TechEnomics TM (11)
Of course, we are all connected in the online ecosystem, plugged into each other with social networking sites, search engines and blogs. The unprecedented scale at which we freely share information about ourselves has given rise to a new concern – are we are too connected? Do we really want people to know all about everything we’re doing all the time? We are connected economically, as we all learned too well during the economic meltdown. Seemingly unimportant defaulting mortgages in the US began piling up, and all at once, people began to realize the bad debt had crept into the whole system like a cancer - weakening the entire global economy; causing job losses from Detroit to Denmark. The environment connects us all – the volcano in Iceland reminded us of that too – one tiny place disrupted the whole world – stopping people, goods and money from making the journeys we’ve come to rely on for our survival.
Almost everyone now recognizes that the world is now, and forever Connected in an economic, environmental and social ecosystem. Then again, many of the corporations, regulators and businesses of the world, small and large… but mostly large, already knew this. Some of them abused the ecosystem for wealth and gain at the expense of everyone else. These companies and individuals – the Goldman Sachs, the Bernie Madoffs of the world - have been decidedly internally, individually motivated. They used the forces of regulations, legal manipulations and governments to create their profits -while the rest of the world was the unaware participant – duped into helping, and then left to clean up the mess.
To be blunt, this stinks! Nobody likes to be tricked, but the recent chaos has a bright side – people now understand that we have to overcome a crisis. We understand, at our roots, we have to build a solution. We have to reclaim our connected ecosystem and make it our own. We have to use the interconnected nature of the world and turn it into a tool to help all of us, not just a select few. We have shape the connected ecosystem into a Connected Market Space.
A business today, in any sector, exists for the purpose of rapid response – transmitting candid, accurate information to all sides - not just inside the organization. This is more commonly known as the triple bottom line - people, planet, profit, or the "three pillars". The triple bottom line is about being truly, a custodian of this planet - a business seeking to profit, should be finding positive connections and fulfilling a purpose. If you are in any kind of business you will affect other people – so the responsible and smart thing to do is to connect to the world in a positive way.
It’s not hard create a Connected Market Space and use the ecosystem for good. The Connected Market Space is, at its meaning, the connection of any enterprise, to any market, with accurate, open and honest information. How do you know you’re really connected? It’s not just about advertising and using Twitter – it’s about making meaningful connections that make the world a better, more useful place. When is a business using its power for good? A business in the Connected Market Space demonstrates that: Clients and business know more about each other
- Clients and business can trust each other
- Each party has accurate information
- Everyone can carry on a conversation
- Everyone can complete a transaction safely
Do you still pay $3.00, $5.00, $10.00 per minute for international phone calls? Ever hear of Skype?
Of course if you were a business person who was paying $5.00/ minute for a phone call (if you still use the phone at all with email, SMS and your Blackberry in hand) you'd be working for the Government and have an unlimited budget. Oh wait, Governments are cutting back and getting smarter too...
The latest and greatest online buzz marketing tool seems to be Twitter. It's all the rage. Business guys like me are wondering though, will it stick? Obviously, no one really know - so a better question is this: Does it matter to your business?
In today's economy - especially in sectors like Real Estate, Mortgage Banking, or Health Care - transition, uncertainty and economic challenges facing the future of said sectors make business models look more like a Rorschach Test than a Harvard MBA based case study.
In the recent, very publicized events surrounding Research In Motion’s (RIM) struggles on patents for their popular BlackBerry devices in the United States (where even the US Government claims special rights or “statement of interest” in the fight), the Supreme Court of the US refused to hear the NTP v. RIM patent case. The count down to the "end result" is rapidly approaching, February 24, 2006, and the issues are still in hot debate -- will the doors for BlackBerry in the USA remain open?
I’m just back from Puerto Vallarta Mexico for a few weeks. I didn’t even go near a computer (well ok, once to check on an e mail from some new friends we met in Yalpa on the beach over a few beers -- we had agreed to meet up again and go to another secluded beach after the weekend -- but not until then). The only screen I wanted to be near was sun screen. I was ready for the break – and to “unplug” my brain and digits from the digital ….
Today we are launching CMAEON - the Connected Market Enterprise On-Demand. Recently I found out how "Connected" we are in the world of business with and for our clients.
We have a huge responsiblity to help our clients when they need to keep going - even when massive changes hit them like tsunamis in their business. This week we've had a few clients who have had major shifts, like a 7.5 in seismic activity in their markets. Since we are not your "typical" software company selling a platform and hitting the road, we feel the tremors, we are on board to whether the storm and help keep the sails full and ship moving and on course.
Observation - Prediction #1 of 3:
As I wind up my year, I am thinking about how connections that have evolved further in 2006 will change our future forever as new Connected Market Spaces emerge for business.
These last few Blog entries of the year are my favorite observations, books I’ve read, and offer a fond farewell to a wonderful year 2006 - with sights set on 2007 and the opportunity to deepen our connections with our markets, our customers and clients we here as some things that will creating more value than ever in the future and my thoughts:
I recently observed an RFP process that used the standard “old school” methods to replace some seriously outdated marketing systems. It was interesting to see in action the classic “definition of insanity” – expecting different results by doing the same thing over and over again. As Einstein once spun it, “we can not solve the significant problems we face today at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them…”
The old adage, "you get what you pay for" never has really applied to technology. Sometimes business pays tons of money and gets nothing more than a big tax write off. Sometimes developers are nearly free or actually free (for love of the innovation in an 'open source' spirit) and the returns are astronomical in productive tools and value to the world. It is hard to tell, who or what you'll get - that only comes with experience - at painful price. It's a school I've personally paid dearly to attend (don't try this at home. Unless you hope to get into the tech business - get some help!)
My Son turned 20 the other day - he's a great guy - I'm a proud Dad. I was talking to him "man to man" about social networking on the web.
"You know what makes you different than me?", I said. "Other than the fact that I'm 6'1", and handsome...", he responded - ok, a little humility is in order. "Yea, other than that - I mean online", I said.