Watch the video below, then ponder the five insights I gleaned and see if any of them resonate with you.

Five Reasons You Should Be Thinking About the Future of Publishing:

1. Things change. You can no longer rely strictly on what worked 20 years ago, or even last year, to make you successful tomorrow. It’s a different day. Vastly different. (You’ve heard it more times that you can count, but it’s still worth repeating.)
2. Technology is huge. And it’s going to be even bigger tomorrow. Mobile phones, apps, connectivity. Pay attention. You must wrap your brain around this aspect of life and communication, in order to remain competitive.
3. Values and the environment matter. Especially if you’re trying to reach Gen X and Gen Y. And if you’re not trying to reach them, your business likely already has one nail in the coffin.
4. Listening is important. Where and how you’re listening is even more important. Are you listening where people are talking, or are you simply putting out a suggestion box, hoping someone will drop a card in, and then ignoring that suggestion when someone actually remembers to check the suggestion box months later? Or worse, is your business simply shouting marketing messages through a megaphone?
5. A change in perspective can reverse negative trends. What do you need to see differently? Can you write the script in reverse order and discover even one interesting tidbit that just might spur new business opportunities?

What do you think of the video? Clever marketing or truth? And why?

(This post is in response to Michael Hyatt’s post “The Future of Publishing.”)

With the advent of social media, you tell all your friends and they blog about it and share it with all their readers. The impact is much greater! Here’s a recent example of a friend who is using Facebook to share her complaint about an Old Navy promotion gone bad.

Companies large and small should be monitoring what others are saying about their brands in social media outlets. Heck, even business professionals should be monitoring what people say by using Google Alert.

Are you listening? And if you were Old Navy, how would might you respond to this situation?

• People are using social networks to find pockets of opportunities.
• Social networks/social media are changing search engine results, often highlighting obscure or sometimes less than ideal information above the fold. Companies must pay attention.
• Customers are having the conversations online about your company, your product, your industry, etc.
• Mom bloggers have power and LOTS of influence on the buying decisions, not just for their households.
• Businesses are seeing negative comments go down because they are listening.
• Companies doing social media/social networks well are doing so because they aren’t taking themselves so seriously. Loosen up corporate America.
• Loosening up melts resistance.
• Associations (non-profits, chambers and ministries/churches) have great opportunities to build community via social networks.
• Every business/organization needs to reach out to younger generations to continue in the future. Social media/social networks provides that platform.
• Use social networks/community to let your customers help you build your next product/service. They’re already your fans.
• Use social media/social networks to give people what they need to tell your story!
• Companies/organizations interested in controlling the convesation are not well suited for social networks.
• Pushing your marketing message is not well suited for social networks. It is far better to enable conversations (and let others lead the conversation/tell your story).
• We now live in three worlds: the physical, digital and virtual. (I would add spiritual to the list, but that’s a whole other post.)
• People have three lives: professional, personal and private (the part not on social networks).

There was so much information. Now I must digest it all. It’ll be interesting how the conversations that began in today’s session will continue on Twitter in both formal and informal ways, as well as in other conversations about marketing, business and life.

I apologize for not including names/companies/links for speakers. The twebinar went so quickly, I only had time to take notes. See the sidebar of Twebinar page for more information about speakers. Can’t wait ’til the next one! Good job guys.

What about you? Were you one of the 500 to get in the first one? What was your takeaway? What am I missing from the list?