Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 264

Epic Content Marketing

Episode #389 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

It there is one new service marketers felt that they had to wrap their heads around in 2013, it was content marketing. In fact, one could argue that content marketing is the new social media. Joe Pulizzi is riding this wave for all that it's worth. Plus, there's is no one better than Joe Pulizzi to help us navigate through the noise. Pulizzi is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute and SocialTract. He writes one of the most popular blogs on content marketing and is the co-author of two business books on the subject (Get Content. Get Customers and Managing Content Marketing). Most recently, he published Epic Content Marketing. Pulizzi is one of the true, experienced voices in the space and you will be amazed by the depth of this book. If you're looking at how to bulk up your content marketing strategy, or where to get started, his book and this chat is a great primer. 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 #389.

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #183

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:

Autonomous Vehicles and the Labor Question - Taming The American Idol . "Stories of self-driving cars, or flaming batteries, grab headlines. But if you look at the long-term impact of autonomous transportation, it becomes a jobs question. Pushed into the limelight by Amazon's announcement of drone-delivered packages, this is a topic that, much as steam power did, will galvanize unions and make us reconsider the boundaries of work. When we had steam power, we got the weekend and the end of child labor. What will automated logistics yield, and how much fighting will happen beforehand?" (Alistair for Hugh).

Thailand: Videos of police and anti-government protesters clashing - Asian Correspondent . "While we're on the subject of drones, it's fair to say that when it comes to revolutions in big squares, Twitter is so 2011. No, the new tech for protesters and uprisings is aerial drones that show the battlefield, helping protesters thwart the authorities and show the world the lobbing of tear gas. Exhibit A: protests in Thailand." (Alistair for Mitch).

Pirate Bay switches address for the sixth time this year - The Guardian . "The ongoing battle between big media companies and various file sharing/streaming/unauthorized copyright infringing entities continues to be a fascinating case of the ponderous legal apparatus chasing the nimble motivated techie. The Pirate Bay is the best-known torrent site - where visitors can find links that let them download all sorts of things - most of it infringing copyright - from peer-to-peer networks. Legal pressure has meant that The Pirate Bay has had to change its domain name multiple times. This finally got so annoying to The Pirate Bay that they have built a new kind of browser, based on peer-to-peer technology, that will 'enable users to store and share files without requiring a central hosting, eliminating the need for a domain name.'  This technology, if it works, is a fundamental reshaping of how the web currently operates. Time, as they say, will tell how successful the pirates are at keeping the legal system at bay." (Hugh for Alistair).

Is It Already Too Late to Stop the NSA? - The American Prospect . "After Mitch's David Simon link last week, here's another one to add to the Christmas cheer (1984 version): has the power of the NSA grown so great, and the distance between the people and our governments grown so large, that we just can't do anything about the NSA?" (Hugh for Mitch).

Google's Robot Army - The New Yorker . "I have become very fascinated with robotics, wearable technology and the Internet of things. So much so, that over a year ago, I started a new blog (on Tumblr ) called, We, Robots . The main area of interest for me is not in how robots and this physical technology with automate our lives, but rather how this technology will augment the work that we do. And, if you check out We, Robots, you will see so many instances where technology and robots are helping humans be so much better at the work that they do. While everyone is spending their time and attention thinking about Amazon and drones, they may not have realized that Google has been on an acquisition tear by scooping up close to ten of the major robotics companies out there... and there is no sign of them slowing down. While this may seem curious to some, it seems obvious to me. If we have the Internet and connectivity everywhere (think Web, Android , driver-less cars, Google Glass and more), why wouldn't we have robots as an important part of lives as well? Google has the war-chest to make an early run at this for market dominance, and that's what they're doing." (Mitch for Alistair).

