IdeaEconomy.Net

Companies are flocking to social media and crowdsourcing platforms in the hopes of finding cheaper or more effective ways to market their wares. This is understandable for we all need to make a living, however, I think the real promise of social media is bigger than just a financial transaction. People give their time and money for reasons above and beyond financial gain.

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It has been almost 600 years since Gutenberg invented the printing press, so next generation books are long over due. I have written several times about the inevitable revolution in book publishing. The introduction of Apple’s iPad is a major advancement in the transformation of the idea of a book as printed words to a full multi-media experience. There is now an iPad application for three interactive children’s stories.

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Here is a fascinating video by the BBC called Century of the Self. It is about public relations master and nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays. Bernays was instrumental in creating our consumerism culture, invented PR, advised governments and was a key influence on the propaganda of Nazi Germany.

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What does it take to find a job in this economy? Does sending out generic emails out to hundreds of companies work? How about using the popular employment sites and applying for all jobs vaguely interesting? You can’t differentiate yourself by doing what everyone else is doing. This is what it takes to succeed.

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Money motivates people only if you don’t pay them enough to want to do the work in the first place. After that, there are three factors that lead to better performance and personal satisfaction: Autonomy, Mastery and Contribution. The embedded animated video is a great watch.

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Book publishing is an archaic industry long over due for a revolution. In this Internet age, when information is instantly available from anywhere on the planet, it doesn’t make sense to go through a long publishing cycle only to have a product that is already dated. Books should be a work -in-progress of constantly enhanced and updated material. Books need to be a community, not a static product. While there are many experiments with the new mode of publishing, Leo Babauta of ZenHabits, latest book Focus is most likely going to be one of the early large scale successes.

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Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin is a fantastic read. Here are links to a free mp3 and eBook that Godin created discussing some of the ideas in has latest book. Godin is insightful and inspiring.

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It is clear that we are reaching the top of the pyramid of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. All of our physical needs have been met ten-fold, now we are focusing on self-actualization and finding real meaning in our lives.

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Traditional schools are not able to keep up with changing demands and technological advancements. How can universities possibly deliver graduates with in-demand skills when the world is changing so fast? Here are some interesting models for the future of education.

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As the world gets more complex and corporations continue to bloat in search of economies of scale, there is a growing disconnect between production and consumption. Production of everything is so distant and foreign to consumers that US children have trouble identifying common vegetables. Consumers have almost no idea how the goods we consume are produced, nor where they are from. Nicer packages and brighter colors might look prettier and sell more products but how many more marginally differentiated products do we really need?

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