Data-driven Decision Making

If you were Mark Zuckerberg and you wanted to get ahead of potential government regulation of your business, what would you fix first? Would you try to curtail social media addiction, protect privacy, reduce mental health risks, reduce weaponized information, eliminate hate speech, flag misinformation, deal with data governance, or address some other seemingly intractable problem? Here's what I'd fix first. Continue Reading →

Over the past few months, people have started using the term "NFT" interchangeably with the term "digital collectible." This is unfortunate, because while most of the digital collectibles in the news are NFTs, the technology can be used to create value in many additional ways. When thinking about fan development, which we will define (just for this article) as a collection of purpose-built tools designed to grow communities of interest, perhaps the most obvious use for an NFT is as a ticket to an event. Let’s review some of the benefits you might expect from combining a ticket, some unique digital assets, and a smart contract. Continue Reading →

As the pandemic enters its second year, we're approaching an inevitable bifurcation of our society: "Presumed Safe" (those who have been vaccinated or exposed to the virus), and "Presumed Unsafe" (those who have not been vaccinated or have not been exposed to the virus). Two distinct groups that are going to test us in ways we've only read about in history books. Continue Reading →

This is the 9,109th issue of my daily newsletter and we're just about a month shy of its 25th anniversary. The fact that you are reading this means the world to me. My question is, is it valuable to you? Continue Reading →

The speed of information is directly equated to economic success. If you learn something before your competitor does and you have the tools to make the knowledge actionable, you are almost always going to profit from it. So, while it’s true that “knowledge is power,” the true power comes from the speed with which you can create information asymmetry in a transactional environment. This is the goal of our new online innovation briefings. Continue Reading →

As 2020 begins its journey from memory into history, I can’t help but wonder how our experiences in this gruesome year will shape the future. We may have experienced 10 years of social innovation in the past 10 months, but how will that accelerated innovation change the way we spend our days? What will come back? What is gone forever? What can 2020 teach us about the future? Continue Reading →

Federal authorities are now convinced that Russia is behind a cyberattack that is so massive and so serious, either they don’t want to go into details, or they can’t. I’m not sure which is worse. The small amount of information that is available can be found on every major news site, so I won’t rehash it. Instead, I want to offer you a strategic approach to dealing with an immutable law of 21st-century life, “There are only two kinds of companies: Those that have been hacked, and those that do not know they have been hacked.” Continue Reading →

The Consumer Electronics Show has evolved so far beyond its consumer electronics roots that it is now just called CES. Over the years, the show has grown into the world’s most important annual technology trade event, featuring close to 4,000 exhibitors and attracting over 170,000 attendees. But times have changed. Due to the pandemic, CES 2021 will be “all-digital.” Which raises the question, does CES still matter? Continue Reading →

The velocity of data is increasing and will always increase. Therefore, the need for data literacy is increasing and will always increase. All other things being equal, there is a significant difference between being literate and being fluent. To create value for your business you need to think strategically about sources and uses of data and understand how data is turned into action. Let’s review. Continue Reading →

On August 6, 2020, the president of the United States signed two virtually identical executive orders banning the use of both TikTok and WeChat. TikTok will survive due to a partnership deal with Oracle that, at this writing, the president has approved. But, unless a federal judge issues a stay, by the time you read this WeChat will be officially banned. Continue Reading →