One of the biggest challenges in our line of business – the strategy and execution of new technology – is context.  It’s far too easy to get swamped by the new, the next, the wow.

But context is essential if you want to understand and assess the usefulness of each development as it appears: Is it a tweak or a breakthrough? Do I leap or wait? You can’t make those calls if you aren’t up on where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what the issues are.

One way we develop a sense of context? Writing and giving speeches – like the one we just did at the NASFT Fancy Food Show in D.C. Explaining trends, technology and marketing to others  forces us to think broadly.

Our topic – “Mobile Technologies and the Modern Consumer” – covers several aspects of the smartphone revolution,  from Behavior: consumer usage, ZMOT, etc., to Technology: the best practices for turning the consumer point of contact into a point of purchase.

My favorite part was the audience questions: clearly we’re all struggling with the challenges of adopting and adapting to new ways of working, but nobody’s denying the power and impact of new technology. After years of hearing everything from “We don’t believe in social media” (like it’s the tooth fairy?) to “I can’t get my CEO to talk about this,” we’re finally seeing the questions that count, “Okay how do I implement this for my business?”  “What’s the rate of adoption – how fast do I need to get caught up?”  These are the essential issues we’re helping clients work through.

If you’ve got 45 minutes to give to your business, the speech is recorded here. You’ll find it not only gets you up to speed but also gives you a framework for the next developments (Hint, TecTiles and Mobile Wallet).   Your comments and questions are welcome.