We are living in the age of curation. That term used to be limited to museums and film festivals but today everything is curated. How we get our news, social media updates, recommendations, even our birthday wishes. Like it or not in this on demand, oversharing world, algorithms serve up information, often based on highly personalized data. We are being second guessed by our newsfeeds and Netflix queues.

We no longer have to go to the library or the museum to do research. It’s all available online – search and discovery. Except that we are missing the experience. The accidental discovery by getting lost in the stacks. Even our shopping is curated. Who needs to go to the mall when everything is available on your phone. All of your favorites serving up whatever you need (or don’t need) on your schedule. And of course, the 800 pound gorilla called Amazon is always open, ready to deliver anything and everything. Some of it by just pushing a Dash button.

In our FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) world, we are always hungry for more. Driven to stay on top of our social feeds, emails, texts, we are always behind. Because there’s always more. And in this quest, we rely on newsletters (and Facebook) for the latest news and information and influencers who share their latest finds (often without revealing that these are paid endorsements). But with so much coming at us every minute of every day, how do you get my attention?

In my speeches, I tell the audience that they are all content creators and congratulate them. But then again, that’s also the problem. When everyone is a content creator, and algorithms are increasingly the curators, how are you supposed to get me to pay attention to your message? Another app? Join the club. You wrote a book? Halleluiah. So did 10 other people I know. Or their friends. New movie coming out? Good luck. My Netflix and Amazon Prime queues are locked and loaded for the next year. You get it. Breaking through is HARD.

And that’s why it should be #1 on your list. Marketing is everything and attention is job one. So who you trust to get and deliver information is more important than ever. Trust is key. It’s not a metric. It’s THE metric. And differentiation – thinking about why someone should care is the most important piece of the puzzle. With a constant bombardment of messaging, we pay attention to what is relevant to us.

Let’s face it, the old rules are dead. There are more channels to reach consumers popping up daily. And the big guys (Facebook, Google et al) control much of what we see. So we have to work harder at getting and delivering the unfiltered information we seek, whether it’s (real) news, reviews or social media posts from friends and brands.

I was talking to the executive producer of the upcoming Michael Jackson Lifetime movie at an event yesterday. She is a legend in the business and yet she was concerned. About viewers. Will they know about it? Will they come? It’s premiering Memorial Day weekend – the first weekend of summer. It got me thinking about our changing times and why when you launch anything new is as important as the messaging around it.

When my TV movie aired in 1999, there were 4 networks plus HBO and Showtime to sell to. People stayed home to watch the Sunday night movie. (And in my case, the CBS Tuesday Night Movie. ) It was a staple in a world of limited choices. There was one screen – the TV that delivered long form entertainment. Obviously, our world is fundamentally different today. People now watch “content” on mobile devices and that means they aren’t forced to sit through ads or to watch a show all at once. They can watch shows when they air, or on demand, DVR or stream them through multiple subscription and free services. It’s the ultimate answer to the “I want what I want, when, and where I want it” problem. The networks are no longer in charge, the consumer is the boss. And there is more to choose from than ever before. Too much great TV, not enough time.

This issue of getting attention is true not only in TV but for launching any product or service. Timing matters. When you get attention matters. And yet, many entrepreneurs are so in love with their “baby” that they forget about the old rule: being at the right place at the right time. There is still a lot of emphasis on getting on TV or on a podcast or even in the newspaper. But here’s the thing, there’s no point in getting attention until you are ready. After all, unless you’re building a personal brand, you may want to wait until you have something to sell. Creating awareness is great. Converting that to sales is even better.

So next time someone offers you a launchpad for your new “baby” take a minute to ensure that the timing is right. That you are ready to make a splash. You know what they say: you only get one chance to make a first impression. Make it count!

I’m constantly approached for advice. I have an idea for…. a book, a movie, a speaking career, an app, a “fill in the blank.” I always congratulate the person for having an idea and then set out to (as nicely as I can) talk about the reality of bringing it to life.

When I ask about the “what” a fountain of information comes out. Because for the most part, the focus is about the “idea” usually coupled with how it came about. There’s often passion there and the exciting feeling that comes with beginnings.

