Post-Digital Big Brother

Decades ago, Orwell was publishing a Science Fiction book called "1984", describing a world where "the Party" was permanently tracking what everyone was doing and saying, which seems like a nightmare for us today. "Big Brother is watching you!" is most probably something we would not want to experiment nowadays.

However, with all the emerged technologies and the rise of the app-economy we choose to share our data, our life in every detail. We share our thoughts, we check-in in different places we go to, we share our network of contacts, we upload pictures and videos, we use apps that track our everything... And all the data about us is there, in the clouds, managed by different businesses that gave us the tools to track and share and upload.

We have created a Big Brother with the innocent belief that it is worth it, that what we get out of our data is relevance in a highly crowded informational world (examples: offers available at your location, search results adapted to your search history), is self-management help (examples: calendars, task lists, cycling tracking), and last but not least, is the way to satisfy our belonging and self-esteem needs (examples: sharing pictures with your friends on a social network). Sometimes you hear us concerned about our privacy, but facts show that we do not really care.

So better than talking about privacy, we should talk about Return-Of-Shared-Data - this is the one we actually care about.

After Next Conference edition of last year on the topic of Data Love, this year (Berlin, 8th-9th May 2012) the focus will be on Post-Digital - how all technologies, apps etc (a.k.a. the tools we use to share our data) are impacting our life. Or how we live now in front of the Big Brother we have created.

I will be there as Official Blogger, sharing with you interesting perspectives of speakers and participants. Yes, sharing I said.

(This article is published also on Next Conference website: http://nextberlin.eu/2012/05/return-on-shared-data-the-counter-to-the-cloud-big-brother/)

Let's gamify

I am studying lately a lot about gamification, preparing a new startup in HR industry that will use it in order to drive the change in attitudes and behaviors.

When used wisely, gamification can lead us to great improvements of the world we live in and, before I can tell you more about my startup, I would like to share with you these two great speeches as some food for thought:

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

 

Jesse Schell: When games invade real life

21st Century Nomads

Through all the history of human kind, people were moving from place to place in search of better resources. Although one would say that nowadays we are not nomads anymore, and that we are more settled, I cannot stop noticing a new interesting trend in our lives.

In a globalized economy and with Y generation growing as proportion in workforce:

1 We cannot be tied to just one office, in one fixed location. Therefore co-working spaces emerge - there are more and more of them, and they get more and more connected. (More info here:  www.deskwanted.com )

2 Working in different places requires living in different places. Therefore home exchanges emerge - more and more platforms to swap houses temporarily. (Examples: http://www.homeexchange.com/index.html,  http://airbnb.com/ etc.)

Video interview about co-working with Matti Biskup, Head of Business Development at DeskWanted:

Video interview about co-working with Jean-Yves Huwart, CEO Entreprise Globale and organizer of Co-Working conferences 

Show me the money

Got to love how people discuss intensively about Google Plus, while missing the point. Is just like in the beginning when Google was seen just as a search engine, while missing to predict the smart turn into the biggest player in the online advertising industry.

In 2010, Google had 44% of global online advertising revenues, and in 2011 it reached 50%, according to ZenithOptimedia's report and Google's financials. Ah, and guess what: in 2010, Facebook only had 3% of global online advertising revenues. And for both, advertising revenues are their main source of incomes.

What we should follow more is Google's intense development into recreating our real world into a virtual world where it can...surprise, surprise...sell virtual reality advertising space. Picture the growth in revenues and their new dominance.

For several years now, Google puts lots of effort into building different kinds of Maps. From Google Earth to Google Indoors, from Amazon Forest to Moon and Mars, from Street View to Ocean etc. And they also have Google Goggles. Smart, huh?

Some months ago there was an interesting article about who owns the advertising space in an augmented reality world that was just starting to raise this very important question, behind which are lots of future revenues. Theoretically everybody can place augmented reality advertising everywhere, but when you build your own virtual world on top of the real one and you are the most used platform, I would say the augmented reality advertising revenues will go into the pockets of the one who made the virtual world - and needless to say Google is far away in this development (and I see it is prepared not only for buildings or streets, but much more). There are patents to be obtained, new legislation to come, still most probably Google will be the winner. Getting better and better at being a great player in the advertising industry.

In the meantime Google is also trying this monetization from maps: charging businesses for maps services. But that is nothing for what is to come.

Also in the meantime Google can play with social networks and other things, that relate more or less to their big hit.

But we keep on talking about Social Networks, while ignoring Maps and other smart moves alike. And then no wonder we end up with so many startups developing social networks and tools for them, driven by the mirage, while failing to inspire them towards true business success in terms of revenues.

Looking forward for the future!

Feedforward

Have you ever been in the delicate situation of giving a negative feedback? Have you ever encountered people taking your feedback personally and striving to bring arguments and be defensive? Constructive feedback...yeah yeah...

Yesterday's edition of Business Cocktail, with Mihai Stanescu (Business Coach), was truly enlightening, and among all the things discussed, I want to share with you now the feedforward concept.

Have to admit I know this concept from 2 years ago, from another Business Coach (Serge Pegoff). Me and my team had a coaching session then and it was really useful. Now I find myself not using it anymore, but I hope repetition will "stick" it better.

So what is feedforward?

It is the way of using your observations from past to give suggestions for improvements for the future. The verbs should only be future tense and with no examples from the past.

More about the concept on the website of its creator (Marshall Goldsmith): http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/cim/articles_display.php?aid=110

Note to self: Use feedforward more often in the future, instead of feedback.