Reading about the amazingly meteoric rise of their Draw Something app and subsequent sale of the comapany to Zynga, I got to thinking about the speed of adoption of technologies these days. It used to be that 50 million users was a milestone, but these days analysts like myself watch these stats pass without blinking. In the time it took me to write this post Rovio's Angry Birds Space edition app surpassed Draw Something by reaching 50 million users in 35 days, setting a new record. Within the past 30 years, I've seen vinyl albums with only 6 songs give way to iPod nanos with 2000 songs. In the past 10 years alone technologies which were barely an idea before ahve infiltrated and disrupted whole industries almost overnight. It's still easy for some to dismiss companies like Google and Facebook as anomalies, but when you look at the bigger trend, the truth can be scary for the unprepared. I put this infographic together to help me visualize and analyze the larger trend. Of course, much is omitted from the story like geography, infrastructure, governing laws, demographics etc, but the trend is amazing nonetheless. Feel free to use the infographic it if it's helpful for you.
Notes: Eric Johnson, President & Founder of Ignited
Storified by G. Kofi Annan · Mon, Apr 23 2012 13:49:05
@Ignited started Ignited Labs to fund internal & external marketing technology start ups; now not only agency but also incubator #aadigitalVenturingEmergBrands
Ignited LabsGKofiA
Ignited LabsGKofiA
LESSONS FOR AGENCIES TO THINK LIKE INCUBATORS
Lesson 1: It takes leadership
Lesson 2: Need multiple benefits
- ROI, Clients, Inspiration
Lesson 3: Play hardball
Lesson 4: Driver was more about sharing ideas with peers
Lesson 5: Change the mindset
- Foster a creative & entrepreneurial environment
- They bring in speakers like Tim Westergren (Pandora), Jana Steadman (MTV), Simon Sinek ("Starts with Why" book)
Lesson 6: Start-ups feed growth; it's a cycle
- Maintain organic growth
- Start new business
- Invest in new business
- Offer new agency services
- Consider acquisitions
Lesson 7: Pitch selectively
- balance time & capital investment between new business pitches & start-ups
ROI of pitching not good; involves high costs & low chance of winning; tough to make money back #aadigital Eric Johnson @ignitedVenturingEmergBrands
Agencies must start investing in innovation & experimentation to thrive - @ignited now puts1/2 of our time & money into startups #AADigitalIgnited
How to stir up innovation within agency? Foster a creative and entrepreneurial environment - Eric Johnson, pres of Ignited #aadigitalgatsdee
You're walking through a town square and see a large suspended sign that reads "Push to add drama". The sign is pointing to a big red button. Curiously you hit the button and....Whoa! Watch the video to find out what happens. Pretty cool stuff.
I've been working with health brands for a number of years and, while the industry stays mostly under the radar in tech & media news, it's been going through some major changes recently. From the transformation of the industry from "sick" care to true "health" care, to the tug of war between regulation and innovators, it's a unique industry to watch and work within. As with all industries these days, the prevalence and accessibility of technology has been having a major impact and brands and marketers are struggling to adapt. I, for one, see great possibilities for innovation within health care both from within the industry and outside. In the presentation below I outline how I see technology diffusion affecting marketers and brands' roles in the dialogue and practice of health and wellness. I've also presented examples for what I see are 6 digital trends that I believe will have the biggest impact on how physicians practice, patients learn & do, caregivers assist, and institutions manage health in the near future. As always, feedback is always welcome here or on twitter @gkofiannnan.
We knew that if we could identify [expecting mothers] in their second trimester, there’s a good chance we could capture them for years,” Pole told me. “As soon as we get them buying diapers from us, they’re going to start buying everything else too. If you’re rushing through the store, looking for bottles, and you pass orange juice, you’ll grab a carton. Oh, and there’s that new DVD I want. Soon, you’ll be buying cereal and paper towels from us, and keep coming back...Almost every major retailer, from grocery chains to investment banks to the U.S. Postal Service, has a “predictive analytics” department devoted to understanding not just consumers’ shopping habits but also their personal habits, so as to more efficiently market to them. “But Target has always been one of the smartest at this,” says Eric Siegel, a consultant and the chairman of a conference called Predictive Analytics World. “We’re living through a golden age of behavioral research. It’s amazing how much we can figure out about how people think now.
Picture walking into your local deli, and the owner recognizing you. Before you make it to the counter, the cook makes your "usual" sandwich, passes it to the cashier, who then bags it and hands it to you. All this with nothing more than pleasantries being exchanged. Now what if the deli was in a Target?
Well these days companies are trying to use predictive analysis to duplicate that process. But, of course, with all the Google and Facebook privacy concerns and horror stories of Target knowing a teen is pregnant before her parents, companies will have to think twice about what they do with all the info users are sharing with them. This'll be an interesting space to watch going forward, and if you're a marketer or a math nerd, opportunities abound.
Remember those facial recognition, augmented reality contact lenses in Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (good movie by the way)? Well Microsoft and the university of Kansas are making some headway to making them a reality. Check the video beloww on the overview of the Augmented Reality lens project. Sidebar: I’m really liking Microsoft’s strategies these days. Seems they’re FINALLY realizing that the whole “We make Windows software and all other projects are only pet projects” thing is going away.
In a move that makes eye color correction seem boring, Microsoft and the University of Washington have made major advances in bringing augmented reality to contact lenses. The augmented reality lens receives radio signals and transmits them via optical nerves directly to the brain. The process was successfully tested on a rabbit, and the research team has the go-ahead to begin human trials.
While augmented reality has thus far been treated as something of a fad by corporations not involved with video games or marketing, Microsoft insists that incorporating the technology into a lens will make it practical for multiple applications. Possible uses include using facial recognition technology to assist security and police forces, or a virtual desktop that retrieves and displays information in the blink of an eye.
