Categories: Articles

Can You Hear Me Now?

Access is still the issue.

Being connected is everything.

I’ve been thinking a lot about technology, mobile and where this is all going from a Marketing perspective.

I think we’re not going anywhere until we resolve the issue of connectivity. I don’t care if it’s WiMAX, Edge networks or anything else, but being connected needs to become ubiquitous like radio. We need it everywhere.

It’s also not enough for it to just be everywhere. It needs to be everywhere and it needs to be fast.

I’m seeing more and more mobile devices that are wi-fi enabled. Recently, Nokia sent me the N810 Internet Tablet. It’s not a phone – just the Internet. And here’s the thing: I love it when I’m in an area with wireless access. When I’m not in a hotspot, I hate it – because it’s a brick.

It fascinates me that when you think about the power of the Internet and what mobile devices can do, the availability of high speed access everywhere is the last barrier for taking this media to the next level. I used to look at devices like laptops and mobile phones and see the limitations in the hardware. Seeing new devices like the Nokia N810, Apple‘s iPhone and even my Sony Vaio ultra-portable laptop demonstrates to me that the hardware is there… all we need is high speed access everywhere.

I know there’s a net neutrality comment for this type of talk too, but I’ll save that for another time.

With true wireless everywhere, just imagine the possibilities.

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.