Negative Emotions Are Key to Well-Being - Scientific American . "Not to be a downer, but as everyone preps for the holiday season, it's not all about joy and cheer. This time of year, people get stressed out and depressed... a lot. If fact, if someone is prone to be more anxious or depressed, these holiday seasons are prime time to get pushed further along the downward spiral. Whether you are dealing with negative emotions or know someone who does, the medical community is making significant strides in this space. Guess what? Telling someone to 'cheer up!,' 'get over it!,' or 'just try to enjoy yourself,' is probably the wrong strategy. What we're learning is that negative emotions are important to our well-being. They help us create balance and get us off the treadmill of constantly battling to be 'happy'." (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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Digital Wallets, BitCoin, Virtual Currency And The Future Of Your Money

Still confused about BitCoin and virtual currency?

BitCoin is complex and difficult for most people to understand. As if understanding how currency works isn't confusing enough, digital currency is causing many people (banks, government, journalists and more) to pay attention. From digital currency and virtual wallets, everything we know - and are used to - when it comes to our money is going to change and adapt. Think about it this way: when you get your paycheck (every week or so), there actually is no money that is being transferred anywhere. It's all zeroes and ones. It's all data that is transferred from one account to another. Now, with the democratization and digitization of currency, we're starting to see an entirely new kind of gold rush around BitCoin and other virtual currencies. People like Brian Armstrong knows more about this movement than most. He is the founder of Coinbase and in this thirty minute conversation with Kevin Rose (ex-Digg and current Google Ventures) and his Foundation podcast, you will get a very insightful view into startups, digital currency and BitCoin is creating an entirely different economy.

Get up to speed on BitCoin and virtual currencies, by watching this...

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This Blog Is Dead

Let's admit it. Blogging (as we knew it) is dead.

Is your blood boiling? Are you priming your fingers to lambast this thought in the comment section of this post? Go back in time. Not even all that ago and think about the early days of blogging. What we had was place for online journaling. Posts were seen in chronological order and could be commented on and shared. It was a technological and publishing breakthrough. Suddenly, the cost of publishing plummeted to zero and publishing to the world was almost as easy as it was to print up a document from your word processor. Suddenly, anyone with connectivity could have a thought and publish it in text for the world to see. It's obvious why the popularity of blogs took hold. It's equally obvious why the traditional mass media also took a liking to the platform. Newspapers could use blogging as a farm team for their printed publications. They could allow journalists not getting enough ink on paper to explore their ideas on a blog. They could test different types of stories and writers to see if there was a market for their writing, and more. For a person like me, publishing a regular blog enabled me to build an audience, to have a direct relationship with people who liked the same sorts of things that were turning my crank. If an editor didn't like a story pitch, I could just copy and paste that same text into WordPress, hit "publish" and see if the story had legs. Blogging provided me with a powerful platform that has created awareness for Twist Image, got me on the radar of speaking bureaus, major publishers, a literary agent, book publisher and so much more.

What happened?

Yesterday, Nieman Journalism Lab published an article titled, The blog is dead, long live the blog, by Jason Kottke (who publishes one of the longest continuously running blogs on the Web). Let's forgo the irony that this piece was published on a blog and read this: "Instead of blogging, people are posting to Tumblr, tweeting, pinning things to their board, posting to Reddit, Snapchatting, updating Facebook statuses, Instagramming, and publishing on Medium. In 1997, wired teens created online diaries, and in 2004 the blog was king. Today, teens are about as likely to start a blog (over Instagramming or Snapchatting) as they are to buy a music CD. Blogs are for 40-somethings with kids. Instead of launching blogs, companies are building mobile apps, Newsstand magazines on iOS, and things like The Verge. The Verge or Gawker or Talking Points Memo or BuzzFeed or The Huffington Post are no more blogs than The New York Times or Fox News, and they are increasingly not referring to themselves as such."

The comfort of publishing and sharing.

Blogs aren't dead, there are just many more ways to take an idea, to publish it and to share it. Blogs were as popular as they were over the past fifteen years not because everybody wanted to write and publish, but because that's primarily the only way they could share things. Once better, faster and more technologically advance ways came about, consumers navigated to whatever areas were easiest or more congruous to their styles and preferences. The death of blogging is - as they say - greatly exaggerated. With more choices (shall I publish text? Images? Audio? Video?), places to publish (Pinterest? Tumblr? Snapchat? Facebook? YouTube?) and styles (short-like Twitter? Middle of the road for Medium? Long-like a piece for HuffPo? ), we simply have people who are finally able to match their publishing capabilities with their actual areas of interest. This doesn't mean that blogs are dying, it simply means that people who like more personal/in-depth pieces would trend to a blog while others might like the rapid and real-time fire of Twitter.

