2017: An Inflection Point for the Media Business

How do you identify inflection points important to media businesses successAn inflection point is an event that results in a significant change in a company industry sector economy or political situation The launch of the World Wide Web on August 6 1991 was such an event It created opportunity for those industries that embraced it and devastated those that ignored it or failed to adopt over timeIt is difficult to see the impact of inflection points in the present time but once you clearly identify inflection points you can harvest their potential for the media business For the purposes of illustration I will focus on two anniversaries in 2017 which is the sixtieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik and the tenth anniversary of the launch of the iPhoneHereamp8217s how it happenedMIT scientists observed that the frequency of the radio waves transmitted by Sputnik increased as it approached the receiver and decreased as it moved away This marked the creation of the Doppler effect The Russian launch of Sputnik stunned the world Scientists observed that satellites could be tracked by measuring amp160radio waves The concept of the modern day GPS in your phone or car was a direct result of the Sputnik launchSteve Jobs said amp8220Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everythingamp8221 At the time I was Head of Global Sales for Nokia Interactive with the largest global team selling mobile advertising Nokia had a 49 percent share of the global of smartphone marketplace Thatamp8217s when Jobs said amp8220Wweamp8217re gonna reinvent the phone Weamp8217re gonna start amp8230 with a revolutionary user interface the result of years of research and development and of course itamp8217s an interplay of hardware and softwareamp8221 Nokia like many companies before and after missed this inflection point and rapidly lost market share and eventually the businessThe smartphone user interface pioneered by Apple marries human behavior of cognitive thinking sight sound and motion with software It caused the Smartphone Effect the same thing that makes the smartphone an indispensable extension of our work and life amp160todayHow do you identify and capitalize on inflection pointsThere are five principles of inflection point detection and monetizationSee change Most people intuitively knew Sputnik changed the game but few could translate the impact of Sputnik to their business It was the scientists at MIT who first noticed the frequency of the radio signals transmitted by the small Russian satellite Every inflection point sends signals that the trained expert can see and translate into action This is the most difficult first part of the process One effective way for signal detection is attending industry events to network to learn amp160and experience technology first hand You need to see and experience change firsthand to take any actionThink changeamp160 Most innovations and inventions are random and serendipitous Reading networking and attending conferences outside your main expertise opens worlds of possibilities In physics Albert Einstein said amp8220No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created itamp8221 In politics Nelson Mandela said amp160amp8220It always seems impossible until it39s doneamp8221 Innovation happens in a nonlinear mannerAccept change Clayton Christensen author of the Innovatoramp8217s Dilemma says in his book that few companies can successfully navigate change One suggestion he offers to organizations is amp8220watching how customers actually use a product provides much more reliable information than can be gleaned from a verbal interview or a focus groupamp8221amp160 Social media can also be very useful in trend detection These are effective ways for companies to see how they need to change to meet consumersamp8217 expectationsMake change Paradigms and change cycles are rapidly accelerating and changing For example building your business to serve five billion smartphone users is a market reality Ignore it and someone else will grab the opportunityProcess change In his day Winston Churchill was an innovative thinker whose views on success ring true today amp8220Success is not final failure is not fatal it is the courage to continue that countsamp8221 Innovation learning and experimentation are a daily business requirement for the media business today This is a 365dayayear and 247 activityHow do you become an expertHow do you become an expert at inflection point detection and navigating change In 2012 we created a program called Custom Curated Experiences to provide a strategic immersive learning experience for the State Department It consisted of a unique blend of conference and startup curation with intensive business development strategic partnership building and networking The State Department got the benefit of ten years of experience in two years with this processIt is through broad exposure and a diverse set of inputs that inflection points emerge There is no easy way for leadership teams at organizations to understand the business opportunities created by technological changes on consumer behavior and the bottom line As Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan said amp8220The Times They are AChanginamp8217quot It is this recognition of changing time that offers a bright and profitable future for the media industry The sooner you learn which way the wind is blowing the easier it will be to detect inflection points and maximize opportunity from themClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

2017: An Inflection Point for the Media Business

Author

Publish date

Channel

Daniel Hodges

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

2017: An Inflection Point for the Media Business

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Daniel Hodges

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies