Pre-internet
I am Generation X. This means lots of things – but for me, it means that I remember life pre-internet. Yes, 1994 was a pivotal year. Crappy job, serious career angst; but the dawn of unlimited information thanks for the Mosaic Netscape browser. Yes, some of you might remember home-made websites with Geocities. It’s almost cliche’ to say that information and data are valuable, and yet now, it’s entirely free. What was rare is now abundant.
That was not the case in pre-internet days. One of my favorite books was One Up on Wall Street (affiliate link), by legendary mutual fund manager, Peter Lynch. A large part of this investment strategy was primary research – going to shopping malls, and calling people to vet his investment theses. Talk about grit. For me, I remember going to the library to look up interest rate data to plug into an regression model. How anachronistic.
Post-internet
So now that Google has been woefully successful at cataloging all human information, how much smarter have we become? We have infinite access to facts, rumors, and lies on our PC and cell phones. When an flood ravages Bangladesh, we know. When someone gets a DUI in our hometown, we all hear about it. When someone on the other side of the world gets a divorce, we have an opinion. High frequency, low-involvement. It’s like information carbs. Very little nutrition, just hyped energy, dopamine, and carb/info crashing.
Data hyperinflation
The internet is so vast (this is actually the wrong paradigm now because the Internet of Things (IoT) is much more than the www.) that there is more dumb data than ever. Fact: 300 hours of video uploaded on YouTube every minute. That ratio is 1:18,000. Basically, you will never drink the internet faster than it is pouring out.
When thinking of analogies for the availability of data, words like plethora, or cornucopia are much too small. Think hyperinflation, avalanche, or deluge. For me, so much of it’s losing its value. Destruction of value, not creation of abundance. Yep, Gen X talk.
Massive noise, no signal
Data in its raw form is useless. Look at the 9,000 page US tax code or the mortgage you signed on your house. What do those 300+ pages really tell you. If you piled up all your junk mail, it could fill a bath tub, and what does that really tell you? Not a lot. It’s largely noise. Yes, the Economist notes that close to 60% of email is spam.
Frail knowledge
Obviously, post-internet is better. Am not a Luddite. That said, it has made many of us lazy thinkers. As Kevin Kelly explained in The Inevitable (affiliate link), we skim. We don’t read. Too often, we settle for the obvious answer, Google search result #1. Yes, we know WHAT, but don’t know WHY, or under WHAT CONTEXT. Too busy trying to look smart with the “click here” answer, but it’s frail knowledge. Brittle. Two sharp questions from your boss, executive, or spouse, and then the answer is “I don’t know.”
If strategy is creating a set of activities which creates a sustainable competitive advantage, then the internet is not that. Everyone has access to infinite flat data. Therefore, it has zero competitive advantage. Look elsewhere.
The internet is thin
I have said this to many students and friends. Strong belief that the internet is infinitely wide (and expanding), but only 1 inch deep. Most of the web is either trying to sell you something, entertain you, or persuade you. There is a fairly seismic assault on expertise, and an increasing disdain for scholarship and science – uh, concern. When websites are trying to get page views (hence, the popularity of list-icles, and business insider articles where you have to keep clicking on each of the “top 50 retirement destinations”), what bleeds leads.
Have a point of view
Pretty much try to cajole all my friends and students into starting blogs. Podcasts are fine too. Anything that pushes you create content, and put it on display for others. As Seth Godin often says, “ship art.” For me blogging, has been entirely cathartic, fun, and a means of connecting to a wider audience. Curiosity is fuel.
Create evergreen content
Once again, this is what Seth Godin advocates. Rather that pinging-around on the latest news, write / publish / record something that has 3-5 year value. Create assets that reflect your thinking. Here are some ideas:
- How would you advise your current clients to guard against Amazon?
- If you interviewed the 5 most provocative people you know, what would they say?
- What are you working on now, that might give you a 5x difference in output?
- What’s the last time you fundamentally changed your opinion on a long-held belief? Why?
- If you put together a “cheat sheet” of the most important career advice, what would it say?
- What (broad) topic could you write about for the next 3 years and be top 5 in the world?
- If you could “own” any search term for Google’s organic search, what would it be?
- If you had to earn $50K in side-hustle (legally), how would you do it?
In conclusion (yes, that sounds official), you are more of an expert than you think. Get your thoughts on paper. You should own your content. The next time someone asks you what you are passionate about, let’s show them your portfolio – not wave our hands, and talk idly about passion.
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