It's less about blogging.

What we're seeing is an evolution of something I called, Instant Personal Publishing (almost a decade ago). Blogging is a legacy system within that framework. Instagram is as much of a blog post as this is. Consumers interest in sharing and creating content continues to evolve and grow. Blogging is starting to leave the "everyone" stream and finding it's place in the "blogging" stream. It's for those interested in more depth, more insight, with a personal slant/opinion, and a regular text-based publishing pace from those who have something to write. Writing isn't easy. Blogging is a lot harder. Less people are starting blogs because not everyone is going to have the desire or aptitude to write. People are going to read less blogs, simply because they have more options. Bloggers have to do more within other social media and traditional media channels to get their voices heard. No, blogging isn't dead. Blogging is just starting to find its more relevant audience with people who have a true passion for writing. That's a good thing, but we can't be fooled into thinking that blog-type writing will somehow become more popular than creating and sharing pictures and videos and tweets. When given the choice, humans tend to like the speed of looking and snacking.

That's nothing new.

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The Best Gift That You Can Give Yourself

We are quickly entering into the holiday season.

That's a lie. We're already deep into it. The parking lots at the local shopping mall are unbearable. The streets are filled with people trying to get everything in order before we all take a well-deserved break next week to spend time with our loved ones (and the ones we have to fake it with). With that joy and happiness often comes some excess (too much food, too much drink) and some lapses (not enough good judgement, not enough time to go to the gym). As the week unfolds, we look towards the New Year and all of the things that we're hoping to accomplish to make the next year better than the last one.

Let's not talk about resolutions.

Forget about what you should be doing. Forget about the few pounds you need to shake off or the exercise program that you're going to start (CrossFit anyone?). Let's not talk about that book that you're finally going to write or how neat and tidy you're going to keep your work area. Instead, I want you to think about the five people who impress you the most in life. They don't just have to be business leaders. They could be artists, musicians, celebrities, comedians, philanthropists, comedians, doctors, teachers... it doesn't really matter. List them off. Take two minutes and write next to their names what makes them so great at what they do. I'll wait...

What did you find?

Where did presentation skills or their ability to tell a great story show up? Most people don't realize it, but this is - without a doubt - the one thing that each and every admired individual has in common. Yes, they each have intellect, skill, wisdom, creativity and more, but without their ability to cogently communicate it, most great things simply die on the vine. I'm often asked about my route to success. It's an awkward thing for me to think about, because I don't consider myself successful. I still feel like a kid who is on a path and trying to find just the right direction. That being said, I know when I found my confidence... and that came when I got comfortable presenting. I used to panic in meetings. As people would go around the table to introduce themselves, I would get sweaty palms and cotton balls in my mouth as my turn arrived. My voice would be weak and meager when I spoke. I was unsure about myself and worried what others would think of me. When I was first asked to speak in public, I choked. I made all of the classic mistakes. I put it off until the last minute, I wrote up a speech and tried to read it to the audience. It was a brutal. I wanted to die. Several years later, when I got another chance to speak (this time on a much bigger platform), I took the time to get it right (you can read much more about the process right here: How To Give A Great Presentation (Seriously)). That changed everything for me. It made me a better businessperson, a better member of my community, a better friend and a better family member. When I learned how to present, it made me a better person. Period.   

What kind of presentation skills do you have? Seriously.

It's not about knocking it out of the park in your next sales presentation, it's about something much deeper. For the next few weeks, start paying close attention to those that you admire and those that you aspire to be. Watch how they present. In small groups. In large groups. When they are one on one. Watch how they not only present ideas and concepts, but how they weave stories in to make a point or to be memorable. My guess is that you will have the same awakening moment as I did (nearly eight years ago). Those who can present... and present well by telling a compelling story... typically win (unless they're using their powers to be deceitful and dishonest).

Here's the gift that you can give yourself...

