If you could go back in time knowing what you know now, would you? I mean let’s say you could flip a switch and go back five years. What would you have done differently in your business, career or personal brand?
We all would have done something different for certain. That’s human nature to second guess our self. What I’m suggesting is to stop looking in the rear view mirror and focus on the road ahead. Especially the signs along the way.
In hindsight, the signs are usually really big and really bright along the road. However, if you are not currently paying attention to them you will look back five years from now and think what could have been. Here are seven of the current signs you better be engaging in your business, career of personal brand.
Seven Current Signs
1) Blog - Whether it’s a blog or website you need to have one that advances the credibility of you, your company and your career
2) Social Networking - It’s not a fad, it’s not a toy, learn how to use it, engage people and participate
3) Mobile, Mobile, Mobile - I said it three times so you wouldn’t miss this sign. If you think the impact of the Internet has been huge on society, it will pale in comparison to what mobile is going to do. You better figure out how you can use this tool.
4) Search - Google dominates now, but whats next? Real time search on twitter? Local search? Whatever it is, pay attention to these areas
5) Video – TV will be the next big media establishment to be decimated by the Internet. You need to be utilizing video now.
6) Smart Analytics - There is more data available about more things on the Internet today then ever before. Right now though knowing what to do with it is the art/experience of the data. That will all change as “smart” programs are created to analyze and make suggestions with that data.
7) Micro Entrepreneurs - I truly believe that everyone is an entrepreneur. Even if you want to live off of the land in the middle of no where, you need to think like an entrepreneur. Planning, scheduling, idea creation, interaction, branding, relationships and I could go on forever, are all important to survival.
Those are just a few of the road signs you must be paying attention to today. Five years from now dont look back and think what could have been, look back and say, I’m glad I paid attention.
So what got me thinking about this? One book!
I read the book The Cluetrain Manifesto back in 2001, arguably the most important book to ever be written on the future of the Internet and its affects on the market place. To be honest with you I didn’t fully appreciate or even fully understand what the book was trying to communicate back then. I got the audio book the other day to listen to during a road trip. It’s unbelievable how that book was written a decade ago and yet is as relevant today as ever before. If you haven’t read it, you should.
