Categories: Articles

Ashlee "Milli Vanilli" Simpson

Did you see Ashlee Simpson on Saturday Night Live last night? I was always under the impression that Lorne Michaels and the team insisted that all bands perform live and not lip-sync or, at least, limit the use of back-up tracks. Well thanks to Lefsetz’ most awesome of email ravings, you can click here and tell me whether or not this is the most ridiculous thing to happen to a “pop star” in a long time. It’s moments like this that make me pause and wonder why the whole music industry is not imploding faster.
Who’s making it work in music? People with talent. People who are using the web as a compliment to their studio work and live performances (Dave Matthews Band, Cowboy Junkies, Pearl Jam, Metallica and many others!). Musicians who actually care and take the time to nurture the relationships they have with the fans.
Ashlee Simpson is about two seconds away from a WB reality show… if that is even possible.
Sad day for music. Sad day for SNL. Sad day for her label, agent, manager, lawyer and everyone else who was puckering up at that teat.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.