What those people have is not a gift. It's a skill set. Sure, for some it comes more naturally and some will be better at it than others, but it is still a skill. A learnable skill. Here's my New Year's promise to you: the better you get at presenting, the better your income will be. If you've been playing along, you will know that I have been blogging daily for over ten years, and I tend to not make dramatic statements like this. But, it is true. I have seen people go from non-existent skills/decent presentation skills to being really good at it, and I've seen their income grow exponentially along with their rate of growth in presentation skills. So, if you're thinking of what to get for yourself during this holiday season, I'm going to recommend that you give yourself the gift of better presentations skills.

Where do you start?

If you want to get started right away, take a look at what your local Toastmasters are doing. I'd also snoop around and see if anyone in your area offers up a course on stand-up comedy. Typically, the gist of those courses get you thinking about how to build a story (in this case, a funny one) and by the end, they want you on stage trying it. You should also follow the blogging, books and courses of people like Nick Morgan, Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds, Peter Coughter and Jeffrey Gitomer. Head over to YouTube or iTunes and watch presentations from the people that you admire most. Watch how they build a story and follow their body language as well.

It's a gift. You deserve to give yourself something. Do this. You will enjoy the process. You will be thankful that you did. Promise.

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What Does Facebook Do Next?

I had an interesting conversation the other week with a senior marketing professional of a major corporation that represents many brands.

They had asked me what I thought the percentage was of posts that get through to the News Feed on Facebook from brands to people who have liked the Page? You would think that the answer is 100%. You would be wrong. There is so much sharing happening on Facebook, that the company throttles access to the News Feed (not just for brands for people too). They do this as a way to preserve and balance the diversity of content that we see on it. They also do this, so that brands (and individuals) don't monopolize the feed. The more cynical might argue that Facebook does this as a business model. If you want more access to the News Feed, you can buy your way in with sponsored stories. I've heard brands say that anywhere from 12% - 18% of their posts make it through organically (without paying to promote it). It's kind of shocking that a brand will spend so much time, money and effort to get as many likes as possible and only be able to connect with about 15% of their content/efforts, even if 100% of those people have agreed to stay connected. It is the Facebook business model: once you get a follower, you have to pay to connect with them. This senior marketing professional of a major corporation said that he is seeing percentages drop as low as 2% for some of the brands that this multi-national represents. Another analytics marketing professional told me that they are seeing the same meager numbers.

What is Facebook for brands?

I then asked the frustrated marketing professional what they are going to do about it? Are they going to allocate more dollars for advertising and sponsored stories? Are they going to continue paid fan acquisition strategies? This was their response: "we're treating Facebook for what it has become: an advertising platform. Nothing more. Nothing less." If you're going to read one article this week, you may want to check out the Business Insider piece titled, Facebook Is A Fundamentally Broken Product That Is Collapsing Under Its Own Weight. It's definitely a negative piece and slanted (so take it with a grain of salt). It's hard to not argue that Facebook is still a viable and valuable place for brands to be, but it does point to a contentious issue that Facebook is grappling with: if everyone is sharing everything on Facebook, how realistic is it to assume that anybody is really seeing anything? From the article: "In August, Facebook revealed that 'every time someone visits News Feed there are on average 1,500 potential stories from friends, people they follow and Pages for them to see, and most people don't have enough time to see them all. These stories include everything from wedding photos posted by a best friend, to an acquaintance checking in to a restaurant.' Let's say the average Facebook user is awake for 17 hours a day. To consume all that stuff, they would take in 88 new items per hour, or 1.5 things per minute. That's just not possible. Facebook knows it has a problem. It planned a major redesign that gave users more control over the News Feed. But it was scrapped when the first batch of users showed low engagement with the new design."

A victim of their own success?