I just finished reading Nick Bilton's recent "I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works", a thoughtful book on the emergence of digital media and how it's impacting our society. One of the concepts that has stuck with me is Bilton's thoughts on how we naturally adapt to new media forms and learn to displace old ones in our daily life. As an example, he illustrates how the emergence of television caused people to change their media focus in homes, moving radio consumption to being experienced mostly in the car. Bilton makes a good point about how organizations demonize new media forms and their effect on learning and growth, especially in youth. Comic books were supposed to encourage juvenile delinquency, and now mobile and texting is supposed to limit children's use and understanding of the English language. There are many studies to support both viewpoints, but one perspective I find lacking in the discourse is the youth's perspective. Yes, media creation and consumption is in overdrive these days, but is it really a problem for 'society' or just the older of us? My 12-year old niece doesn't seem to have a problem texting, watching tv, and listening to music all at the same time — in fact, she sees it as a natural habit. In discussing the impact of the media deluge and what it means society's development, how much of the discussion is tainted by our individual ties to old habits and our hope that we won't get left behind? In the short video below, 12-14 year-olds talk about their everyday media use and how they feel about it. For many of us over 35, the only habits we might find similar to the younger generation is that texting and studying is not a good combination.
What do you think? Are our feelings about today's media diet tainted by our age and old habits? Can you teach an older dog new tricks? Comment here or wherever you interact with me.
The new Aakash android tablet has shaken up the tablet industry primarily because of it's price point: $35. Aimed at students, the tablet is being regarded as a innovative example both in global tablet industry and in the aid industry, where it's being seen as an alternative to the controversial $100 One Laptop Per Child device. The Aakash tablet is being marketed as a "Made in India" success story in hopes of championing India's manufacturing industry. In this video Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of UK-based tablet makers Datawind, speaks about the making of the Aakash and how they managed to keep the manufacturing price so low in India. The Aakash be sold as the DataWind Ubislate as of November 2011.
... U.S. middle-class cohort propelled GM past Ford into a leadership position among carmakers that lasted for the rest of the century.
Today, leaders of multinational corporations have a similarly lucrative opportunity on a much bigger playing field: a global middle-class market. This worldwide economic phenomenon encompasses a huge customer base. In 2011, it includes about 400 million people in the mature middle classes of the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and another 300 to 500 million people, depending on how the middle class is defined, in emerging economies. (The World Bank defines middle class as people who are above the median poverty line of their own countries. This might make them poor by the standards of Europe or the U.S., but gives them enough purchasing power to become consumers of manufactured goods and services.) This new global middle class is particularly evident in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, Vietnam, and other countries with relatively large working populations and rapid economic growth rates.
The middle class in each of these emerging economies has its own unique profile of demand. However, they all have one thing in common: They are recovering from the global recession with an increasingly urbanized lifestyle, and their numbers are expanding at very high rates, especially compared with the rest of the world. The value chain of companies that provide this population with goods, services, and infrastructure is becoming known as the “global middle market.” Companies that secure leading positions within that market could well become the 21st-century equivalents of Alfred Sloan’s General Motors.
Since the early 1990's Austin, Texas has been home to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival, one of the biggest and - in my opinion - best conferences on new digital media, music, and film ideas. I've attended a few times both as a speaker and attendee and can honestly say that the content and community never ceases to disappoint. Voting is currently open for the SXSW PanelPicker, the conference system which allows the community to have a significant voice in programming Interactive, Film, and Music conference activities for SXSWeek 2012 (March 9-18). Here is a list of panel/talk proposals which have piqued my interest and I hope you will Vote for them as well. I'm involved in organizing the first two so please vote if you think the topics are interesting. Don't worry if you can't be in Austin, Texas next March. The SXSW organizers are pretty good about recording and releasing audio and video from the talks so you'll still get to experience your favorite talks afterwards. Will you be attending? VOTE and ping me with any questions/comments.
Description: Startup culture is blossoming in emerging markets like, China, India and Africa. Entrepreneurs are even leaving Silicon Valley to launch startups in their native countries, and giving American businesses a run for their money. But what and who do have to know to be successful? And how easy is it? Find out.
Description: Africa is more than AIDS, poverty, civil strife and safaris. With the ever-increasing access to digital tools Africans on the continent and all over the world are using the web to farm a new vision of Africa in the 21st Century. Social media platforms amplify and help spread this “new take” on the continent, both enabling Africans to tell their own stories and offering an alternative to mainstream media’s coverage of Africa. Ultimately, using new media Africans can and are becoming the architects of what very well may be a new “African Renaissance.” This panel will look at how Africans are using the mobile and social web, what sort of content is being produced and what are the messages being communicated. The panel will also examine new media’s social and economic impact as it relates to Africa.
Liz Ngonzi – New York University Heyman Center for Philanthropy & Fundraising
TMS Ruge – Project Diaspora
Isis Nyong'o – InMobi Africa
Milly Businge – Kikuube Village Council
Description: This panel provides a rare glimpse into the multitude of ways African women are applying technology to advance Africa’s development. The panel aims to dispel the myths about African women as breeders and victims -- incapable of participating in their own continent’s development, by: (1) showcasing contributions they are making in the technology field – through entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and community leadership; and (2) providing insights into how they are using technology to raise awareness about, mobilize campaigns against and address human rights violations. The panel will specifically explore how African women are using technology to make an impact through: - Digital advocacy to protect people’s rights - Social media to help grassroots organizations engage new supporters worldwide - Mobile advertising to enable small businesses to access new markets - Internet connectivity to integrate the often unheard community voices into the global conversation on development Throughout the discussion, panelists will provide anecdotes on how the resulting increased access to information, is altering the role of women in African society.
