Evolution, Revolution & YOU

 

Back to the end of December, Russell Davies the UK based super-planner we’ve all read and heard about, had a post on trends for 2007.

Russell and his associates of the OIA (Open Intelligence Agency) were asked by Piers (Psfk.com - ideas, trends and inspiration) to tell them their trend predictions for 2007. Members of the OIA (Emily Reed from Sidney, Jeffre Jackson from Amsterdam, David Nottoli from New York and Russel himself) made a small video to share with us their vision. Basically, they say video on the internet is going to spread and be used on a wider scale (inc. video conferencing, video tutorials, product demos, etc.). Check it out on the video here under.

 

 

Viewing this lead me to 2 different thoughts. My first reaction was to secretly think : “Yes... it’s about time!”. I’ve always been thinking that video was going to be a big hit on the net as soon as technology and bandwidth would allow it. As you may know, for the last 7 years I’ve been running the TV production department of an international advertising agency. When many of my fellow TV producers were worried about the decrease of local productions and at the same time reduction of the average budget to shoot a commercial, I always thought internet would bring new production challenges and demands.

There is a key to be considered by producers, though. We’re not talking about the same kind of productions. When for an advertising film, we refer to shooting in 35mm or 16mm with complete film crew (technically comparable to a cinema shoot), the new film demand is going to be a lot lighter in terms of production: light crew, video, HDV, etc. Making quality films for the internet (...and I’m not talking about the YouTube “Hey dudes, my camcorder and I rule!” kind of films – which can be quite funny, BTW) is as important as investing time and money in the design of the sites. I think there is room there for film producers and professionals. Now, for filmmakers, trading a 35mm film camera for an HD video cam is a bit like what photographers had to consider when going digital. There is a respectable emotional issue underneath, but well... new creative tools and ideas to explore at the same time, not to mention a new market to develop.

 

(35mm film roll - originally uploaded on Flickr by _Silverstar_)

 

Then my second thought went to the OIA itself. I’ve been reading many posts and comments lately on what bloggers could define as :

“The perception that the way we work and communicate is going to change, because of the new opportunities linked to the evolution of the internet”.

Or in other words (in a very business oriented thought): Internet leads to a new communication era where companies will have to consider the consumers differently and offer them more than up front (push) communication and after sales (block) helpdesk (hey masiguy, I'm with you on this one!). Companies will have to open the tank and let their previously called “target” reach them with feedback (pull) and “insights” on their existing and future products. Creating Passionate Users recently published an interesting post entitled “Reverse-engineering user reviews”, which describes how to read and analyze user reviews and consider them from a psycho-social and marketing point of view - (part of the visual hereunder comes from Creating Passionate Users).

 

 

If TIME magazine and their controversial front page: “Time's Person of the year: YOU” was subject to many criticism, at least it did attract attention of the sceptical masses on the new role of consumers. That’s now a fact. Rapid access to information, community building, freedom of speech (ok, ok, we’re on our way!) lead to an EVOLUTION of HUMAN behavior. At the same time, I think that business wise this is (or at least will be) a REVOLUTION within the companies, because they will have to  review their structures and modus operandi taking into account the new dialogue engaged with their customers. (I link back to David Armano’s description of the “Flat vs. Round worlds” as I think it helps visualize sharing ideas from the 2 different perspectives – so extremely brilliant DA!).

 

 

If I’m sure many of us (YOU, right here, right now!) have a clear perception of this phenomenon, change is, nevertheless, going to take (some) time. Time to spread the Round World, time to touch a majority vs (still) a minority, time before reaching CEOs and leaders of the big corporations, and... last but not least, time before they actually take adequate action to “adapt” and eventually restructure their big monster companies. In the meantime, communication professionals whether marketers, advertisers, web designers, have (some) time to prepare and shape their surfboard for the next wave.

 

The OIA is a proposition : light, flexible, international, multi-cultural professionals ready to take action anytime.

