Squared Online Module 5 ‘The Ongoing Revolution’ Best Bits
And finally we arrive at the last module of Squared Online - ‘The Ongoing Revolution’ - and, in turn, the last ‘Best Bits’. It’s been emotional.
With the module mostly looking at what’s to come in the world of digital, it was touted that the trends we are soon to see are:
“The Internet of Things is a term that describes where the Internet is connected to the physical world via multitude of sensors”.
Think along the lines of GiffGaff - consumers helping consumers, no middle man in the form of a traditional company. Fingers crossed this prediction is limited to the kind of business model it employs, and not so much the ‘friendly’ zombie apocalypse it illustrated in its adverts a while back.
Content curation
What: ‘The act of discovering, gathering and presenting digital content that surrounds a specific subject matter’
Why: ‘Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant’ - Mitchell Kapor
The unboxing of TV
TV is changing: connected devices are becoming the norm, albeit slowly (apparently only 18% of all connected TVs have ever actually been connected), and everyone and anyone knows that, with the arrival and embracing of services like Netflix etc., the day of being a slave to the TV Guide is long gone. These two points I can see happening before my eyes - and can thus accept - though I’m not so sure about some further future gazing that was posed: that rentalship is becoming the new ownership, and that soon enough our TVs will not be so anonymous and start getting to know us (showing us adverts that will appeal to the audience etc.). I’m uneasy about the latter in particular - it’s long been accepted that the internet is a service and, to pay for that service, we’re subject to advertising. I can’t see people being all too happy about such an invasion taking place in their homes, i.e. their TV rooms. Getting a little too Nineteen Eighty-Four if you ask me.
“It’s when companies develop (or refine) products and services instantly, based on feedback or events in the marketplace. And it’s when businesses see an opportunity, and are the first to act on it” - David Meerman Scott
With the rising of internet on the move and social media, we’re becoming more and more demanding and, with that, more and more impatient. Combine these two and it’s no surprise to learn that 30% of top brands are investing into customer services on Twitter.
Next on the menu was a surprisingly philosophical - and thus refreshing - take on things from Paul Bay, who considers himself ‘A cultural change citizen in the marketing communications industry’. He delivered such titbits as ‘change is the only constant’, whilst also suggesting that it’s the companies that don’t adopt this ideology - and instead look to ‘toxic assumptions’, seeing what they want to see - that struggle and, in extreme cases, fizzle out completely. Examples of this that he namechecked include Kodak, BlackBerry and Nokia. I agree with the first two, but take issue with his inclusion of Nokia - yes, the Finnish corporation went one almighty lull during the noughties but, with the arrival of Windows Phone and Microsoft Mobile, it’s looking like it’s been given a new lease of life.
“If we are not curious human beings, there is no point” - Paul Bay
Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity = doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
Take inspiration from all parts of life and go from there
Not necessarily a point about digital marketing but more about content creation - don’t have a meeting in a blank white room and expect magic to happen; take inspiration from all parts of life and go from there.
Pitch an idea to someone when they’ve got time to consider it
Got a great idea for your company? Never pitch it to the power(s) that be when they are busy - it is virtually guaranteed they will not give your idea the attention it deserves. In addition, keep it super simple - a good test to see how clear you’re being is to see whether you can fit it all on one page of A4 paper.
Not that it’s a sceptical world or anything but, if you’re going in with an idea, come to expect queries and doubts. Then you’ll be better prepared for the barrage when it inevitably comes (see below quote).
“There are too many guns out there to assume your ideas won’t have potshots taken at it” - John Kotter