The Future Is Right In Front of Our Face and To Succeed We Need to Do More Than React

Maybe it’s me,  but sometimes locally  I feel like I’m in a world all by myself.  A world that people are slow to adapt, slow to change, and think that having a Facebook page makes them “connected”   We domainers understand the world will be run by the Net.  All things we do will one way or another involve the Internet.   In some areas we may be late but in others we have the chance to be pioneers.   As I’ve mentioned before,  I work with ABC, PBS, and local television and smile every time they mention Twitter in their scripts.  People that are just now getting on Twitter are reacting.   They are in such a position of power. They have thousands if not millions of eyeballs and all they can do is make half assed websites and retweet the stories they had shown the night before.  I have a million thoughts and ideas and I thought I would share a couple of them.

The iPad just showed us exactly how newspapers and magazines will be delivered.  Not a doubt in my mind that every single magazine will be a download onto a viewing pad.  If you have an iPad you know how great and easy it is.  I have several laying around the house.  I want all my magazines delivered this way and I will pay the same price I pay for the hardcopy that they are mailing.  They should make it cheaper because it will cost so much less to deliver but I don’t want to scare them.

Apps will become worthless on anything bigger than a phone sized screen.  Again the iPad shows the power is still in the url.  I don’t need a special app because a website should be able to deliver the same content now that I have a better screen.

Internet users are tired of junk, parked, and duplicate sites.   They provide no value and are a waste of our time. Google is going to get much harder on these types of websites to appease its users.

The successful sites on the Internet have and will always be the ones that offer the best content, product or services.  What that is and how they deliver it will always evolve but it still comes down to those three.   All the rest are leeches

People are at the outer extremes of communication.  They either want to see your face through video or don’t want to see or hear you at all and would rather text.   More and more people are dumbing it down through text instead of calls but just as many are taking it to the next level and will be using video chat in daily conversation.

Internet advertising will overtake television in the near future.  It sounds unbelievable but it’s only a matter of time.  When asked if they would rather give up their phone, internet or tv guess which one most young people would ditch first?  Yup, the tv.

The brick and mortar guys have so much knowledge to bring to the net yet they are afraid to abandon the business as usual mentality.  On one hand they love the thought of adding billions of possible new customers yet are scared to death and feel such a lack of control when they have to listen to others tell them how to harness it.   Type A personalities run these companies and they are not in control when they move to the net.  Their tech guys are and it’s not a comfortable position. The guys that are reacting and just now putting a web store because the have to,  are going to be left behind by the guy that wants to.

The cost of reaching customers is at an all time low on the net.  Now is the time to reach them.  Of course actually knowing how to target them is also at an all time low. Knowing where to advertise and figuring out how to reach your target audience is a skill that is in high demand.   If you can prove to clients that you can reach internet customers of their liking you are going to be a rich man.

There is an incredible opportunity awaiting us on the net. It is still very very young in the scope of things and is evolving on a DAILY basis.  If you are reading domaining blogs daily you are already ahead of the game.  You are eager to learn more and therefore your learning should translate into doing.  There is plenty of money to be made in following, if you follow the right people.    You want to make even more money?  Create and sell the product that everyone else is hocking.  Make the change before everyone else does.  Be a first adapter.   What’s the worst that can happen…..you fail.  The best always do because that’s the downside of leading change.  Sometimes you step into a big hole.  After you climb out though, sometimes there’s a big pile of cash waiting for you.