Posts tagged futuristgerd

The Store Is Media And Media Is The Store (brilliant piece by Retailprophet Doug Stephens)

In a post-Internet, post-mobile world of one click access, the distribution of products has all but ceased to be the issue. When one of something can be efficiently shipped to anyone, anywhere, the question of where the sale takes place is rapidly becoming moot. In other words, in the long-term, sales of product simply can’t be the primary strategic purpose or metric for the store.
Some of the world’s largest retailers are struggling with this jarring reality already. “Stack it high and watch it fly” has abruptly turned into “stack it low and hope it goes” as big box stores scramble to lower inventories in the face of flat or declining sales. The knee-jerk reaction among some is to simply downsize and marginalize the role of the store. Others are adopting the buzzword of omni-channel – resigning to the idea that all channels now act as one – which I would argue risks oversimplifying what’s really happening.

You see, what’s actually evolving is a new and far more complex role for the store, and online brands like Google, Bonobos and Warby Parker are affirming it, as they each embark on creating their own, branded, physical stores. They along with a growing number of other online pure-plays recognize that in order to “fully actualize” their brands, they need to animate a physical presence and visceral experience for their consumers, not to move products but more critically, to move hearts and minds – to sell the idea, essence and values of the brand – all of which has more traditionally been viewed as the role of media. And therein lies the critical point.

The physical store is becoming media.

How to become internet famous for $68 (Santiago Swallow story sheds light on fake Internet fame - made me think)

There’s just one thing about Santiago Swallow that you won’t easily find online: I made him up. Everything above is true. He really does have a Twitter feed with tens of thousands of followers, he really does have a Wikipedia biography, and he really does have an official web site. But he has never been to TED or South By South West and is not writing a book. I—or rather he—flat out lied about that…”

Gerd adds: great story indeed.

Belgacom m2m event in Brussels April 18 - meet me there

During the Belgacom m2m event we will present Belgacom’s current and future strategy in terms of Machine-To-machine (m2m), together with the m2m solutions and the new management platform.

We will have the pleasure to welcome Gerd Leonhard, famous visionair who will talk about the importance and the evolution of the ‘Internet of Things’.

;)) look forward to it too

The Swiss Miracle? interesting piece on Switzerland (where I live)

At their root, Europe’s economic and political problems result from a crisis of legitimacy. In Europe, the common economic zone and currency were created without an accompanying federal government. And the union itself controls less than two percent of the combined national GDPs of the 27 EU member states and is thus largely inoperative. National governments have retained their legitimacy but are bound to a hapless and unpopular union…”

Gerd adds: some good points here. Sometimes, however, this idyllic stability also means incredible isolation;)

With Big Data, we are creating artificial intelligences that no human can understand (made me think)

Big data will require a new group of people to take on this role. Perhaps they will be called “algorithmists.” They could take two forms—independent entities to monitor firms from outside, and employees or departments to monitor them from within—just as companies have in-house accountants as well as outside auditors who review their finances.

No Future: Present Shock and Why Our Now-Fixation Has Changed Everything From Advertising To Politics (Douglas Rushkoff book)

Says Doug in his book:
Our society has reoriented itself to the present moment. Everything is live, real time, and always-on. It’s not a mere speeding up, however much our lifestyles and technologies have accelerated the rate at which we attempt to do things. It’s more of a diminishment of anything that isn’t happening right now—and the onslaught of everything that supposedly is.”

5 Brands Winning at Crowdsourcing | Digiday

PepsiCo
When thinking of PepsiCo and crowdsourcing, the first thing that comes to mind is the company’s Pepsi Refresh program, which got almost 61 million votes. The 2010 initiative awarded $20 million in grants to individuals, businesses and non-profits that came up with ideas that have a positive impact on their community, state, or the nation as a whole.

Additionally, Pepsi’s Frito-Lay took crowdsourcing to a new level, when the potato chip brand asked consumers to help come up with a new flavor. The “Do Us a Flavor” campaign awarded $1 million to the person who submitted the winning flavor.

Uber, Data Darwinism and the future of work (Om Malik)

the challenges of the connected future are less technical and more legislative, political and philsophical. The shift from a generation that started out un-connected to one that is growing up connected will result in conflicts, disruption and eventually the redrawing of our societal expectations. The human race has experienced these shifts before — just not at the speed and scale of this shift.

The End of Cable TV? How Everyone Will Watch Television In The Future – ReadWrite

How much attention is OTT getting? The Interpret LLC’s New Media Measure syndicated report sets the number of US consumers age 18-65 that own an Internet-enabled set top box (like a Roku player, Apple TV, Slingbox, Vudu box, etc.) at 13.6%, reported a company spokesperson. Less than 14% may not sound like much, but OTT has been around for only three years. And Interpret’s numbers don’t include the millions of users watching alternate video sources like YouTube and Vimeo.

3D printing gunmaker forms company to flout copyright law, à la the Pirate Bay | Ars Technica

“It maintains all the present features but we step it up a notch,” Wilson told Ars. “The Pirate Bay has the right idea with physibles, but increasingly the fight is going to be about physical copyright—we want to build one of the tools early.” And like the Pirate Bay, which has thumbed its nose at corporations, copyright, and the legal system for digital goods, Wilson suggests DefCAD would do the same for physical objects as much as possible.

Please check out my new site at Futuristgerd.com

take a look and give me some feedback:)))

The Robot Will See You Now: would you trust a computer with diagnostic decisions ?

Specifically, they imagine the application of data as a “disruptive” force, upending health care in the same way it has upended almost every other part of the economy—changing not just how medicine is practiced but who is practicing it. In Silicon Valley and other centers of innovation, investors and engineers talk casually about machines’ taking the place of doctors, serving as diagnosticians and even surgeons—doing the same work, with better results, for a lot less money..,

Gerd adds: great piece - really made me think