Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

Digital technology has changed the conventional media model in which information flows exclusively from a media institution to passive consumers. The media mix has now become more varied and interactive, and personalized elements have gained a foothold. All media industries print, yellow pages and broadcast have been struggling to reinvent their product line to slow the movement of advertising dollars online as societal trends can not be ignored.

As marketers we find ourselves advising our clients in an era of idea diffusion. Arriving at the right mix to attracting attention to drive sales for our customers has never been more challenging. In the old days it was about interrupting now it’s about getting ideas to spread. Whatever we do we can not be boring. No one has time for boring. And the safe route is risky.

While the Internet is only 5,000 days old it has dramatically affected how we interact, search, find and buy. Did you know there are over 100 billion clicks a day, 55 trillion links, and 2 million emails per second?  

It used to be about computers linking over the Internet and the sharing of packets of information. You could call this Stage 1 in the evolution. Stage 2 was about linking pages and sharing links. Stage 3 (where we are now) is about linking data and ideas through XML, RSS and AP. The Semantic Web or Web 3.0 is like a giant global graph. So what does Web 4.0 look like?

I believe we are moving very quickly towards linking the world data and every object. The Web of the future is going to be us. It knows our search habits, is smarter, more personalized, more ubiquitous. Think of a big machine that is global and responds as a system.

A new unity is emerging….

All screens will look to one. No one will be on the outside. To share is to gain. Let the “one” read as the “one” is us.

So where does the media fit in? There will be one platform and it wants to be liquid but the currency will be attention.