The people who populated, connected and grew Facebook were none concerned about the marketers or how the organization was going to find a business model. Much like any online success, once the exponential growth rates start kicking in, it becomes nearly impossible to manage success. Brands will often ask me how to best define if something has "gone viral," and my standard answer is: when you can't handle the results of your work. Success in the online sphere is often overwhelming to the point of near-collapse. The Business Insider article also points to newer challenges facing Facebook (couldn't resist) like mobile as the real social platform. You don't need to stay inside Facebook's walled garden to share a photo (Instagram or Snapchat), to chat with someone (messaging or WhatsApp) or play a game. The social nature of the smartphone and the apps make switching from place to place completely frictionless. As mobile becomes the more dominant screen in the consumer's life (which it is), Facebook is going to have to do more than nurture an acquisition strategy to maintain their relevance and dominance in the online social networking sphere.

What makes Facebook interesting.

For marketers, Facebook is interesting because so many people are there, connected, sharing and spending a lot time with it. For Facebook, it is attempting to ensure that as it grows, it can still enable each user to have a higher and more valuable level of engagement. Somewhere, in those last two sentences, lies the answer to what Facebook can do next. If the WestJet Christmas Miracle viral video sensation of the past few weeks has shown us anything, it's that 30,000,000 (plus) people will spend a whole lot of time connecting with a brand, if it can tell a good story, add value to their day and give them a moment of thoughtful pause. Facebook has millions upon millions of people who are spending a whole lot of time engaged on the platform. When brands start using that opportunity to truly connect, instead of abusing that moment with an impression and repetition-based mass media mindset, they probably won't see Facebook solely as an advertising platform, but rather a place where deep and powerful marketing connections can be built, nurtured and leveraged.

Facebook is not collapsing.

Most brand's Facebook strategy is failing. They're just looking for someone to blame. It seems to me like Facebook is throttling the News Feed in a bid to keep their consumers engaged and sheltered from brands doing very boring or traditional things. As this platform becomes more powerful on mobile, Facebook is going to have to be even more diligent in this process. Does this mean that Facebook is faltering, or is it that brands aren't doing the very hard work of figuring out how they can add value to the online social network?

The more consumers share, the less consumers will see. Brands have to find their own way in this cluttered world. Obviously, more clutter is not the solution.

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Get Me Something Viral (Like WestJet)

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:

WestJet Christmas Miracle.

How hard is it to make something go viral?

Why brands can better compete in a world where they can tell their own story on their own terms.

Can WestJet make something go viral again?

Editing is everything.

Homeless man releases a carpooling app after learning to code.

Trees For Cars.

Codeacademy - you too can learn how to code.

App of the week: FlightTrack 5.

Listen here...

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Should Brands Have Zero Paid Media As A New Marketing Model?

Episode #388 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

This is also episode #27.20 of Across The Sound. Joseph Jaffe is widely regarded as one of the top Marketing Bloggers (Jaffe Juice) and Podcasters (both Jaffe Juice in audio and Jaffe Juice TV in video). He is the author of three excellent books (Life After The 30-Second Spot, Join The Conversation and Flip The Funnel) and his latest business venture is, Evol8tion. He just published a new book (that he launched on Kickstarter) called, Z.E.R.O. A long-time friend (and one of the main inspirations behind the Six Pixels of Separation blog and podcast), we've decided to hold semi-regular conversations, debates and back-and-forths that will dive a little deeper into the Digital Marketing and Social Media landscape. This is our 27th conversation (or, as I like to affectionately call it, Across The Sound 27.20) and we are joined by his co-author for Z.E.R.O., Maarten Albarda. In this episode, we debate whether or not it's possible for any brand to have zero paid media as a new marketing model. 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 #388.

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #182

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:

Meet The 'Assassination Market' Creator Who's Crowdfunding Murder With Bitcoins - Forbes . "The only way this headline could sound more like a cyberpunk novel is if assassins were required to use 3D printed swords with nano-sharp edges." (Alistair for Hugh).

Pantene Breaks Down Every Sexist Workplace Stereotype in One Ad - Time . "I just came back from the Lean Startup conference, run by Sarah Milstein and Eric Ries. It was an excellent event, in part because they really focused on diversity. The speakers ranged in color, gender, and age, far from the usual lineup at conferences. There's a great write-up of how they did it, too In this ad spot, Pantene pokes fun at how common workplace stereotypes are; it's eye-opening and really well done." (Alistair for Mitch).

