Yesterday Tech Crunch’s Alexia posted an article entitled ‘I’d Rather Watch Instagram Than A Movie.‘ Highlighting how Hollywood is no doubt competing with what she described as ‘kill time’ startups. Fair point.

The post sparked a variety of interesting comments, some agreeing with Alexia’s argument and some against. I’m not going to debate the difference between Instagram or movies, because a person can spend their free time doing whatever they please. But from a society perspective, the mere fact that this kind of argument has legs is alarming.

The drugs don’t work, they just make you worse

Two years ago I wrote a post about how spoiled by technology we all are, with one excerpt being; “Technology can be just like a drug… Give someone a little taster and if they like it, they will want a little more.
Give them a lot more and they get addicted, they forget how they lived without it and begin to lose control.”

That was then, and this was one woman’s comment under the Tech Crunch article reaffirming my excerpt:

Hollywood aside, this fragmented behavior and loss of attention concerns me. I agree that the tech universe has found a way to entertain the masses. That said, social media can resolve to be a simple addiction rather than a habit with benefit.

Take heroin for example. It feels good…it numbs your serotonin receptors into submission. Without our understanding of heroin’s affect on the brain, we would all probably assume heroin was a great idea. But what about social media’s affect on the brain? What about the fact that most people can’t wait in line, have dinner, watch their wife give birth, etc without re-directing their attention to a group of mostly strangers?

Long term thinking is being affected by our constant diversions and short attention spans. So…go kill Hollywood if that’s your intention but try not killing your brain in the process. Do you think Plato could have written The Republic if he was constantly hounded by Twitter notifications? Social media has an amazing benefit but have we all forgotten the simple benefit of thinking in our own heads? If you can’t last 24 hours without your phone and social media, you’re an addict and as funny as that sounds, it’s not.

She’s right isn’t she? That comment was by Caroline Giegerich,a Huffington Post Blogger and Social Media Consultant.

A world in denial

So where does this all end up? In a world where residents of cities like London already live in fear of communication with strangers, afraid to make conversation while we commute and generally get extremely anxious about the unknown; how are we really moving into a better connected world? A world where we attend concerts, momentous events and amazing festivals only to experience them through the 4.5 inches held in our hands, exchanging the emotional excitement so that we can garner the attention from people we don’t even know. For what reason? Because we ‘crave’ the buzz and egotistical thrill of being in the spotlight. Still not addicted?

A moment of clarity

In the same comment thread, another user posted a link to a video of a poet known as Marshall ‘Soulful’ Jones performing a piece titled ‘Touchscreen’. Powerful, entertaining and though provoking. I have transcribed the video into words for all of you 140 character quoting whores.

Listen. Appreciate. Acknowledge. Think.

Introducing the new Apple iPerson complete with multi touch and volume control, doesn’t it feel good to touch, doesn’t it feel good to touch, doesn’t it feel good to touch.

My world is so digital, I have forgotten what that feels like.
It used to be hard to connect when friends formed cliques, but now it’s even more difficult to connect now that clicks form friends.

But who am I to judge…

I face Facebook more than books face me hoping to book face to faces, I update my status 420 space to prove Im still breathing; failure.
To do this daily means my whole web wide world would forget that I exist. But with 3000 friends online only 5 I can count in real life, why wouldn’t I spend more time in the world where there are more people that LIKE me. Wouldn’t you?

Here it doesn’t matter if I am an amateur person, as long as I have a pro-file, my smile is 50% genuine and 50% genuine-HD, you will need blu-rays to read the whites of my teeth, but im not that focused.

Ten tabs open, hoping, my problems can be resolved with a 1600 x 1700 revolution, this is a problem with this evolution, doubled over, we used to sit in tree tops, till we swung down and stand up right, then someone slipped a disc, now we’re doubled over at desktops.

From the Garden of Eden, to the branches of Macintosh, Apple picking has always come at a great cost.
iPod, iMac, iPhone, iChat, I can do all of these things without making iContact.

We used to sprint to pick and store Blackberries, now we run to the Sprint store to pick Blackberrys, it’s scary.
I can’t hear the sound of mother nature speaking, over all that Tweeting, and along with it is our ability to feel as it’s fleeting.

