Your Information Channels Are Shrinking
I remember when I started surfing the Internet, it was slow, hard and yet amusingly fun. I was more curious than I was looking for a specific thing. Being human, and we all are, we tend to filter down. When we first found ourselves zooming the information highway, we looked at hundreds resources, maybe even thousands, collecting the information we were looking for, and much more we didn’t need.
When I started doing research on the Internet, I had bookmarked thousands of sites, mostly information that helped me confirm my work, and then there was the stuff I thought might be interesting, or maybe even fun. Over time (years), I found myself going back to sites that were helpful, most of the channels I bookmarked never got my attention.
Today, there are millions upon millions of websites with information, some of it useful, most of it not so much. The biggest change with the Internet today is, mainstream seems to have taken the Internet and made behave like the Matrix. If NET Neutrality has its way, the channels will become fewer, and you will won’t have the choices you have today. You won’t have the freedom to see all that you can see today. But that’s not the story.
You see, you may have noticed that the sites you visit have become a smaller number, and you probably find yourself going back to the same 5 – 10 sites each day to get the information you like, and that’s the story. All the major networks, the major newspapers, all the major news channels, and all the social networks are sharing the same content over and over. The high rotation of the same content has us going to fewer places on the Internet, and nothing seems authentic anymore. Your information channels are shrinking! To compound the problem, you, the Internet surfer, and all your friends are sharing the same thing repeatedly, hence the high repetition on FaceBook, Twitter, and what have you.
What used to be a curious highway, filled with an endless supply of information, has become a small town of gossipers, and many seem to like fewer channels, because its easier, you don’t have to work so hard. The information isn’t as strong as it once was, the quality if you will, has lost it’s ability to hold you to the content for long periods of time.
When Automation Takes Your Job
I share this not fear monger, but fire a shot across the bow, it’s real, and we all need to pay attention. Just recently Bill Gates made the statement, “People Don’t Realize How Many Jobs Will Soon Be Taken Over By Software Bots”. He claims, that in 20 years, alot of jobs will go away, only to be replaced by software automation. One of the challenges with knowing this information is this, most people don’t believe it and will have the job forever.
Here is the quote word for word:
“Software substitution, whether it’s for drivers or waiters or nurses … it’s progressing. … Technology over time will reduce demand for jobs, particularly at the lower end of skill set. … 20 years from now, labor demand for lots of skill sets will be substantially lower. I don’t think people have that in their mental model.”
In a time where young people under 20 can’t find jobs now, he claims accountants, telemarketers, and retail workers are also in the cross hairs of software automation and robots. This doesn’t look good for those holding those jobs now and in the future if Mr. Gates is correct. This is not the first time futurists have said something of this nature, many, including myself said these very words almost 10 years ago, and recently the Economist named over a dozen jobs that will be lost to automation. Think about what you do now, ask yourself, and be honest with yourself, “can my job be lost to software automation?”. If yes, you know what you have to do, and when automation takes your job, what will you do? If no….you will be one of the fortunate few to keep something called a job.
A few years ago I wrote that everyone will be an affiliate of something, we all at some point in the future be selling someone’s product or service, or our own. We won’t have a choice, because full-time jobs will be a thing of the past, and the jobs not taken by automation, nobody will want to do them. So start today, go and do that thing you so desperately wish you could do, start part-time on the side, but start, there is no better time than now! Today you can have a factory at your fingertips, all you need is an Internet connection and a computer, the rest is up to you. You have it in you, and the world wants to hear from you, so stand-up and bring your art to the world.
The Social Currency
How many times have you said, someone once said, but I can’t remember who. Then it becomes, as I’ve always said….once you claim it to be yours, the thing that someone once said, became research. The truth is, we should always give credit to whomever said the thing you decided to rip and make your own, integrity then becomes the word damaged if you don’t.
If you plan on building a brand, a business, or a reputation, you will need the sacred social currency, trust. Without trust, you’ll find it almost impossible to acquire true fans, which means the tribe won’t follow you. So always name the person, give the credit to its rightful owner, if it’s you, then you can say, as I’ve always said, and I’ll have to say, as someone once said if I don’t know who you are. Become known, share your wisdom, and protect yourself from being the someone who once said.
The social currency is trust, but you’ll only get it through transparency and giving credit to those who deserve it, the fastest way to lose it, keep taking credit for something you didn’t say or do.
My Friend Needs Your Help – Job or Self-Employment?
I have an online friend in this battle, he is well-known, has built a large online following, written 6 books, and a host of other things, after all of this, he is looking for a full-time job. He admits that he hasn’t been able to make it on his own (but still wants to), so he is looking for a job, but a specific kind of job. Which raises the question, should you seek a job (full-time) or step out the way of self-employment?
