Lately I have been thinking a lot about the trend of “Online to Offline” and how digital is transforming human behavior. So it was a bit serendipitous that I ran across the two below presentations by Paul Adams. A former Googler, Paul is now a Product Manager at Facebook. In these presentations, he outlines how social networking is really tied to basic consumer behavior. Or as Paul eloquently puts it:
Social networking is a means to an end. You need to understand what the end is.

To build on your thoughts, I think there is a huge opportunity in the market today for those who figure out how to link (A) the radical enhancements that have occurred online to improve discovery (search), interaction (Web2.0 / social), and analytics (Mint.com, etc.) with (B) the “ho-hum” offline world where we still spend 90% of our time and 95%+ of our disposable income. The convergence of these two spheres will create endless opportunities for many participants (consumers = “intelligent” consumption; merchants = efficient, targeted marketing; brand owners = deeper understanding of users; marketers = a whole new playing field to innovate). I agree with you and Ron Conway, I think this will be one of the largest impacts of Web2.0/3.0.
I think I saw you tweet Mark Suster’s article on how advertising will be moving towards “integrated”, If not, it is an interesting read: http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/29/the-future-of-ad…
Also, I would guess you have also caught Ron Conway’s take on O2O as the next “Megatrend”. If not, here is a link: http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-conway-megatre…
I am excited to see the innovations that will develop in this area. If you share this excitement, then keep your eyes open for our Brandery application in the next week or so (shameless plug).
Regards,
Michael Wohlschlaeger
Michael – Looking forward to seeing that Brandery application. Sooner the better!