We began realizing that our business world and even our non-business (medical, law, philosophy, history, any subject really) has been following both a telescoping and an exponential growth rate.

Telescoping Exponential

In the history of sciences and new knowledge, we can take some of the greatest minds in history: Galileo, Pythagoras, Newton, any great mind from the renaissance or before the 20th Century. All of these men were experts in not just one field, but many. Galileo is remembered as a premier astronomer, but was also a physicist and mathematician, amongst others. Pythagoras was a philosopher and a mathematician. These men were the best in more than just one thing leading to the basis of so much science in today’s ever-evolving world. This is the telescoping point of view, few people with a vast amount of knowledge on many different concepts.

Today though, this is being reversed. We have many people with very intricate and specific niche topics. You can go out today and look for a marketing agency and find a marketing agency dealing with just publicity or just advertising, they are a specific set of people with a small focus and they’re damn good at it. Same goes for science, you will find a neurologist, radiologist, podiatrist, the list is almost infinite, hell there’s probably even a doctor for just your femur (yes I am exaggerating). You see where I’m going with this.

Graphically it would look like this:

This general overview of specific concepts that used to be held by so few people who knew many things, is now backwards. More people know fewer things, but they’re better at them! That is the defining factor.

In the end what this ends up happening, is that the individual knowledge becomes so high, that the level of growth become a sky rocket. If you take a look at any economical graph or a world economics graph over the past centuries, the growth is exponential.

Image source: dinocrat.com

What does it all mean?

The more we grow, the more specific we get. The more specific we get the more we can dedicate research to individual topics and get to new heights in research, levels of income, and best of all for your business, more revenue!

Take this YouTube video for example, part of the inspiration for this post:

Stick around next week for the followup on this post: Collective Thinking – Cloud Minds

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The parable of the fisherman is one some people know and some people have absolutely zero idea about it. After having lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for about 6 years, living near and talking to people from these small little fishing villages, you learn an interesting bit about what this parable truly means. So while you read the following parable, I want you to think about a few things, and leave a comment, let me know how it makes you change your view.

• Where is your business taking you?
• Does this better the people surrounding you or your product, or is it self-serving?
• What kind of problems are you solving?
• Be happy with what you have and explore.

The Fisherman’s Parable

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the
American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his
needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs … I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help
you!  You should start by fishing longer every day.  You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.

“And after that?” asked the Mexican.

With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second
one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.  Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can  then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City!  From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps 25 years,” replied the American.

“And after that?” the Mexican asked.

“Afterwords? That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing.  “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions?  Really?  And after that? Then what señor?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”

Image by S@ilor

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Start Practicing More

I keep getting inspired more and more to take on Yoga (Thanks to prAna for the inspiration), Rock Climbing, a healthier (possibly more organic) diet, running more often, replace weight training with more nature based exercise.

Firstly, Yoga. When I get back home to Chapel Hill find a beginners yoga class and begin to understand the concepts, ideas and the overall passion for yoga. By learning breathing techniques and efficiency of muscle usage and mental focus I expect yoga to give much more than just a way to get physical exercise.

Rock Climbing. The wall at the Student Rec. Center at Appalachian State gives me the opportunity to go, practice and focus training in Bouldering, Top Roping and Lead Climbing.  I want to go climbing at least twice a week.

Running, over 20 minutes for three times a week. Adjusting my diet to a one plate meal, with salad, and yogurt for dessert, until I come back home where I can do my own grocery shopping and not have to eat cafeteria food.

The Business Goals

Finding an internship is tough from overseas! I’m looking for a Social Media Marketing internship, in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, paid.

Start making my blog posts consistently longer and more concrete data packed. I currently write about 300-400 words per post and maybe post 1-3 times a week. I want to begin writing 500-600 words per post using data stacked resources to back up claims I make. Using case studies as resources for posts. Start guest-posting at other blogs, and finding people willing to guest post here.

Increase the amount of returning readers to my website in comparison to new readers.

Increase the number of new readers by 200% monthly.

That’s about all I’ve got. Help me out, keep me accountable!

Image by angelawagner

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Well, it’s a phenomenal change! I love it as a matter of fact.

The ability for a commercial to be launched, virally, free, and longer than your normal TV spot is leading to a new wave of commercials. Because the normal TV commercial spot usually lasts 30 or 60 seconds, being able to launch a video that engages the viewer many times more than normal gives us much higher quality of content in commercials.