You would think these headphone jacks inject in the flesh the way we connect, the disconnect, power ON. So we are powerless, they got us love drugged. Like e-pills, so we e-trade, e-mail, e-motion like e-commerce because now money can buy love, for 9.95 a month – click!

To proceed to checkout – click! To X out where our hearts once were – click!
I’ve uploaded this hug, I hope she gets it – click!
I’m making love to wife, I hope she’s logged in – click!
I’m holding my daughter over a Skype conference call while shes crying in the crib in the next room – click!

So when my phone goes off in my hip, I touch and I touch and I touch, because in a world where there are voices that are only read and laughter is never heard or I’m so desperate to feel that I hope the technologic in reverse the universes so the screen can touch me back, and maybe it will, when our technology is advance enough to make us human again.

With the Smartphone mobile market growing at a rapid rate (300 million Smartphones shipped in 2011) it is clear mobile is the emerging market.

Although Apple are not by any means the Smartphone leader by terms of OS (Android 31%, Symbian 29%, Apple 19%, Blackberry 14%, Microsoft 7%), they are the clear leader in terms of Applications with an App Store that boasts over 350,000 applications.

At a recent conference with Adobe Omniture it was mentioned that Google reported CTR was 8% higher when using a Smartphone for search.

Put two and two together and someone out there would think there was a clear opportunity to develop a combination of search and applications allowing users to find content without having to sift through the results search engines provide.

That’s exactly what Do@ (DoAT) have done.

What DoAT have highlighted with their remarkable application is the need for answers in a quicker and easier to digest fashion than search engines offer.

The app presents curated application based content in a multi-window view based on search queries, removing the whole concept of scanning SERP’s and clicking through to a single web page. This app offers a variety of choices that lead to clear answers for that query. The way in which this app presents that content is simple but brilliant particularly when searching for individual brands as highlighted in the video with Paris Hilton and Eminem.

This is a fantastic position that DoAT are in now, being able analyse their analytics and absorb everything users are searching for. Having the power of a search engine and all that data is an extremely profitable tool.

Will this application change the way in which we search for answers? I think so. You only have to go to the app store page for this app to see what users are already saying about it.

One user wrote, “The potential is nearly endless. I am beginning to replace google with this. I find myself searching for answers on my phone using this app instead my computer.”

Anyone that has read previous content on this site or follows me on Twitter will be aware that I am big on individual branding (the ‘me’ brand so to speak). I am 100% confident that individual brands are the future and that a merge between applications and individual brands will also arise in the next few years.

This application has opened a door to a new opportunity combining search and mobile. You can only expect Google will be ready to release something similar for Android in the near future, however, they’re already playing catch up.

Now, let me get all John Lennon on you for a minute.

Imagine a world where everything is mobile, where information changes hands freely by the touch of a device, scan of a bar-code or via an invisible signal.

Imagine show reels, cv’s and portfolios are all stored into mobile apps for you to show and send as you please.

Imagine there’s an human app directory where you can search by name, category and keyword to find individuals and their content.

Imagine that’s how jobs are found and offered.

Imagine there’s an app service that can build you an app in no time at all, upload it to the app store and you’re ready to market yourself to your audience.

Soon enough a tool/social network will be created where you can easily create a custom application (not just a profile or a page) around you as an individual, with the ability to upload all your content such as; your cv, social profiles, a portfolio, your experience, photos, videos, music etc and then add the final product to a mobile app directory. Here is where people, companies and the world can find you. It will be purely mobile and it will yet again change the way in which we connect.

This movement has already begun with the elite level individual (actor, sportsman, celebrity) who recognizes their brand potential and the opportunity to build digital products around their identity.

The next stage is for the rest of us, who also understand the opportunity from building our brands and by leveraging the potential of mobile.

This week’s Spotlight is with a chap that I met using Twitter (no surprise there) and then got to know further in the real world (no Matrix reference). Just over a year ago, I was in the world of freelance, networking, trying to climb the ladder and attending as many events as I could drag my body to.

I bumped into this fellow at a geeky event at the Gumtree Headquarters in Richmond. We got chatting about various things, but it was his answers to my queries on personal development in the digital space that made me realise he may not be full of gas like the majority of London’s so called guru’s.