I follow up this excitement with my no-nonsense (some would say unfeeling) advice which starts out as questions. And every single time the question is: who is it for? After all, you can create a great product or service, write a brilliant book or make a great film but unless you can figure out how to reach potential consumers, readers or audiences, it won’t be commercially successful. And “viral” or “social media” are not a “who” nor is “it’s for everyone.”

I acknowledge that it’s tough to know, especially if it’s something that doesn’t exist or is truly transformative but let’s face it; even a small tribe or club needs a few members (and no, aunts or nephews don’t count).

My advice is often ignored because the “who” is hard. And not as much fun as focusing on the product or idea. But guess what, if you don’t know who you’re creating for then how do you know what to create?

And yes, I’m familiar with the Henry Ford and Steve Jobs quotes but they’re the exception, not the rule. If you’re transforming the world (e.g. building a car to replace horses or a smartphone to replace the camera/cell phone/iPod/computer) please stop reading now.

Otherwise, be an owl. Keep asking WHO, WHO, WHO? That is the beginning of the journey. The next question of course is: how will you reach them? But I’ll save that for another day.

We are living in a time of extreme disruption. Right now there is a startup somewhere in the world working on upending the status quo of every industry. Technology is the common denominator but the impetus is the changing consumer and her demand for convenience. Or in Silicon Valley speak, they are solving a problem.

There are of course the obvious and much-discussed companies:
Uber is changing transportation in 2 ways. Firstly, by using the phone, it enables users to order a car to take them from point A to point B and know the cost, driver name and arrival time upfront. Secondly, it allows anyone (with a car) to become a driver and by doing so they addressed the complexity (and cost) of becoming a taxi driver.

Another sharing economy darling, Airbnb brings together travelers and hosts. It provides the platform and allows anyone with a room or house to rent to post photos and a description. Like on Uber, everyone can review each other to (supposedly) provide future users with insight. The company’s valuation at $30 billion makes it worth almost as much as Hilton and Hyatt combined. What makes that number remarkable is that it does not own or operate anything. Its tech platform provides a marketplace.

Netflix initially took the friction out of the Blockbuster experience (driving to the store, out of stocks, late fees) by mailing out DVDs and completely transformed the TV business with streaming. Binge watching, anyone?

And of course, there’s Amazon that started its ascendance by selling books online. And en route to retail behemoth (and world domination) eviscerated Borders and brought Barnes & Noble to its knees. It turns out that consumers are only too happy to avoid driving to the store, parking, walking the aisles and lining up to pay. Instead, they can find whatever they need in their PJs, on the couch, and choose when they want to have it delivered. As a leader in self-publishing, Amazon also provides would-be authors with a platform and the ability to bypass the agent and publisher altogether. The ability to reach consumers directly is perhaps the ultimate example of disintermediation. Of course, the downside is that some books suffer from quality issues. And the review system in place to fix that has its own issues.

Many other industries have been shaken up by the changes in distribution and the rise of social media. Even the beer industry has been surprised at the astronomical rise in craft breweries in the past decade. (More on this in a future post.)

Take a look at news as a business. Until 10 years ago I was still holding on to print; I subscribed to 4 daily newspapers and 40 magazines. Today that number is zero. Like most people, I get my news online. From newsletters that curate articles based on my interests to updates on social media from the media outlets themselves. Facebook and Twitter have made all of us content creators and provide us the ability to make or share news as it happens.

A great example of someone who uses Twitter to skip the middleman is @realDonaldTrump. His tweets before he became President and now as President provide him direct access to followers and then get amplified by news outlets as they report on his latest tweet.

Of course, the difference between non-celebrities and celebrities is that name recognition is key to winning the battle for attention. While it’s true that every one of us now has the power to put their words, photos, and videos into the world, the bigger issue is breaking through the noise. 
 
We will continue to see disintermediation in every industry that has intermediaries. Especially on the consumer side. Our connected world continues to remove barriers and our reliance on our devices, social media, search and crowdsourced reviews will propel us into a world increasingly shaped by AI as machines learn to not only understand our needs and wants but to predict them.

I’m waiting for personalized everything. Getting the information I’m interested in (news I care about, products I may want to buy, places I may want to travel to etc.) to come to me. Basically, my life as a Netflix recommendation engine.