With proper reflection I believe that we can see what the next story will be, much like McLuhan saw what the next story would be. A personal example – and boy do I wish I had acted on this! Early on in the MP3 revolution I sat for a few hours and thought and wrote about some implications I was foreseeing.
Long story short, this was during the age when CD sales were boss as far as determining what was at the top of the music culture mindset. I saw that in the future recording artists would no longer be able to rely on CD sales as the main source of revenue and that recorded music would have little to no value other than as a promotional item to get people out to see the live show.
Principals:
1. Don’t try to strictly control and regulate what can be digitized BECAUSE what can be digitized can be copied and shared. Use that as a given in your strategy and marketing
2. Capitalize on what cannot be digitized. In this case, the live experience of a concert
At the end of my analysis my recommendation was: invest in concert promotion and live experience companies. I saw it start to happen and when I kicked myself is when Madonna signed a contract – not with a “record company” at the center, but with a live event company at the center. Music sales are no longer the main source of revenue for bands that thrive. I should have taken my own advice.
Alright, that kind of turned into a long (and self-congratulatory) example but it illustrates my point: thoughtful reflection can lead us to accurate and trustworthy insights – to see what The Next Story might be.
(BTW – Bob Lesetz is a very clear – although sometimes belligerent – thinker on these issues and from my reading of him is McLuhan-esque in his ability to see what’s ahead in the music industry.)
McLuhan also said that “Humans are the sex organs of the machine world”. Meaning? Technologies do not self-replicate – a computer does not cozy up to a cell phone and produce a little iPhone (or similar pocket-sized computer). The actions/desires of human being determine the course on new technology.
To the non-believer with purely capitalist motives, this means creating/inventing technology that will excite the consumerist passions of the masses. Profit trumps morals, so if you can turn a buck by piping porn into a cell phone then, hey, why not? If you can get people paying to simultaneously watch a movie, talk on their cell phones, IM their friends and Tweet about it – GO FOR IT! What do I care about the psychic effect of so much triviality and distraction?
To the believer it means understanding the principles of media and acting accordingly – not with the motive of profit (at least not without consideration of other factors) but with the motive of bringing glory to God
