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The Future of The Digital Economy

Are you excited or worried about the future of the world?

There are very divisive lines of thought when it comes to this question. It’s hard not to look at places like Nepal and Baltimore, and wonder what the future holds. Both, the things that we – as human beings – create and the reality of things that Mother Nature holds over our heads. Life is complex. Human beings are complex. We are also a very resilient group. We have evolved (though, some might question that). We have created. Technology is one of those fascinating things. If you track the history of computers and connectivity, you are faced with a tapestry of innovation, entrepreneurship and a strong sense of wonder. In 2015, we are beginning to see how technology moves from being a tool that companies use, to being as pervasive as air and an integral component of everything that we do.

What is the forecast for the digital economy?

In January of this past year, several world leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss the economy, politics, health, business and more. During this conference, there was a panel discussion titled, The Future of The Digital Economy that featured Sheryl Sandberg from Facebook, Eric Schmidt from Google, Satya Nadella from Microsoft and Vittorio Colao from Vodafone. The panel was, ultimately, about optimism. It was about the transformation of business (and much more), and provided a very interested conversation about what we can expect from the giant businesses and how they plan to help the world as their core businesses develop and change.

The Future of the digital economy…

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.