Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 256

Awards Worth Winning

Are you cynical of people who win awards or make some kind of bestsellers list?

Whether it's the New York Times' book list or an advertising award, I have always had a love/hate relationship with these types of accolades. I've seen so many people game the system (yes, even ones that seem un-gameable) that I often look at the "winners" with an air of deep suspicion. Not that long ago, a friend released a business book that debuted on one of the major bestseller lists. I was a little dumbfounded. They had not done much in terms of pre-press and sales, they had no serious/significant presence on social media, and there wasn't even that much media attention the week of the book's release. Still, the book hit the top ten list. The next week, it was gone. And, even on the week where it did appear on the list, if you were tracking its position on Amazon, there wasn't any significant spike. Isn't that all a little strange? Not really. You can buy your way to the top of the list. If you don't believe me, you can read more about that topic right here: Buy Your Way To The Top. I've seen the same thing happen at industry awards. Where agencies who are on the selection committee or the board of directors of the organization tend to accumulate the most awards. It has to be a coincidence right?

On the other hand...

Awards and making bestseller lists can be very validating. For the hard work and dedication. For helping the team behind the work to coalesce and come together. When it's merited, it is magical and it can change business. In that blog post above on buying your way to the top, I did contemplate using one of those business book services that guarantee a spot on these lists. I never did it. It felt icky. It didn't feel real. I see brands and individuals do this everyday online. Buying friends, followers, fans, likes... you name it. It makes me sad. It's an act of vanity that is simply thinly veiled desperation. The numbers don't validate anything, especially if there's nothing behind it. People who buy their way on to lists like that tend to feel like it's a strategic move because they can use the title of "bestselling author" or "one million fans" on Twitter to drum up more business in terms of speaking, consulting or impressing new clients. But it's hollow. It's not sustainable.

Why?

If anyone does any semblance of research, they will see the truth. Your book may be number six on the bestsellers list this week, but if it's gone next week (never to return), the only people that you may be duping are these poor new clients that are being lied to (not the best way to start a new business relationship). If you can sleep at night, good luck to you. If a book falls off the list, it means its a book that didn't attract an audience. It means that people bought it and never took to it. They didn't share it. They didn't help it grow. It means that the publicity that a lot of authors grab in this moment still isn't enough to make anyone really care. So, it's more like a desperate cry for attention than anything else. If you buy a million followers, but nobody cares about your messages, posts and shares, it's the worse kind of vanity metric.

Earning it.

You have to earn it. Don't you? When it's earned, it's honest. It's true. It's something to be celebrated. You may be wondering why this all on my radar at this point? I just got an email from my publisher that my second business book, CTRL ALT Delete, won two business book awards. One is the Gold Award in Networking from the 7th Annual Axiom Business Book Awards. I had no idea that my book publisher has even nominated it. The book was also named one of the Best Books of 2013 in Business & Investing by Amazon. I was proud and I wanted everyone to know. I wanted to share the news with you, but I almost didn't. I got worried. I thought that people might think that I am simply bragging, or that I did something in the background to make these awards happen, so when the news broke, I could be all like, "What? Me? Why, I'm flattered... for sure..."

I'm really blown away... and proud.

What these two awards mean to me, is that people actually bought this book, talked about it, told others to check it out. For me, that's the "big checkmark" when you write something like a business book. So, I'm thrilled to announce that CTRL ALT Delete has been recognized. And, I mean it. Because I truly had no idea that it was even nominated. I can't thank you enough for your constant support and belief in the ideas that happens between my ears. On top of that, make sure that your work gets the opportunity to be recognized by your peers, by your industry and by the people who care. When it's done authentically and ethically, there is nothing that is more rewarding.

Thank you... and if you want to know more about CTRL ALT Delete, please watch this:

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The Naked Brand And The Future Of Marketing

Society blames advertising for a lot of things.

Here's the truth about advertising: it's role is to get the consumer excited about something. He's another reality: reality is not all that exciting. So, advertising exaggerates the good parts of a product or service to create a compelling story. Some of it is brutal. Some of it is offensive. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it is even true. With that, we can't blame the woes of society, capitalism and big business on the shoulders of advertising. Advertising is just the message. And you know what they say about shooting the messenger. Last year, a documentary was produced about advertising, marketing and brands, and it's called, The Naked Brand - The Future of Marketing. It paints a pretty dreary picture of advertising, brands and the future of consumers. It's true that digital technology has exposed a lot of the things that most people knew to be true, but now it's all out there in the open. Perhaps this has changed brands and perhaps it has reshaped how products and services are bought and sold, but it's worth wondering if today's advertising is the same as yesterday's advertising: a message that is simply for the times. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss?

