The Domino Project: Start. Now!

The Domino Project: Start. Now! by Paul Lancaster

Slides from my 5min Ignite presentation first delivered at the Codeworks Connect ‘Think and a Drink’ event at the Vermont Hotel, Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday 29th September 2011.

‘Barriers’ stopping people from producing ‘Great Work’ and achieving their dreams in Newcastle. (I got people to write them down on a piece of paper, scrunch them up into a ball, and throw them at a target on stage during my ‘Ignite’ presentation at the Codeworks Connect ‘Think and a Drink’ on 29th September 2011.

Contact me via @plandigitaluk, @lordlancaster, plandigital@live.co.uk or call +44(0)7734 722 716 if you’d like to know more or get me to deliver this presentation again for you.

‘End Malaria Day’ – help save lives by helping yourself

If you’re a fan of Seth Godin and other motivational, inspirational writers then you will find the new book from The Domino Project ‘End Malaria‘ a real treat.

Packed full of short essays, tips and insights from over 60 of the world’s leading thinkers and business brains, the purpose of this book is not only to inspire and engage the reader to bigger and better things in their own life but to actually participate in a much higher purpose by saving the lives of others.

Released on 7th September 2011 as part of ‘End Malaria Day‘ – $20 dollars (around £12 GBP) from each physical copy sold (and the full amount of each Kindle version) will be donated to ‘Malaria No More‘, an international advocacy organisation on a mission to end malaria-related deaths by 2015.

The money raised will be used to pay for mosquito nets which are proven to be one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce deaths and increase life expectancy in malaria-ridden countries. (Watch Bill Gates’ legendary TED talk from 2009 below in which he announced his campaign to end malaria).

Please buy this book and play your part in saving lives today. To find out more about the project and people behind ‘End Malaria Day’ watch the video below and visit: http://endmalariaday.com

7 little videos you will love [by Derek Sivers]

Received this email from Derek Sivers this morning about some cool animated videos he did to promote ‘Anything You Want’. Brilliant stuff and well worth a look

Paul -

If you haven’t seen these already, they are definitely worth a few minutes of your time. An animator made a little 1-to-3-minute animation for some of my articles.  They’re really well-done.

A Real Person, a Lot Like You

Obvious to You. Amazing to Others

Hell Yeah or No

If it’s not a hit, switch

I Miss the Mob

Don’t punish everyone for one person’s mistake

Start now. No funding needed

Feel free to download, copy, share, edit, alter, broadcast, or anything else.

Enjoy!
Derek
http://sivers.org/

Thinking Digital Conference 2011 – Summary of Gerd Leonhard Presentation

“Everything is moving online into ‘The Cloud’ but we still need to work out how to monetise products and services that can’t be replicated digitally.”

Read below for my summary (and personal comments) of the fantastic presentation delivered by Gerd Leonhard (www.mediafuturist.com) on Day 1 of the Thinking Digital Conference @ Sage Gateshead on 25th May 2011.

‘The People of the Cloud’ / ‘People of the Screen’ expect things to be digital first, physical next.

You can no longer ‘force’ people to buy – you now need to ‘attract’ people to buy/upgrade from the free version once they’ve used and grown to love/need it (a classic Freemium model like LinkedIn).

“When copies are free, you need to sell things that can’t be copied”, Kewing Kelly (Better Than Free).

If people expect digital copies to be free (or very low cost), it’s down to you the ‘content creator’ to work out how to sell things that can’t be replicated or copied digitally. For example, although video footage can be streamed live or broadcast after an event, you can’t digitally recreate the actual physical experience (sights, sounds, smell and touch) of being at a live music gig, conference or training session and all the feelings of excitement and interactions before, during and after which take place.

’360^o Deals’ in the Music Industry

As physical record sales continue to fall, they are increasingly seen as merely a ‘calling card’ or marketing tool for artists and bands. At the same time, live music gigs and festivals are on the up. Therefore, record labels now seek to sign new artists and bands up to ‘360^o Deals’ which means that they make money on live performance fees, merchandise, advertising endorsements, mobile ringtones, tv and movie deals , not just physical and digital download record sales. People can now even pay for a recording of a live gig immediately after a gig has ended.

Authors like Seth Godin understand this. They realise that some people want exclusive, advance copies of the latest titles sent directly to their Kindle or other eReader device (either for free in return for writing reviews, helping to spread the word and creating a buzz, or for a fee which ensures they get it quicker than all ‘normal people’ (see my earlier post about ’The Domino Project’ and ‘Rise of the Information Jockey (IJ)‘.

