Geoffrey Colon discusses the shift from the Information Age to the Creative Age. During the Creative Age, tools are abundant, creativity and imagination are commodities, and businesses can be started quickly. People can work anywhere and for themselves through cloud computing. The focus is shifting to purpose, potential, and inspiration over traditional business metrics. Colon advocates adapting to constant change through nomadic thinking and measuring engagement and sentiment over traditional marketing metrics.

1. Geoffrey Colon, Communications Designer, Microsoft
The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

2. Presented by Geoffrey Colon
Author of Disruptive Marketing
2The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

3. For much of the
history of the world
we lived in communal
yet nomadic fashion.
We went where we
could find or cultivate
food…
@djgeoffe

4. During the Agricultural Age, most people were
merchants, craftspeople, farmers, or farm workers.
Creative ideas and skill were rewarded as more
people would buy from you if your product was
made better. Being entrepreneurial was important
because most people worked for themselves.
4The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

5. Then civilization
moved from the
agricultural age to the
industrial age. People
migrated to where
they could find work…
@djgeoffe
@djgeoffe

6. During the Industrial Age, few people worked for
themselves due to the large capital required to
operate a factory or business operation. During this
era most people worked in factories. Creative
thoughts were frowned upon in favor of scale and
efficiency. Only the wealthy had capital to own
businesses.
6The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

7. Then civilization once
again faced a
cataclysmic shift from
industrial age to
information age.
People migrated to
the internet where
information,
knowledge and
connections were in
abundance…
@djgeoffe

8. During the Information Age, people began to
migrate back to an era where many worked for
themselves but most still relied heavily on scarce
capital due to the large resources required to operate
a technical business. Cognitive capital was the main
commodity but was owned by the corporation.
Venture capitalists had the most to benefit in this age.
8The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

9. We now are at a new
chasm we are crossing
and one that you need
to understand in order
to connect with
people, customers,
and influencers during
the shift from the
information age to a
new creative age…
@djgeoffe

10. During the Creative Age, people can work anywhere
and for themselves due to the advent of cloud
computing. Tools are in abundance. Creativity and
imagination are the new commodities. Businesses can
crop up in days, not years. Anyone can own a
business. Anything you imagine is no longer a wasted
thought. The world is moving toward a meritocracy.
Purpose, potential and inspiration are the new goals.
10The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

11. 11The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

12. You and me. We or Us all have
come full circle to live in a new
normal once again.
12
@djgeoffe

13. We live in public.
We live in the physical world.
We live in the digital world.
We live anywhere and everywhere.
We can do everything and anything we IMAGINE.
13The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

14. While we enter this new era, we
also have been changing our
outlooks and habits due to
technology…
14
@djgeoffe

15. Everything today is temporary.
Nothing is permanent.
15The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

16. Home ownership is at an all time low of 64%
More than 50% of urbanites do NOT own a car
The majority of Millennials do NOT pay for cable TV
The majority of people do NOT purchase music
45% of Americans pirate entertainment content
0% pay to use services like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram
Even Windows 10 is free*
16
The Digital Nomad Strategy – Source: http://www.umtri.umich.edu/what-were-doing/news/hitchin-ride-fewer-americans-have-their-own-vehicle
*Upgrade ends July 29, 2016 unless you use assistive technologies – more info at
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/accessibility/2016/05/06/accessibility-and-the-windows-10-free-upgrade/
@djgeoffe

17. If this trend continues, we may
be an ownerless society in the
next 20 years. Especially with
new behaviors yet to be
established or adopted.
17
@djgeoffe

18. What does this new behavior
mean for analyzing how we will
market using the web for the
next 20 years?
18
@djgeoffe

19. For much of our lives we’ve been told the following:
• Establish a site (Buy a Home) vs. Be where customers are online
(Rent in order to move)
• Build community (Build Your Skills) vs. Build network (Build Your
Ideas)
• Earn followers (Earn Income) vs. Earn reputation (Earn Word of
Mouth)
• Drive Traffic (Visitors) vs. Drive Engagement (Build Influence)
• Build Empire (Dominate) vs. Build Collapsible Systems By
Design (Disrupt Yourself)
19
The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

20. But that was in a world with scarce solutions and
scarce businesses inhabiting the web. It was also in a
desktop-oriented world where many people used just
a few tools like this:
20The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

21. 21The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

22. Similar to how automation transformed past
industries, the ability to find information in new ways
is in abundance due to the overpopulation of people
on the internet.
22The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

23. In a nomadic approach, being where your customers
are but also using what you feel most comfortable
with to help nourish customer relationships helps
foster learnings.
23The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