The fact that being able to launch a YouTube video campaign means that, your distribution cost is zero! You could pay millions of dollars for a Superbowl ad spot, but if the majority of the Dorito’s (Keep yo hands of my momma!) success was the circulation of the video after the original release, the virility and cost of your commercial could have just as much success with free distribution.

The video that spawned this post I saw over at Jason Keath’s (@jakrose) Blog, The Puma Hardchorus.

Edit – Also watch the Heineken Case Study Video about the AC-Milan/Real Madrid match. (YouTube)

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This post isn’t about me, it’s about my friend Emily. One of the most fabulous people that I know is going on a Mission trip starting in September of this year. As the former Director of a mission summer camp, her leadership is some of the strongest and most effective I have ever seen. She is a strong person with a great heart to do many things for many people.

So what’s the point, she tells me that she needs quite a bit of money to complete this mission trip, it’s year-long. From what she tells me, about $12,000. I ask you kindly to help her and the hundreds of people she will be helping by donating any amount you can.

You can learn about Emily at her Mission Year Blog and click Donate Now, this will contribute directly to her fund. You can also donate through the main website here, with the Support ID # 10-0009.

Follow Mission Year on Twitter, or Facebook.

Thank You.

Update: Here is a link directly to Emily’s donation page, if reading this was enough for you.

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I can agree it sounds cheezy, you may be stuck in a job that you think you enjoy, but at the end of the day you couldn’t give a rat’s-ass about it.

I couldn’t tell you the many times my Grandfather and my parents just put everything aside and said, “Here, this is what we are going to do, and you’re going to help!” I was never 100% committed to what they wanted me to do; I stuck with it though. I learned what to do and how to act. But when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of your prime business or website, whatever, you have to care, and you have to love what you’re doing to make it worth while.

That’s not to say that you will not be successful, but simply a way to enjoy what you do, and be able to take yourself and your venture to the next level because you care, want, and need to see something come of what you do.

The way of Social Media has entirely changed the way we put our passions into our projects. You don’t have to agree with me, and quite honestly I don’t expect you to. I just personally despise seeing so many twitterers depending on ReTweets, @ Replies, and how many followers they have. And all that in the end does have significance, but what’s the most important part of this new marketing wave?

The Passion.

Give it all you’ve got. Make it significant, for yourself, others and they will come.

What are your passions? How can this be changed?

Image by (nutmeg)

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I only have two small things for today being that it is New Year’s Eve.

Happy New Year

I just want to wish everyone a great New Year’s Eve. Tonight is a night for change, happiness, and company. I dearly hope that everyone has the opportunity to either spend this night with someone they love, or care for or have a great friendship for.

Tonight is a night where we put the past behind us and start a new era. Tomorrow is a new day, a new year and a new opportunnity.

Seize that.

Make the best of this night that you can because when you get back after the champagne, after the grapes, and maybe one too many beers or glasses of wine; You will be back to the grind, you might go back to doing what you love or a job that you hate, but tonight is that night. A night for change and I night for what we make it.

So make the best of this day!

Do It For Everyone Else

While you’re changing all your social media predictions, and making expectations or plans for this new year, I only ask one thing that you include.

Stop doing everything you do for yourself. The time for selfishness in this day and age is over. I am sick of it. Sure you might be in need of a new product, a new marketing plan etc. etc. but come on; can we please stop being so greedy?

Are you a social media professional? Well, what are you doing to help others besides writing blogs, or giving seminars? Try going out there and giving directly to the community, show them what to do, be there with them.

Marketing? What are you doing out of the goodness of your heart for non-profits? Are you cutting them a pricing break (probably not).

Even if you make workout goals…why not try helping someone else workout, wouldn’t that still help you?

Just give this a shot, let me know what you think!

Image by Mundilfari*

Posted via web from Greg’s posterous

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Change happens, we all know it. I believe the best motive is to embrace it. Make sure that you’re comfortable with what is changing, take it in and use what you have to optimize the changes for your benefit.

This isn’t just social media, or businesses, it’s everything. Change happens, do your best to roll with it, and work it for your advantage!

Image by kayakeverywhere

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With the economy in its current state of dismay this I feel my conviction to ask everyone to vote. Who you vote for, for whatever reason is up to you. All I ask is that a vote is made. The economy is going down, the crash of indymac (Who’s website is still up…) is incontrovertible evidence that we need to do something. You must vote in these coming elections. Just think of the best candidate who is strong enough to bring us to a stronger financial state and be able to keep up to date in a ever evolving world.

Technologies must be followed, economy measured, and changes made.

All I ask is Vote, Please!

Image from ObeyGiant.com

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