 

 

I think there is more to do out of this example. There is a time for thinking, and a time for action. In moments of changes, it is good to pause and look around (many of us know it... Lewis Green, Roger von Oech, David Armano). Because it is difficult (say impossible) to run in a direction, if you know this direction is just not the right one. Take time, focus, gain conviction, then go back to... action.

 

Hint hint hint ! Food for thoughts, guys!
How do you consider the way you work today?

How do you imagine your future work?

    
 

Comments

[Roger von Oech]

Hi Luc,

Provocative post. In terms of my future work, I can only see clearly what's out ahead for the next 10 months or so. And I'll be using some amped-up tools (computers, CAD software, etc) to create some low-to-mid-level-technology products, for example, another book and a set a of magnetic design blocks. The tools allow me to have much more control myself (which I love) and to do it more inexpensively.

In answer to your second question, I work for myself, so if I need some high-powered skill sets, I hire them or collaborate with them.

[mindblob]

Roger, thank you for your comment.

Must be quite exciting to develop new products. Even more if they are your own! And yes... being your own boss you can make your own forecast and decide to act and move your own way. From this perspective my question would be:

- Do you think your internet and blogging experience could influence the way you work in the near future vs. the way you work right now?

[Gavin Heaton]

Luc ... you are on fire! I am going to have to think about this one a little longer ... But I think there is a general interest in breaking down the creative silos in many organisations -- not just the agency world. The OIA model is very interesting, and I am sure we are all watching to see how it unpacks -- and let's face it, if those clever folk can't make it work then what hope do the rest of us have?

Having said that, it comes down to what you consider "success". Or "creativity" for that matter ... hmmm. I think I will need to add this one to my "blog debt".

[mindblob]

Gavin,
LOL - Don't worry there are no flames! Just thoughts to share.

"...if those clever folk can't make it work then what hope do the rest of us have?" - I think there is always hope to change things if we passionately beleive in what we're doing.
: )

[KG]

A lot of complex issues always at work with this topic, perhaps now more than ever with the advent of web 2.0.

Will workers become more fixed in their geography and telecommute to jobs anywhere in the world?
--- OR
Will workers become more nomadic, and have to move more to keep up with more opportunities created by who-knows-what-else is coming down the pike?

Will workers -- and their families -- no longer have to completely uproot and move to follow work? Or will people become more nomadic for different reasons (fun travel, environmental issues, geo-political issues)?

Your post brings up more questions than answers for me! The OIA example is really interesting.

[mindblob]

KG, many questions are rising, indeed. I believe the only thing we can be sure of is that the way we work now (from a global perspective) will obviously change. The two questions left could therefore be : how & when?

[Sean Howard]

That evolution ad is one of my favs.

Sorry I didn't post sooner. Had to find more than the normal 3 minutes I am generaly able to allot as this one was slam-packed but SO worth it.

Great questions. I've begun to notice that I am talking about the concepts without the answers... and this hasn't always been that way. Or at least, it hasn't been that way for a LONG time in my world.

To put it in a clearer light, I find myself speaking about concepts fueling or describing social media phenomena without a clear idea of how it might best apply to the situation at hand.

Today I was in a B2B discussion with a potential new client and pulled up some Armano charts and some conversational concepts. There was a strange pause and then people began applying them to the problems at hand.

So I see it as getting more exploratory in the short term.

P.S. this entire post was written to the tune of instant def due to the link above. Brilliant.

[mindblob]

Sean,
Yep... that Guinness ad is quite a brilliant piece! I love the work of director Daniel Kleinman. Did you know he was the one behind some of these fancy James Bond films title sequences?

"...speaking about concepts fueling or describing social media phenomena without a clear idea of how it might best apply to the situation at hand" - Yes, I think this is one of the keys. It is not an easy thing (yet), but people like you, who are convinced by what this is all about, are in a way pioneering in B2B conversations.

So go ahead, spread the word! : )

[Sean Howard]

So... what are the dangers we all face as we create these new tracks?

And which ones are real?