Meanwhile, others will still prefer the look and feel of a physical book (hardcover or paperback which both have a different cost and speed at which they can be obtained/delivered. Further still, ‘superfans’ will happily pay much higher prices for limited editions which offer something unique and special. It’s all about offering choice and giving the user/consumer what they want.

Can you divide your products or services into digital, hardcover, paperback or limited edition-type versions?

Locking stuff behind a paywall or asking them to pay upfront is a deathwish online. It doesn’t work or make any money (or as much as you want). Sharing is the default mindset of the digital generation and if you don’t share you will be toast! Spotify rocks but their latest move (limiting the number of times people can listen to music for free) could signal the end.

“Data is the New Oil”

“Data is the new Oil” says Gerd  – a more succinct version of the original quote by Meglena Kuneva (EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner) in Brussels on 31st March 2009 in which she said “Personal data is the new oil of the Internet and the new currency of the digital world”

Both are great quotes which perfectly sum up the way things are heading (or have already headed) in the digital world. However, just like oil, the true value (and money) only comes from the myriad of products and services that can be derived from the raw material!

Social networks are broadcasters spreading news and information faster than traditional media channels. For example, “It takes roughly 41 seconds for ‘old media’ (i.e. tv) to report a breaking news story but just 28 seconds on Twitter!” New media then has the added bonus of being instantly ‘shareable’ – passing along far wider and more random patterns around the world.

We are moving away from providing digital copies which people can download and keep (MP3s, PDFs) to content they can stream so long as they continue to use the service (like the aforementioned Spotify).

The Future?

The future is all about;

• Bundling (content provided pre-loaded onto hardware devices like mobile phones)
• Freemium
• Up-selling
• Streaming

3 ways for creatives (or creators) to get paid;

• I pay (as a creator, you can get others to write a blog entry about you in return for payment)
• They pay (consumers are forced to watch adverts before accessing the content, i.e. at the beginning of a music video or computer game)
• You pay (consumers pay a subscription to access premium content & unlock additional features – classic Freemium model)

Find Out More / Discuss Further

If you’d like to read more from Gerd Leonhard (@gleonhard), visit www.mediafuturist.com where you can download free ebooks (the hope being that you will appreciate his work so much that you will go on to pay for a physical copy).

Tech Notes – Nokia plays catch-up with new partnership

Published in (North East) business newspaper The Journal on 24th February 2011

It’s been another interesting few weeks in the tech world.

Two days after the allegedly leaked memo from Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop described his company as ‘standing on a burning platform’ for its failure to develop a smartphone to compete with Apple and Google – they announced an exciting new partnership with Microsoft in which Windows 7 Phone will be adopted as the OS for future Nokia phones.

I say exciting because despite falling behind in the smartphone market, Nokia are still the biggest handset manufacturer in the world, and having just taken delivery of a lovely new Samsung Omnia Windows 7 Phone I can tell you that the Microsoft platform is a joy to use. Intuitive, user-friendly and with great features like the ‘Live Tiles’ which make everything just a single tap away, I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their phone or renew their contract.

Which leads me on to Amazon’s Kindle. Like many people, I was a complete sceptic of e-readers until I had a play of my brother-in-law’s Kindle over Christmas. Although there’s nothing like curling up with a good book on the sofa or in bed, I can totally see the benefit of digital versions of certain types of books, particularly tech and business-related titles where the ideas contained within are more important than the format in which they arrive. I’ve since downloaded the excellent free Kindle app for my phone (also available for iPhone, iPad and Android phones) which has enabled me to download a whole load of classic novels for free in a matter of seconds.

I’ve also ordered my very first eBook, ‘Poke The Box’ by business and marketing guru Seth Godin, which is part of an exciting new initiative called The Domino Project. Ever the innovator, Seth has partnered up with Amazon to try and change the face of publishing with initiatives like reducing the price of the eBook by $1 dollar for every 5,000 people that subscribe to his e-bulletin and order it before a specific date.

In my role for Shell LiveWIRE, I’m constantly amazed by how many creative and innovative new business ideas are being started up by young entrepreneurs in the UK, including Slotzz – a Newcastle-based company producing customised, handmade iPhone and iPad cases. Definitely one to watch for the future!

Follow me on Twitter @lordlancaster if you’d like to know more about any of the above.