You can watch the forty-five minute documentary right here, and decide for yourself:

(hat-tip to Ivan Hernandez for the find).

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Even If You're Not Doing Social Media, You Should Still Be Doing This...

In an effort to better involve themselves in social media, many brands still attempt to decide which channel to hop on.

It's easy to do this. It's easy to be attracted to whatever the bring and shiny object may be at the moment. Brands can be like little, distracted squirrels when it comes to social media. Some have already tinkered in places like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, while others simply haven't invested the time and resources to figure out which one will serve them best. Many are wondering if Instagram, Vine and Pinterest can help them be better and do more. Most brands have fundamental challenges with the platforms because, while they are free to connect and engage with, it takes a tremendous amount of knowledge, patience and effort for it to bear juicy fruits. With that, the popularity of online social networking has also brought with it the complexity of paid media as well. For a lot of this more corporate content to rise above, it must now be boosted and supported with significant media dollars. We're seeing everything from fan acquisition paid media strategies to companies that are paying to promote individual posts and tweets to garner attention. It sounds a lot like traditional media... and that's because it is. Still, there are many brands (especially in the small and medium-sized business space) that are experiencing great returns by simply being present, helpful and interesting to customers and potential clients. If all of this sounds complex, it is because it is complex. The best way to understand this brave new word of marketing is to think of it as a publishing platform. Brands can create content (in text, images, audio and video) much in the same way that a publisher can create content, and brands can advertise on these publishing platforms as well. The biggest paradigm shift (that most brands still fail to comprehend) is that within this model, brands can also be the publisher or build their own publishing platform (meaning, they are no longer at the mercy of the publisher to run the content or negotiate the ad space with). It's enough to make any business throw their hands up in the air and give up entirely. 

A way to step back, but still win at social media.

When asked where to start with social media, most gurus, thought leaders and ninjas will tell brands to listen. Spend some time on these channels listening to what consumers are talking about. Are they mentioning your brand, your competitors or the industry that you serve? It is sound advice and something that many brands can start doing right at this moment. There are free tools (like Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts) that can give you a semblance of what is being said, but times have changed. Social media is now close to fifteen years old (older, if you really want to get specific about when the popularity of blogging first took hold). There has been many layers of maturation in the space. Now, brands can (and should) be doing a lot more than just listening, when they decide to take the plunge into social media. In fact, if you're still on the fence with social media, there is one big, major and fascinating thing that you can do to better understand not just social media, but how your brand is competitively performing in the marketplace: invest in a social media analytics tool.

Start with social media analytics.

This isn't about measuring your brand efficacy in digital marketing (at least not yet), it's about taking the first step (and making that first step a lot more power and profound than simply listening). Now, as a brand, you can gather insights about your business, your competitors and the industry that you serve like never before. Last week, eMarketer posted a news item titled, Marketers Adopt Social Media Analytics Tools, that looked at some new research on how close to two-thirds of companies in North America have adopted some kind of social media analytics tool (and how the increase has really taken shape in the past two years). What makes this research so compelling to brands who are not immersed in the digital marketing and social media space is how these tools are being used by organizations. According to the article, here is the breakdown:

Campaign tracking - 60%

Brand analysis - 48%

Competitive intelligence - 40%

Customer care - 36%

Product launch - 32%

Influencer ranking - 27%

Owned/earned media analysis - 18%

Product innovation - 11%

Category analysis - 11%

Risk management - 3%

Partner monitoring - 3%

What is this list screaming to you?

All of these activities. All of them. Can be used for every kind of business and you don't need a social media presence to benefit from the results. I would argue that augmenting your current marketing and communications strategies with social media is smart, but that's an entirely other conversation piece. Think about what these new (and constantly improving) social media analytics tools can tell you about everything that you are doing to grow your business. Even if all you are doing is taking out local ads in the newspaper and on radio, a good social media analytics tool can let you know how that campaign is tracking (are people talking about it online, sharing it, etc...), it can tell you how well your brand is perceived, what people think of your competitors, how well you are handling customer service issues and so much more.

Beyond listening. Beyond doing.

