Categories: Articles

Enter The Zeitgeist

Welcome to the spirit of the times.

The TED conference is my personal escape pod. I’ve been attending that conference since the last one that was held in Monterey (2008). Someone once described it as "gymnastic for the brains." That description always makes me smile, but for those who attend it, they know that it is about so much more. The TED conference affects me at the cellular level. I’m not being overly dramatic. When was the last time that you attended a conference that you thought about on a daily basis? I think about the event, speakers and people I connect with over there on a daily basis. No joke. There is one other event that holds that same, special place in my heart, and it is: Google Zeitgeist. Google Zeitgeist is a private event (only five hundred attendees that are, primarily, Google‘s best partners). There are no sales pitches and little-to-no hallway chatter about what Google can do to grow your business. Google positions this conference as a "thank you." I’m not sure how it happens, but they are very gracious to invite me to be an attendee. I’ve been going for years, and I can best describe the content as, "TED with more of a business twist."

Google Zeitgeist happened this week.

I flew to Phoenix (via Chicago) this past Sunday night and stayed until the end of it (Tuesday after lunch). My head is still spinning (and it’s not from the 100+ degree weather). I’m always leery of sharing anything about the event in my social channels (granted, I do post some pictures to Facebook and Instagram), because I’m doing my best to be present in the moment. To take notes. To even spend some time alone with my thoughts. To think about what I learned, and how to apply it to the business of Twist Image, to our clients… and to myself. I feel, somewhat, silly even trying to write about it post-event. It’s all mush right now, as it stews around and slow cooks between my earholes. Because it’s a private/invite-only event, I’m also cautious to share anything online that was supposed to stay "in the room." (afterall, I do want to be invited back ;).

Let’s share some Google Zeitgeist.

I subscribe to the Zeitgeist Minds YouTube channel, where they often post the talks from previous events. Just now, I noticed a whole bunch of this week’s presentations were already posted online. So, the first thing you should do, is to subscribe to the Google Zeitgeist Minds YouTube Channel. The next thing you should do, is watch the following sessions that really inspired me.

Here’s just a little tickle of Google Zeitgeist:

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.