet, We burn 600 million gallons of fuel each year.

Print and Save

Johannes Gutenberg is credited with introducing the printing press in 1439.

Despite the rabid move to online and mobile, we have somehow quintupled our paper consumption since attempting to create a paperless society.

Play The Hits

Despite numerous disputes over many decades, Guglielmo Marconi was credited with introducing a radio telegraph system in 1896. Thomas Edison, David E. Hughes and Nikola Tesla were influential as well.

There are now more than 45,000 commercial radio stations in the world covering ever format imaginable. Satellite radio has opened the floodgates wide enough to feature such niche programming choices as uncensored comedy, extreme sports and polka.

Laptops and Memory Sticks

In 1968, Douglas Englebart hosted what was later called The Mother of All Demos as he outlined how individuals were going to be able to create and transmit content through word processing, hypertext and video conferencing technologies.

Since it was introduced last weekend, Apple sold close to a million units of their latest portable device. News stories on the iPad flooded both the blogosphere and traditional news agencies as if they had just invented the wheel.

A Series of Tubes

In 1958, the United States government developed the Advanced Research Projects Agency in response to their then Cold War adversary the Soviet Union’s space program. The ARPAnet gave the U.S. a technological edge in electronic intelligence.

Now more than 1.7 Billion people in the world have Internet access and over 76% of North Americans are online.

All That You Do

Forty years ago, a word was created to describe the creative way in which companies and individuals promote, sell and communicate their products and services while understanding the needs and desires of a target audience.

The word Marketing was an American invention and is the same translated in to any other language. Today it represents every aspect of business and culture and is no longer limited to advertising or promotion.

Did You Get My Voicemail?

Originated from the Greek term “far voice”, the telephone was another controversial invention because many had their hand in its early progress. Canadian Alexander Graham Bell, American Thomas Edison and various other inventors around world had their part in developing this historic gadget.

And just this week, more text messages were sent via cellar telephone than there are people walking the earth.

Watch Your Thumbs!

Dating back as far as 1973, messages were transmitted electronically through an intricate encoded system wired through a series of computer servers all over the United States.

And if you are running a company, email is just a part of everyday life today.

Human Networking

Thirty years ago, there was no Facebook or LinkedIn, no one was tweeting or friending and the idea that you would actually meet a complete stranger you had only previously met online was laughable.

The chance to connect with people from every possible crevice of the world who share similar ideas and work remotely on projects and build businesses through the social web was an old idea that has become a new buzz.

Acceptance and Belief

All too often our lens is pointed at the advancements in our own personal lives. Those which were invented before we were born seem to be accepted without question.

None of these and thousands of other inventions matter without two important elements – our ability to create and share.

Perhaps before discarding something new, we should give it a little time to see if it’s worth keeping?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credits: apple

The Cell Phone Turns A Page

Have we lost the passion for reading books?

One of the rising categories in electronics over the last few years has been portable e-readers. If you’re not familiar, you can buy a device that will download full-length books. Then you can have a bunch of books all stored in one handy handheld device. You can buy one in the $250-$400 range.

There are a few models on the market. Read Gizmodo's take on all the models if you're not sure which one to buy. Amazon got a nice bump from Oprah last year and sold out of the Kindle - twice. The company is expected to announce the Kindle 2.0 for the U.S. market tomorrow.

Check Your Lane!

A spokesperson for the company said that their cell-ready device is coming too. You will be soon be able to download a book on to your phone or PDA.

And you thought people were distracted sending emails in traffic!

Just imagine some guy in front of you at a stoplight getting distracted because he's reading a novel. Of course if you're sitting on a long flight, these can be very handy.

Those Were The Days, My Friend

The newspaper industry was wildly successful for generations. Many have booked the funeral in the last couple of years.

Pardon the pun, but stop the presses!

Is this an issue about newspapers and books or our desire for news and content? Is this about holding a paper or book in our hands or the content itself?

Has our quest for information decreased?

This is about the ability for each of us to control our environment.

Our demand for instantly delivered content seems to increase every day. We want it now and we want it fast. We don't want to wait until tomorrow to read yesterday's news.

You know times are changing when The Huffington Post hosts its own inaugural ball for President Obama.

Now What?

The publishing industry needs to have a good look at the music industry’s reaction to downloading. The challenges may be similar, they may be different, but one thing is certain - change is here to stay.

If you’re in the area, join the free discussion on June 6th at BookCamp Toronto where some possible solutions for the publishing industry may arise.

Do you want books on your cell phone?

What does the future hold for the publishing industry?

km