Sadly, most brands see social media analytics tools as an engine to better understand how they are performing in social media. Instead, the true opportunity is in understanding just how powerful and profound these tools are in giving you a true temperature check on the overall health of your business and the brand. Have you had success on Facebook? What about Twitter? If your peers are trying to talk you into (or out of) using these channels to build your business, it is in your best interest to start with a strong social media analytics tool and from there start building a true marketing strategy that is driven by your business goals. No need to to hop on the latest craze, and no need to just listen to chatter any longer. Do yourself, your business and your future a favor. Start paying attention to everything that is going on in the social media space, and use these analytics as a barometer for what's happening in your business and what you can do - with each and every passing day - to improve it.

Social media analytics... it's not just to see if Facebook is working for you anymore.

The above posting is my twice-monthly column for Inc. Magazine called Reboot: Marketing . I cross-post it here with all the links and tags for your reading pleasure, but you can check out the original version online here:

Inc. Magazine - What Sets Social Innovators Apart? They Listen. They Measure .

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Market What Works. Get Schooled... Seth Godin Style

Are you interested in taking a very modern course in marketing?

With each and every passing day, I get a handful of emails asking me who offers up the best course in marketing. Up until today, I wasn't sure that I had the best answer to give. I do now. And, you can thank Seth Godin (who else?) for that. Seth loves to push buttons (poke them?). He loves to provoke with his myriad of brilliant business books (you have read Purple Cow, Linchpin, The Dip and all of the other ones, haven't you?), his daily kernels of deep wisdom on his blog always inspire and force you to think, and now, he's teaching a course (actually, this is his second one). He calls it a workshop, but trust me, it's a course. A deep and rich one that is full of powerful information.

What does modern marketing look like?

Seth teamed up with Skillshare to launch The Modern Marketing Workshop. It's a course aimed at marketers - at all levels, for all types of organizations. If you're trying to understand where great ideas come from, how to connect in a more direct and profound way with your customers, and - most importantly - how to market what works, then this course is for you. Listen, if you have been following this blog for any semblance of time, you know two things about me: One, I am an unabashed fanboy of all things Seth Godin. Two, I don't shill for anyone unless the value of the product far outweighs the price. Unless it's something I one hundred percent believe in and think that everyone should be checking out. Here's why Seth created this course from the man, himself...   

"Marketing has changed more in the last 20 years than any other business discipline. Far more than accounting, manufacturing, or management. Why are we relying on the same-old traditional textbooks? Why are CMOs cornered into decisions that make no sense? Why do leaders still talk about marketing and advertising like they're the same?... It turns out that just about everything we learned in school, just about everything our boss, our board and our co-workers believe about marketing is out of date. The new course includes videos, new ebooks, worksheets and more (more than 75 pages of brand-new material and many hours of discussions and projects for you and your team.) I hope you'll devote the time to really dive into it, and you'll challenge your peers to do it with you."

I'm in on this course... are you?

It's not free, but it's only $19 (which, is as close to free as you can get, if you consider the professor and the quality of which he creates any form of content). This just seems like the perfect course for everyone in marketing to take, to do the hard work along with, to share with their team members and, ultimately, to make marketing (as an industry) that much better.

Check out the video promo below and sign up before it's too late: Seth Godin's Modern Marketing Workshop.

The Modern Marketing Workshop

An Online Skillshare Class by Seth Godin

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CTRL ALT Delete - Weekly Technology And Digital Media Review - CHOM FM #22

Every morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

60 Minutes - The Data Brokers - Selling Your Personal Information.

Consumers need to know the difference between our personal data and the personalization of our business.

Let's not be too alarmist about what is really being used, but let's be aware and smart with our data.

Individuals need to be advocates and owners of their personal data.

Amazon knows things about you that your spouse doesn't even know yet.

Everything online is public... remember this.

Education of media needs to be implemented at the elementary schools (and for parents).

Nestlé urges workaholics to take a break - and how about a Kit Kat?

The 7 Best Apps for When You're Sitting on the Toilet.

App of the week: Tinder.

Listen here...

