Categories: Articles

My True Love

As Valentine’s Day comes to a close, it felt like the right time to focus on passion. With all of these channels to be connected to – from Blogs to twitter – I’m constantly amazed by what people are passionate about. Admittedly, there are plenty of times where I shake my head in bewilderment about what turns certain people’s cranks. Then I realized that Marketing was my passion, and that is not any more (or less) obscure than the Lego Robotics Blog (hat-tip to Chris Anderson) or the people who Blog as their Second Life avatar. Each one is worthy of its own space and fills a much needed void – it gives people a voice and – more importantly – empowers them to connect with others who share in their interests.

So what is my true love for this space? Clearly, I’m passionate about this Blog and my Six Pixels of Separation Podcast. I love my other show, Foreword Thinking – The Business And Motivational Book Review Podcast. I don’t know how long I could go without checking in at twitter and getting a feel for what’s going on in this space. del.icio.us continues to be my "go to guy" for all information and insights. My love/hate relationship with online social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn still provides certain levels of satisfaction (but it dwindles as the spam increases).

Then, it hit me.

My true love is RSS.

A while back, Ed Lee over at Blogging Me Blogging You had a Blog posting titled, What Is RSS? An Analogy, that brilliantly sums it all up. Chris Anderson – author of The Long Tail and Editor over at Wired Magazine – had one of the best explanations of RSS as well ("instead of going out to find stuff on the Web, RSS brings the Web to you"). It’s just that simple. RSS is really driving the success of Social Media and Web 2.0. From your Facebook feed to subscribing to a Podcast in iTunes. From following your favourite Blog or being notified of Google News Alerts… all of this is made easier (and much more manageable) through RSS. My main aggregator is Google Reader. Not a day goes by that I don’t marvel at how much RSS has changed (and facilitated) my online experience.

What’s to truly love?

Technology that works so well that it’s seamless (invisible to the Consumer) and changes the way you interact – not just with your media… but with others.

What do you love most about this New Media space?

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.