24. There is no one proper tool to use
in communications in the 21st
Century. Whatever does the job is
the best tool. It’s measuring the
output based on the feelings of
people toward you and your
product, organization or service.
24
@djgeoffe

25. If these still work for you based on who your
audience is, then by all means use them! How we
manipulate media to foster connection is the new
modern art of the 21st Century
25The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

26. A “Guru” told me I was doing it
wrong for my own website. But
am I? Who wants to visit my site
as an author when they can
converse with me in real time?
26
@djgeoffe

27. 27The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

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29. 29The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

30. Contact forms are the new snail mail. Messenger
apps are what all savvy businesses are designing
experiences around because it truly helps in both our
“real time” and “on-demand” world…
30The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

31. The shift from open social
platforms to messenger apps is
a prime example of nomadic
behavior in action.
31
@djgeoffe

32. Similar to how the agricultural
age ceded to the industrial age
which ceded to the information
age which is now ceding to the
creative age, “digital
marketing” is as antiquated as
the industrial era.
32
@djgeoffe

33. Ask yourself. Are you an expert?
33The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

34. Are you a guru?
34The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

35. Many forms of expertise and skills ultimately become
outmoded and outdated due to technical
advancements and automation.
35The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

36. 36The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

37. I know what you’re thinking,
but that will only affect certain
jobs, I’ll be fine…
37
@djgeoffe

38. 38The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

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40. 40The Digital Nomad Strategy @djgeoffe

41. But this isn’t a presentation
about fear. It’s about how to
adapt and be empowered in a
world that is changing by the
millisecond.
41
@djgeoffe

42. In order to understand the new
normal we live in, let’s explain
this new world via five quotes:
42
@djgeoffe

43. “Get into the habit of imagining
an alternate scenario. By posing
such ‘imagine if’ questions…we
can distance ourselves from the
frames, cues, anchors and
rhetoric that might be affecting
us.” – Noreena Hertz
43
@djgeoffe

44. “Business has only two
functions – marketing and
innovation.” – Milan Kundera
44
@djgeoffe

45. “The most disruptive thing in
the market is not technology,
but rather the customer.” –
Tiffani Bova, Salesforce
45
@djgeoffe

46. “Species go extinct because
there are historical constraints
built into a given body or a
given design.” – Kevin Kelly
46
@djgeoffe

47. “The true scarce commodity is
increasingly human attention.”
– Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
47
@djgeoffe

48. Modern Marketers need to
understand technology,
platforms, emerging
media, analytics, holistic
decision-making journeys
and… 48
@djgeoffe

49. …more importantly
something more complex
than all of that
combined. What is more
complex than all of those
things?
49
@djgeoffe

50. 50
@djgeoffe

51. Aspire and live with an
attitude like my four-
year-old daughter
Tillie who wants to be
both a unicorn and a
scientist when she
grows up…(because
imagination is our true
north and customers
are more sophisticated
than companies)

52. Questions to Ask Yourself
Before Marketing
Anything in the Here and
Now
52The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

53. What Culturally and
Ethically Matters to Your
Customers?
Question 1:
53The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

54. Where Do Your
Customers or Potential
Customers Live Both
Online and Offline?
Question 2:
54The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

55. Are Your Customers
Producers?
Question 3:
55The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

56. In Aggregate, are Those
Customers Creating
Qualitative Conversations
That Tie Into Your
Company Vision, Culture
and Ethics and Go
Beyond Product?
Question 4:
56The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

57. Four Goals for the
Nomadic Strategy:
• Communications Design that meets
the demand of an emerging market
with a different vision of the world
• Reshaping the world so that it meets
the ethical narratives of people
• Platform agnostic
• Conversation is the barometer
Creative Disruption in the Anti-Organization Age
57The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

58. Four Metrics to Measure
58The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

59. How do you check your
pulse? Your heartbeat
right? The same is true
now in business.
• Net Promoter Score
The Four Metrics to Measure in a Nomadic Strategy
59The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

60. How do you check what
people are saying? Social
listening that can check
for:
• Qualitative Sentiment
The Four Metrics to Measure in a Nomadic Strategy
60The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

61. Conversion may help with
revenue but leave that for
a separate KPI. For
predictive analysis around
nomadic behavior track:
• Brand/Product
Mentions and Where
Those Mentions Occur
The Four Metrics to Measure in a Nomadic Strategy
61The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

62. Finally, in order to get a
good idea of what will
move your audience in
the future in terms of
content, track:
• Interests
• Job Titles
• Geography
The Four Metrics to Measure in a Nomadic Strategy
62The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

63. 1. Net Promoter Score – Why? Gives indicators if
people will recommend your products to others
(social by design)
2. Qualitative Sentiment – Why? It’s not the amount of
people saying things, but what they are saying.
Besides, you only need 120 connections* to create a
word of mouth business
Four Metrics to Measure
63
The Digital Nomad Strategy - *Based on research by British Anthropologist Robin
Dunbar who noted that 120 connections were the most any person or company
could realistically manage and know who those people. Software will scale this
number of course.