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terry dimonte

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tinder

Celebrating 400 Podcast Episodes With Douglas Rushkoff

Episode #400 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

For the 400th episode of this podcast series, I wanted to have a serious and in-depth conversation with someone who I consider to be one of the brightest minds when it comes to digital, media and technology. That's Douglas Rushkoff. The timing could not have been more perfect, because he is back with a new documentary that recently aired on Frontline titled, Generation Like. You will be doing yourself a huge disservice if you don't take the time to watch it (it's streaming for free online). Rushkoff's latest book is called, Present Shock, and he has ten-plus other best-selling books on new media and pop culture (including: Program Or Be Programmed, Life Inc., Cyberia, Media Virus, Playing the Future, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out and Coercion, winner of the Marshall Mcluhan Award for best media book). He does tons of teaching and public speaking, but also makes time to produce and write documentaries like Generation Like (along with The Merchants of Cool,  The Persuaders, Digital_Nation). If that weren't enough, Douglas Rushkoff has written two series of graphic novels for Vertigo called, Testament and A.D.D.. I'm always honored that he takes the time to have these types of conversations with me, and we decided to deep dive into some of the bigger themes of this documentary, and what it means to society, as a whole. Lastly, thank you very much for listening to my podcast. I put out these shows, because having these conversations make me better (and hopefully smarter)> The fact that thousands of people - every week - enjoy them right along with me is a true privilege. I'm not one to celebrate milestones and the like, but thank you for being a part of my journey to discover. Enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #400.

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #194

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

The Backlist: Isaac Asimov's Foundation - The Stake . "Perhaps the greatest fictionalization of applied Big Data, Asimov 's Foundation series, while not amazingly written, is breathtaking in scope and concept. As this Stake piece observes, the series' protagonist foresees the collapse of an empire due to 'a rising bureaucracy, a receding initiative, a freezing of caste, a damming of curiosity.' Sound familiar? A short piece with some great links in it." (Alistair for Hugh).

The Future of the News Business: A Monumental Twitter Stream All in One Place - Andreessen Horowitz . "Marc Andreessen has a knack for the bon mot, and here he offers more than a few of them about where journalism is going. His take is a bit more bleak and Valley-centric than it might be, but still offers some thoughtful observation. Newspapers aren't necessarily dying -- but they are changing significantly, dragged kicking and screaming away from big offices and high-rise glamor and towards teaser headlines and A/B testing." (Alistair for Mitch).

Shocking example of unintended consequences: Mandatory domestic violence arrests raise death rate 400%, study finds - National Post . "What do policies - such as mandatory sentencing - actually achieve? When you look at the data, can you see improvements in actual outcomes you are seeking? Here's a study suggesting a laudable police/justice policy (mandatory sentencing for domestic abuse) may end up doing harm. I have no idea of the validity of this individual study, but it's the kind of analysis we should see more of." (Hugh for Alistair).

What You Learn When You're 60 - The Lefsetz Letter . "We're getting older, not younger. Not quite 60 yet, but it's closer than it used to be. Lots of good advice from legendary music writer Bob Lefsetz." (Hugh for Mitch).

Slidedocs - Nancy Duarte . "I often get asked two questions after I speak in public. Question #1: Can I have your slides? Question #2: Who makes your slides? I take these both as compliments (and, for the record, no you can't have them and I designed them all myself). I don't give out my slides, because there is not much on them. It's usually just a photo, a quote, a simple stat or an embedded video. I try to keep them as simple as possible, and they are merely there to support the words that are coming out of my mouth. I refined this technique because I follow the brilliant advice of Nancy Duarte (check out her books, Slide:ology and Resonate). She has a new book out and it's called, Slidedocs... oh, and it's free. A slidedoc is a hybrid of a presentation and richer content mixed together so that you're reading (like a book) but enjoying it, because it's more visual. I think Nancy is on to something. Slidedocs can either be the perfect leave behind or a whole new way to publish books. Either way, me likes!" (Mitch for Alistair).

Why we love books by cool writers - The Globe And Mail . "You're trying to impress someone. A girl. A boss. A relative. Whatever. You want them to think that you're smart, right? Make sure you have the right books. Scratch that. Not just the right books, but the cool books. People will like you if they know you've read Kerouac, Hemingway and Bukowski, right? Why is that? What is a cool writer? Why do we love them so? We're all suckers for a cool writer... right?" (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

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andreessen horowitz

bitcurrent

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isaac asimov

librivox

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national post

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the globe and mail

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A Foolproof Way To Building A Great Story

If you are in business and you are trying to tell your story, you have to watch this.

