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Happy Sweet 16, Six Pixels of Separation

Happy Sweet 16, Six Pixels of Separation.

It was September 29th, 2003 that I started Six Pixels of Separation (originally it was just The Twist Image Blog). Here we are. 16 years later. Close to 6000 articles, 690 podcasts (every Sunday – never missed a week), 480+ weekly link exchanges with Alistair Croll and Hugh McGuire, 6 years of weekly appearances on CHOM 97.7 FM every Monday morning with Terry DiMonte, and more words at the intersection of brands, consumers and technology than I could have ever imagined. 16 years is a long time to do anything. I can’t think of anything that has added more value, created new friendships and opened up new business opportunities more than this space… this publishing platform. If you’ve ever read an article, listened to a show, heard me on the radio, seen me speak or read one of my books, I just wanted to say, “thank you.”

Putting it out there.

Originally, I just wanted a publishing platform of my own. I had published my own music magazines (back before there was an Internet), and I loved the freedom of not pitching editors… not being rejected. A space where I could think, share, and write what was on my mind (unfiltered/unedited)… where I felt the industry of media, marketing, communications and advertising could go. Over time, it became a place of ideas. A place where technology and innovation could be looked at (under a microscope) and debated. A place where business book authors, non-fiction writers and big thinkers could dive deep (much deeper) into their own work (and into the future). A place to not have these people be interviewed, but to have these ideas challenged, debated and discussed. At the same time, I was running a digital marketing agency (Twist Image was acquired by WPP in 2014 and became Mirum in 2015), and was very sensitive to calling brands out or throwing anybody under a bus. I wasn’t holding back. I found many creative ways to weave a tale and learn/teach a lesson. When I look back on the archive here, it shocks me to see how much has transformed since 2003. From my own tone, to the technology that we’re all using and confronted with.

It has been a journey. The journey continues. Let’s decode the future.

For seventeen years, I was in the agency world. Since July of last year (when I left Mirum), I have taken on a new office (it feels more like a studio to me) and have started working on new projects (much more speaking, investing, advising and hints of new startups – this “holding company” is called, Six Pixels Group). Six Pixels of Separation will be one of the main projects that I am working on moving forward. What can this publishing platform become? How will the articles and the radio segments and the podcast all weave together? What can Six Pixels of Separation do differently? What can I do better? All good questions (and I am open to your feedback!). All questions that I have been thinking about, and taking copious notes on. My morning pages are littered with early morning haze thoughts about what it might take to do things differently, and how the ideas here should spread beyond and outward. I would love for you to be a part of this journey.

Here’s how you can help:

Please feel free to subscribe.
Please feel free to tell your colleagues and friends to subscribe.
If you’ve liked the podcast, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcast.
If you’ve liked either of my two books (Six Pixels of Separation or CTRL ALT Delete), please consider leaving a review on Amazon.
If you’re looking for a keynote speaker for an internal event, a client event or an association that you’re involved with, I’d love to be there (in Canada, I work with Speaker’s Spotlight).
If you would like to help, get involved or have an ideas for me, I’m always open. Please let me know.

With that, thanks for all of the support and feedback. I appreciate you.

P.S. – My talent bureau, Leading Authorities, just launched this ad campaign about my speaking and content, if you’re interested…

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.