Networks & naturals

Futurist and anthropologist Mike Walsh likes to look at the world in a different way. The chief executive of digital advisory firm Tomorrow and author of Futuretainment joined me yesterday for a SmartCompany webinar, which included some pretty whacky pictures (including a shot of Magnum PI star Tom Sellek that freaked everyone out).

But the presentation has had me thinking for the last 24 hours and I couldn’t wait to start discussing this morning.

You can download the presentation (including the slides and the audio) here – it’s fascinating stuff and could really have a big impact on your business.

Here are four things I took from the presentation:

The power of networks

Mike spends a lot of time looking at social networks around the world and it was very interesting to see just how powerful they have become, not just in Australia but particularly in places like China where the biggest has 300 million users. The size of the networks is one thing, but their influence is the real issue – think of how much information users take from these networks aside from chatting with trends and sharing photos. Keeping up with the latest trends, receiving product recommendations or criticisms, airing complaints or problems – for business, the risks and opportunities are huge. The challenge is finding ways to spot, watch and, most importantly, influence these networks in a way that doesn’t necessarily involve straight marketing.

The naturals

As Mike pointed out, the generation of young adults that have NEVER known life without the internet (those born after 1994, when the first commercially available web browser was released) will turn 18 in two years. How does your business interact (or even understand) these customers?

Best of clicks and bricks

Online retail is still growing rapidly, but Mike says there is still a place for physical retail if it’s done right. He gave the example of Best Buys in the US, which promises its online shoppers that any product they buy will be available in their local store for pick up in 40 minutes. It’s an innovative model that combines the convenience of online retail with the immediacy of physical retail. What other new models will span these two worlds?

Services on the net

One of the best questions of the day came from Phil, who has a medical education business and was wary of setting up an online training component because it could erase the value of the face-to-face training. Mike’s answer was built around the idea of “versioning” which involves developing different versions for different medians. For example, Mike suggested Phil could run online lectures or seminars each month, either as an introduction to the face-to-face training or a subscription service on the back of it. It’s an idea that should make all services businesses stop and think.

So check out yesterday’s webinar and see what nuggets you can find. And don’t worry, we’ll be trying our best to get Mike back later in the year if his schedule permits.