cameron peron

Billionaires.

I remember in the 4th grade my teacher asking our class what we would do with one million dollars.  It was the 80s, when gas was under $1.00 a gallon and the bad guys lived a in cold country with funny accents. I had little experience with purchases more than $.25 worth for milk, but understood that those numbers were for a select few. Fast forward more than 20 years and 3 sets of zeros later and the new million dollar question is now a billion.

Practical to consider… within reach of the educated or willing… or simply matter of luck?  The advent of the internet makes the dream easier for people to consider and try. Chances are, you won’t make it and that luck will carry those who will take the title in years to come as far as it has for the majority of the rest.

The good news is that technology and access to almost unlimited information has fragmented old school industries; allowing the small guy to compete head to head with large established players.

Another great visual from Luma depicting the display advertising environment.

I wonder how many times this will be recycled on blogs like these.  More importantly, how will this look if the Do-Not-Track-Me-Online Act passes through Congress?

Your favorite category killer bookstore, and others just like it, may be on the way out.  I remember in my home town in Michigan there was a quaint small book shop in our picturesque 19th century main street.  The selection was limited and you had to wait for order items that sounded remotely interesting.  Then in the early 90s category killers like Wal-Mart, Borders and HomeDepot devastated my town’s mom and pop industry and many other towns just like it.

Digital media devices like the ipod destroyed cornerstone industries like music and even big screen film.  Now not even books, magazines and other published content are safe.  The difference from the 90s: small time operations have the chance to make it big, whether they’re authors, Kindle/iPad book production studios or websites and blogs with influence over a niche target. The big guys will have to scramble to compete with savvier, clever and more adaptable competitors.  It’s the American way.

Facebook and Twitter played a huge role in mobilizing the destruction of Egypt and Tunisia, Bahrain and now Libya.  It’s one thing to take a few videos from an apartment building and upload them to some blog.  But it’s a completely different to run down the street with a light weapon, hoping to change the world with little to no chance of making it home in one piece.

There is a huge difference between the value that social media plays in developing countries compared to the West.  In the United States, you can use FB to plan your best friend’s birthday party to update your location one Starbucks at a time.  In countries like Libya, your best friend can get smoked on the streets, while you  ‘like’ and organize an ‘event’ to change the regime.