Die, Selfish Gene, Die - Aeon Magazine . "Did you know that grasshoppers (quiet, solitary, peaceful eaters) are actually the *same animal* as locusts (noisy, swarming, voracious)? In times of scarcity, certain species of grasshoppers transform into locusts, changing not just their behavior, but also their physical attributes: their legs and wings get shorter, their color changes, even their brains change, growing to manage the more social interactions of a locust horde. This phase change is the result of what scientists call 'gene expression' - the genes themselves don't change, but the way they express themselves - how they shape the animal and its behavior - does. Genetics, it turns out, is more complicated than we thought, and much of what we learned in biology class is wrong." (Hugh for Alistair).

David, Grostern & Lozeau: Imagining Montreal As A City-State - National Post . "This one is for the locals. I love Montreal. It's an amazing city. Speaking personally, I came out of the uncertainties of the mid-nineties (when Quebec voters narrowly defeated a referendum to separate from Canada) with a sense of growing optimism about Montreal, and I moved back here (from NYC) in 2002. Montreal seemed on the rise: a city increasingly comfortable in two languages, well-positioned to bridge Europe and North America as a nexus of trade and culture, had plenty of natural resources (including a plentiful supply of hydro-electricity) keeping the province wealthy, more universities per capita than any other city in Canada, and a kind of off-center political climate that made things exciting. But my optimism over the last decade, and especially the past few years, is waning. Quebec seems increasingly isolationist, and keeps implementing (or threatening to implement) policies that will chip away at Quebec's ability to compete in the world, not to mention its global reputation. Defending language and culture are surely important, but if these defenses result in a decline in Quebec's vibrancy and wealth - then we all need to ask ourselves some questions. Maybe the solution is for Montreal to go it alone?" (Hugh for Mitch).

Jony Ive's Secret Coffee Ritual - The Blog Of Tim Ferriss . "I know how much Alistair likes someone who is dedicated to the point of obsession about a topic. I also know how much more Alistair likes it when that passion is on something obscure or weird. Well, this one may just take the cake. Listen, I love a great cafe au lait as much as the next person and there is nothing quite as amazing as a killer cup of java meshed with great conversation and ideation, but this is taking things to a whole other level. If I'm not mistaken, Apple may be able to create these products that fascinate humanity because the design team is caffeinated unlike any other human being on the planet. If they care this much about the coffee, it's no wonder that their hardware is so glaringly gorgeous." (Mitch for Alistair).

David Simon: 'There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show' - The Guardian . "If you live in the United States or visit it on a more frequent basis, it's hard not to read this piece by David Simon and not be moved. Most people know Simon as the creator of the amazing TV series, The Wire . If you do some quick searches of him on YouTube , you will also discover someone who frequently gives speeches on the state of our states. In this piece, you'll get a vibe for the kind of presentations he gives and how he will (hopefully) get you thinking very differently about the rich and the poor, and about capitalism and social impact. Powerful, powerful stuff." (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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You Don't Know Jack (Dorsey). But You Should...

There are very few people that are truly prodigies and innovators.

Writer's toss those words around as a way to substantiate and impress readers with a subject matter. It's par for the course, but more often than not they are just words and not true definitions of the people being featured. One of the few people who is deserving of those titles is Jack Dorsey. Some think that Dorsey could be the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. So far, he has an impressive track record as the co-founder of both Twitter and Square. In my second business book, CTRL ALT Delete, I have a chapter titled, The Long And Squiggly Road, that looks at how non-linear our careers and lives have become. I encourage people to embrace the squiggle and even plan for it, when it comes to their professional careers. Whether Dorsey knows it or not, he is one individual who epitomizes the notion of being deeply engaged in a very squiggly career. As accomplished as he is, he always seem to just be getting started. That is a profoundly powerful position to be in.

To imagine the future, we must create the future.

In September of this past year, Dorsey gave this one hour presentation on the campus of Columbia University to students, alumni and friends of the school. With a passion for maps, punk music, art and coding, a young man from Missouri was able to change the way that we communicate, share, govern, broadcast information and pay for things. And still, he is just getting started.

Watch this and get inspired...

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