Categories: Articles

The Spirit Of The Times

That’s what the word "zeitgeist" means… the spirit of the times. What is happening now and how does it all come together?

Every year, Google puts together a year-end zeitgeist to show the words, searches, etc… that have shaped our year. What many don’t know is that Google also holds a private and very exclusive event called, Google Zeitgeist, that brings together a couple hundred business executives with some of the leading minds in media, entertainment, business, technology and science to listen, share and learn together over a two-and-a-half day period. I was lucky enough to be invited this past year (the event took place last week in Arizona). One of the most amazing sessions was a conversation between John Batelle (founder of Federated Media, one of the original founders of both Wired Magazine and The Industry Standard and the author of the best-selling business book, The Search) and will.i.am (frontman for The Black Eyed Peas). Much like the TED conference, the organizers of Google Zeitgeist have begun to publish many of the talks online. In fact, check out Zeitgeist – Great Minds Of Our Times for tons and tons of brand new video content.

But first, watch this…

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.