I am thrilled that Steven Pressfield decided to post these two videos on YouTube. I'm a huge Pressfield fan (you can listen to my conversation with him right here: SPOS #251 - Do The Work With Steven Pressfield). He has written a slew of great books, including, The Legend Of Bagger Vance. I'm an even bigger fan of Pressfield's non-fiction writing, which typically focuses on unlocking creativity, becoming a better writer and telling better stories. Most people know Pressfield for his seminal books, The War of Art and Do The Work. Those are two books that I constantly find myself reverting back to and re-reading on an annual basis (yes, they are that good). In building up to the release of his most recent book, The Authentic Swing (which is a non-fiction tale about how he discovered and developed the book idea for The Legend of Bagger Vance), Pressfield shot a small video series on something he describes as the Foolscap Method. In short, take one sheet of paper and use it to illustrate the entire story and flow of a book, an idea, a startup, your business, whatever. In a word: amazing.

Watch this, learn Pressfield's strategy and then let me know just how much better and more structured your work becomes...

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youtube

Where Is The User Manual?

How does that coffee machine work?

I'm not a big coffee drinker. Too much caffeine does not play well with my biology. I'm anxious enough. A heavy does of it, and I'm spinning like a top, I get a headache and it's all regret. Still, occasionally, I like a cafe au lait (who doesn't?). Tasty. We've had the same coffee machine in our office at Twist Image for as long as I can remember. I walk by it multiple times a day. There are only a handful of buttons on it. I have no idea what those buttons mean or how to use it. I also recognize that we live in a world of coffee pods, where you simply slide these little tins into a coffee machine, hit a button and "poof," you have a French cafe style coffee pumped into your "Friday... my second favorite F Word" mug without any pretention. Still, I am clueless. It's just a bunch of buttons and sliders that I don't understand. I've tried. Sitting next to our coffee machine is a binder. On that binder, it says, "Coffee Machine User Manual." It's a binder. For a coffee machine.

How does your iPad work?

Do me a favor, take a look at the instruction manual for your iPad. How about the one for your iPhone? Your Android smartphone? Hmmm... no manual. That's interesting. Turn it on, slide to unlock it, touch and go. If you make a mistake, don't worry, you won't break the thing. It may take an extra second to figure it out, but you won't be punished by scolding hot water. Think on this for a moment: what is a more complex technology with a myriad more of functionality? That coffee machine or that iPad? That coffee machine user manual makes me laugh every time I see it. We talk about marketing, advertising and communication as a way to inform the public about the existence or nuances of the products and services that we sell, but marketing is so often left out of the actual development and experience, that what marketers are really left to do is to simply talk about something that may be overly complicated to explain and use.

Marketing includes design, usability and experience.

Don't forget about that. We often do forget about this or get lost in the erogenous zone of simplicity. Steve Jobs from Apple forced the world to look at design, usability, experience and marketing as one, holistic, thing. Business books, articles, case studies, documentaries, blog posts, annoying Instagram quote pictures deluge our eyes/brains with the idea of focusing on simplicity. I'd offer this thought: don't focus on simplicity. Simplicity is the outcome of bringing together the right people in the room that can get you to a specific point of resolution for your business. It's like trying to create something viral. Viral is a result of doing a lot of things brilliantly. Same with simplicity.

How to do away with the manual?

That specific point of resolution should be this: is it possible for your business to create something that does not require a manual or training? Ugh. Sucks to read that, doesn't it? Sucks to think about it. I know many business-to-business companies that will scoff at this notion, simply because this is how they ensure regular (and ongoing) revenue - through training, support and other value-added services. Fine, it may be impractical to completely do away with instruction manuals and trainings, but what if the real goal was to reduce it to its bare minimum? For my dollar, this is the highest form of marketing: creating something that is both needed and completely frictionless for the consumer (these are the things that consumers love to use and talk about). Find me a product that does this and was not accepted by a strong customer base, and I'll call you a liar (in the nicest way possible). Oh, and if you think it's one hundred percent impossible to drive your products and services to the point where instruction manuals are not needed, feel free to study (in-depth) some of the design thinking that the Apple team (and other folks - like the people at IDEO) are bringing to market. How they did it, might just surprise and inspire you and your teams. Lastly, remember that we have reached a very unique inflection point in time (and, it's something I discuss in a lot more detail in my second book, CTRL ALT Delete). We are finally at this amazing point in society when technology has removed the technology from technology. This stuff is intuitive, it does not require an instruction manual and it's accessible to all people - across demographics and psychographics. From the very young to the very old, to everyone in between. That is something to cherish, celebrate and integrate into all of our business. Always.