64. 3. Brand/Product Mentions – Why? Makes sense to
know where these are taking place regardless of what
people are actually saying. This helps you map where
to ultimately be rather than hedging bets on “platform
blindness.”
4. Interests – Why? Unlike CTRs and conversion rates,
people data will help with personalization in a people-
centric fueled future where conversation is the
platform.
Four Metrics to Measure
64The Digital Nomad Strategy

65. What mistake did I make
in this video?
Mistakes of Conventional Marketers
65The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

66. Socialcam isn’t a
dominant platform but
the behavior it was
capturing now is:
• Video Messaging!!!
• Live video streaming!!!
• Video remixing!!!
Study Behavior, Not Platforms…
66The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

67. Netnography: The freely
expressed opinion of individuals on the
social web provides researchers with data
coming from thousands of individuals
behaving freely. It also allows researchers to
keep record of these interactions, quantify
changes over time, and perform insightful
analysis using a variety of tools and
methods.
Word of the Century…
67The Digital Nomad Strategy
@djgeoffe

68. What you have learned
today will be irrelevant in
a matter of days…and no
one is an expert in a
constantly evolving world!
But Don’t Take My Word For It…
68The Digital Nomad Strategy

69. Part of learning, unlearning
and relearning is where we
stand now in the world of
modern marketing…
69
@djgeoffe

70. So ask yourself this
question to help you
rethink your view of the
world and your place in it…
70
@djgeoffe

71. When was the last time you
did something for the first
time?
71
@djgeoffe

72. My Name Is Geoffrey
Colon…and I Work at
Microsoft
72
@djgeoffe

73. Web: geoffreycolon.net
Twitter: @djgeoffe
LinkedIn: Geoffrey Colon
SlideShare: slideshare.net/geoffreycolon
Podcast: Disruptive FM
Book: Disruptive Marketing
73
@djgeoffe

74. Buy My Book Because Books Are The Best
Form of “Nomadic Content” ;);)
74
@djgeoffe

75. Geoffrey Colon – Life ShieldFamily&Fun
Professional
• 3 years at Microsoft
• 7 years in agency world
• 4 years running my own business
(Creative Solutions Marketing
Agency)
• 10 years in the Music Industry
• Professional DJ
Interests: diversity in the workplace, women in tech, futurology, social media, mobile
technology, digital media, blogging, international travel, music production, DJing,
reading, soccer (playing and watching), podcasting, fashion, art, music, politics,
philosophy, yoga, cooking, running, boxing, MMA, cycling, swimming, physical
conditioning
Past Roles: landscaping, DJ, radio sales, promotions manager, creative director, event
director, agency entrepreneur, social strategist, client solutions director, vice
president of digital strategy
Personal
• Born in Bethlehem, PA
• Lehigh University alum
• Lived 20 years in Brooklyn,
NY
• Married to “the” Allison
Dunmire
• Two daughters: Olive &
Matilda
Serve on a non-profit board
Bring design thinking through diversity
Speak at more events, publish more books
Create new and innovative business models and
products around human behaviors
Destroy poverty, hate, racism, sexism
PublishedAuthor&NotedPodcaster

76. Mi nombre es Geoffrey
Colon…y trabajo en
Microsoft
76
@djgeoffe

77. Mon nom est Geoffrey
Colon…et je travaille chez
Microsoft
77
@djgeoffe

78. Mein Name ist Geoffrey
Colon…und ich arbeite
bei Microsoft
78
@djgeoffe

79. मेरा नाम Geoffrey बृहदान्त्र है
और मैं माइक्रोसॉफ्ट में काम
Microsoft
79
@djgeoffe

80. मेरा नाम Geoffrey बृहदान्त्र है
और मैं माइक्रोसॉफ्ट में काम
Microsoft
80
@djgeoffe

81. 我的名字叫傑佛瑞結腸和我
在微軟工作
Microsoft
81
@djgeoffe

82. © 2016 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, and other
product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S.
and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current
view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation.
Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not
be interpreted as a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot
guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date
of this presentation.
Microsoft MAKES NO WARRANTIES–EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY–
REGARDING THE NFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.