The question raises many other questions of whether you’re in a place to go self-employed or to continue working a job, but only you can answer them, it’s all a risk at some level. I have been on my own the last 7 years, it was exciting at first, but it got gradually harder, and I found myself wishing for a full-time job so I didn’t have to go through the pain. The fact is, some of us are not able to be self-employed, for a lot of reason’s, but you can learn to, and find ways to survive through the down times. Surviving is not why we start a business, or make the decision to be self-employed, we hope for greater than what we had in the job, its human nature.
I’m writing this here because I want to help him, I admire this person’s transparency, his willingness to put himself out there, to be humble enough to ask for help in a very public way, his name is Jesse Stay, I’ll let him appeal to you:
Yes, I’m looking for a full-time job. Know anyone that’s hiring?
The truth is, it’s embarrassing to say that. As someone who has written 6 books on social media and continually gets approached for more; As someone who has almost 80,000 subscribers on Facebook, 65,000 followers on Google+, and 40,000 on Twitter, along with Facebook Pages in the hundreds of thousands; As someone who has helped pioneer social media and audience/reach for organizations like the LDS Church, Deseret Digital Media (a top 25 news organization in the USA) and even worked with Facebook, Inc. herself; As someone who has built Twitter tools with users in the hundreds of thousands; As someone who was described by Mashable as one of the top entrepreneurs, and top developers to follow on Twitter, I just couldn’t make going on my own work.
Raising a family of 8 on your own, with no full-time employment is HARD! While I’m constantly getting new clients (and still seeking more, unless I get a job), it just doesn’t seem enough to make what I need to support my family. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I just have more expensive needs with my large family.
I’m often told and described by others who introduce me as “one of the best social media experts in the world.” Those are not my words. It’s hard for me to believe them when I can’t bring in enough clients on my own to justify that title. Those that work with me love what I do for them, but I’m not doing something right, because I still don’t have enough clients paying regularly to keep me afloat. I think I’m just not cut out enough to do this thing on my own – I either need someone who’s picking up the slack in the areas I’m missing (aka someone to tell me what to do while handling the sales/budget/finance – know anyone good?), or I just need to work for someone else.
It’s tough for me to share this – I have to swallow my pride. I don’t enjoy admitting defeat, and maybe I haven’t fully, but some how I’ve got to pay the bills, and I’m ready to make a change in direction to do so.
If you know anyone hiring Director-level or above in digital or social media strategy (can even have a technical-leaning, as I started out as a software developer), or even emerging technologies and finding disruptions within a company, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency included, please send them my way. I’m really looking for introductions more than job postings. I’ve found a million job postings and without a close friend that knows my skill-set introducing me to the hiring manager and pushing them to hire me it really doesn’t do much good in such a competitive market. Also, while I’d love to stay in Utah, I’m really open to working anywhere (especially internationally!) if it gets me employed. Send them my way!
Oh, and please feel free to check out my LinkedIn profile to see my clients, work performed, skills, endorsements, and recommendations: http://linkedin.com/in/facebook
If you can help him, I recommend you reach out to Jesse, you’ll find him easy to contact, and he is always willing to help.
Do You Like To Learn Or Teach?
Have you noticed how many courses, webinars, and online workshops there are, that claim to teach you the secret to XYZ? I’ve often wondered about those who teach these programs, did they start out as teacher’s, or were they student’s first. There is a saying, the teacher appears when the student is ready. I have been student most of my life, why…because I like to learn. I also love to teach, but it’s not a natural gift for me, I have to work hard at it! Learning is harder for me because I’m so abstract, visionary, and I tend to fly at 50,000 feet, and most of the time, people don’t get me. That may be a communication issue.
I’m in my mid to late 50’s now, so I’ve been doing the details and leading teams to do details for many years. I’m a teacher, and a learner, but I had to learn long before I could teach. Plus, I had to have some life experience before I could teach intelligently. So, what are you, or where are you in this journey of becoming a teacher? Are you trying to be a teacher too soon, maybe you haven’t learned enough yet, haven’t experienced enough, or does it matter?
I guess I’m just curious about where all these Expert’s and Guru’s come from, and where did they learn to do what they teach. Are they accredited, who are they, what do we know about them, ya my heads exploding with all the questions. The old adage, the old rule applies here as it does in any transaction, buyer beware, you may be getting sold down the river by these expert’s and gurus.
But if you ask yourself, what do I like to do, learn or teach, I think you’ll find one can’t go without the other. Be careful what you call yourself when you the student is ready to become a teacher, your experience will become obvious.