Dump the instruction manuals. That's the beginning phases of brilliant marketing.

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There's No Patience In Business

Don't slow down. Don't stop.

There is a massive chasm that still exists between the world of business and the expectations of the consumer. Ultimately, when it comes to the retail experience, I believe there are two types of consumers: The ones that want to get in and out as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then those that want a bit more of an experience (they want to walk around, get information from the sales associates, be handled just a little bit). What unifies these somewhat divergent consumers is their to desire to get the best price and service with a smile. It's a near impossible feat for most brands, because we live in the day and age of real-time expectations. In short: consumers knows more than most retailers about what they're buying, and if they don't, the information is readily available in the palms of their hands.

Howard Stern is your perfect consumer (at least one of them).

I was listening to Stern's show on my drive in to the airport this morning (hoping to see you all at DX3 in Toronto!) and he was raging against the retail experience and RadioShack's most recent announcement. Yesterday, the electronics retailers reported brutal earnings (they lost close to half a billion dollars) and that they would be shuttering over one thousand stores in an effort to better manage the business. While Stern and his crew may not be financial analysts or Wall Street reporters they are - like you and I - classic consumers. Stern falls into the first camp. He wants to be in and out as quickly as possible, without being screwed on the price. He recounted what his experience was like buying from RadioShack over the years. Stores that had only one or two employees, a check-out system that demanded a whole heap-load of personal information before you could paid for the $3.99 adapter that you needed, and a lack of sales rep knowledge in terms of what was what within the store. While my experiences have been different, Stern's comments were in direct line with my brand perceptions of the brand. You could also hear similar stories being told by other members of his staff on air. It's most troublesome, because we live in a strange world where we can't imagine retail without Radio Shack, but few of us spend any time spending significant dollars there or recommending them to a friend. As sad as that may be. Consumers can be very nostalgic, but it all floats away if you have to wait in line twenty minutes to buy an alarm clock because there are only two people working in the store, or if you're asked more personal information questions about your purchase than what you have to hand over when opening a checking account at the bank.

Let's not blame one retailer.

Brands seem to do this to themselves on a constant basis. And, instead of adjusting to this new, connected and empowered consumer, they tend to put more policies and practices in place as a way to herd everyone into one bucket. Not the smartest of strategies. On a personal note, I was recently in the market for a camera lens. Located near our offices is a local retailer with a fine reputation. I received excellent service and good information, and was happy to step-up and buy this lens (it was more than I had wanted to spend). Upon returning to my office, I went online to check out some reviews and noticed a huge price gap between what I had paid and what was being advertised on Amazon. Recognizing that Amazon always has cheaper prices, I checked out another local photography store. Guess what? Yep, that store's price was much closer to Amazon. It's a conundrum. On one hand, I definitely want to help out and support local merchants. On the other hand, if these merchants feel that they can get away with charging a significant premium, without thinking that consumers will go online to price check, they are deftly out of touch with the consumer of today.

Consumers are not patient. Brands need to understand this.

Consumers don't care about your IT roadmap. They don't care about your stance on showrooming. They may not even care about the fact that you're not interested in online reviews, or that consumers have the ability to find out a significant amount of information about the products and services that you sell, which are also online. Brands can displace themselves from reality and stick to their own dogma. This is a true and often seen stance, but it's silly. Brands don't have to like the current state of consumerism, the lack of care that consumers have for decades of knowledge or whatever else. The truth is that the Internet is a truth serum for all of this. RadioShack can decide that their business is in selling computers, mobile phones and headphones or they can go back to their roots. Become a brand that focuses on the hobbyists. The people who are interested in building drones, electronics projects with their kids, audiophiles who need these random accessories or pieces. In a world where you can buy a computer or phone anywhere, the world desperately needs a retailer to provide more depth to our technological needs and desires. Not only can RadioShack be that brand. RadioShack was that brand. While some may think that it's near-impossible, at this stage, I would argue that shifting the focus - not just on what they sell, but how they sell it - can save them. It's hard. Don't underestimate the challenge is shifting a business of that magnitude, but survival at what price? When I put these retail stories together, I am often reminded of the great quote by General Shinseki of the US Army, who said: "if you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."

Consumers shop differently. Change is the new normal (as they say).

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