Listen and Learn

I attended the thinkLA.org Mobile Breakfast this week in my continuing quest to keep on top of what 25 year-olds already know. 800 people attended, at least half of whom were under 30 and had excellent jobs at companies I never heard of.

The speakers were all brilliant, blazing through 100+ ppt slides in a flash. Mobile is huge! If you can develop a cheap smartphone for China, you'll be a gazillionaire (Apple will not be there). Speaking of gazillionaires, Activision can thank their 18-34 obsessed male demo for using mobile, social media and even print to make Call of Duty: Black OPS 2 sell $1billion in 5 days.

We're all using multiple devices throughout the day. Each has their own sweet spot and needs their own content. What Marshall McLuhan said in 1964 still rings true, "The Medium is the Message."

Beyond the ppt slides were two separate mentions of Amber Case, the "Cyborg Anthropologist." I looked up her TED talk and loved what she said. I've often heard of Social Media as "drinking from a firehose." Case made an analogy from I Love Lucy, and the famous chocolate conveyer belt scene. We just can never keep up with the flow! Her TED talk is worth the listen http://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now.html Her talk was more than two years ago, but I feel more "in the know" for having watched it.

Another reference was about Mary Meeker, the real Queen of "In the Know." Here's the link from speaker Henry Blodget's own Business Insider about her December 2012 presentation. http://www.businessinsider.com/mary-meeker-2012-internet-trends-year-end-update-2012-12?op=1

After the event, I checked on the live tweets. I admire those who can key in on a point and tweet without missing the next five key points. To my delight, I was busted by the guy sitting next to me who made the perfect observation for this event: http://instagram.com/p/XFgX4PLHge/ So much for trying to blend in! In my defense, I was taking notes for a guest blog I was writing.

So much to learn. Are you listening?

#thinkMobile  #Trends

Get Smart Phone?

I was just looking for an old image from the brilliant 1960s TV show "Get Smart" of Don Adams using his shoe phone. I Googled "Get Smart phone" images and these came up.

Don Adams as Maxwell Smart with his shoe phone

"Smart" phones

Could this mid-sixites television comedy featuring futuristic, high-tech spy gadgetry have planted the seed for our generation of "Smart" phones?

What other devices on "Get Smart" are part of our everyday lives now? I'll be attending the  thinkLA.org "Mobile Breakfast" on March 20 to find out what other trends are on the rise. Or maybe I should just watch a marathon of "Get Smart!"

#Smartphones #thinkLAMobile  #Trends