I’ve never been afraid of confronting anyone for their opinion and if I do ask for your opinion to a question about my personal progress, it means I value who you are… and I value this gents opinion to quite a high regard.

On that one occasion, his advice was insightful, his knowledge came in abundance and he backed up his speech with experience. As the last year has passed I have monitored his progress closely, his blog posts and his panel discussions and I honestly feel he provides real value to the digital marketing/social media/tech scene in London.

It is because of all this that I asked James Whatley if he would like to be featured in my Industry Spotlight series… and what do you know; he agreed.

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is James Whatley and I am, amongst other things, Marketing Director at the world’s leading word of mouth agency, 1000heads.

How did you get into this industry and why did you chose this path?

Two part question – cheeky. OK, first – how did I get here? Six years ago, I was an over-weight accountant working in [old] media; a dead end job with no prospects, I was stuck. I’ve been a geek for as long as I can remember [First Pratchett, Kubert and Miyamato then later, OPK and co] and was always tinkering with tech. I reached out to a mobile startup in west London and asked for an interview. They gave me one… and turned me down — “we don’t need any accountants right now.”

A few months later (and after a couple of fairly huge life-changing experiences), I reached out to them again, this time just saying hello, checking in so to speak and letting them know that although I wasn’t about to come in and be their tea boy, I was looking for a change of career and was hoping I could come and see them again. “Sure” they said “Come see us tomorrow” – two days later I had a new job, a new career and a whole new outlook on life.

What do you consider to be your biggest achievement to date?

It’s funny, someone else asked me this quite recently and before I could answer another member of our party piped up with ‘Surviving SpinVox!‘ – for those that don’t know, the middle of 2009 was a fairly difficult time for the now defunct voice-to-text start up [http://whatleydude.com/2010/03/strange-days/], and my role meant that I was front and centre of the day-to-day communication blasts [both inwards and out].

Others have told me that my work on Lucozade [http://whatleydude.com/2009/06/plans-for-the-summer/] wasn’t pretty bad either…

However, for me personally, getting out of my dead end job and actually doing something with my life; something that I love and adore and still do to this day – *that’s* my biggest achievement. I get to work on of the most exciting projects in the world and all the while, I get to help educate, train and inspire those around me to do more themselves. It’s ultimately so fulfilling and is a key driver to what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Author’s note: If you didn’t click either of the links above I encourage you to do so. The Lucozade story alone needs some serious attention.

Was this how you had planned things to go or are you capitalising on opportunities and simply rolling with it?

I would say a mixture of both. Since my break as it were I’ve approached each role with a very specific plan and prospective timeline. When I left Refresh Mobile for SpinVox, I had a very clear set of goals mapped out and I hit every single one of them, almost to the day. The same for Lucozade before that and once again for 1000heads. Obviously you cannot plan for everything that happens so having a certain amount of give on those goals helps too. I am intensely loyal to the people that I work for and with; when I sign on that contract, I’m committed. For rich for poor, through rough and through smooth. Having that working ethical backbone has helped guide my decision making process on a number of occasions and it will continue to do so in the future.

We’re in a new era where anyone can create opportunities for themselves. Do you agree?
Half and half. I believe that anyone can create opportunities for themselves, certainly. But I don’t buy into this being anything new. It may be more visible [thank you very much internet] than it used to be, but a new era it is not.

Would you rather have 100,000 twitter followers to market to or an extra £10,000?

It depends. If those 100,000 followers are all engaged and loyal customers, then I’ll take 100,000 individual sales over the £10k any day. However if they’re just farmed with no research or profiling, then forget it. £10,000 can go a very long way in word of mouth marketing. I’ll take that, thanks… Product depending, of course.

Is who you are in reality, the same persona you represent online?

I would like to think so, yes. My good friend Toby Moore [aka @sleepydog] has always said that ‘social media is the great amplifier’ and I believe him.

Maybe. I don’t know Luca, you know me both online and off – you tell me!

Author’s note: I do know James and although he has over 7000 twitter followers I don’t think he has that many real life friends. Hmm..

What one thing can you not live without?

My friends.

If you wasn’t in this field, what would you be doing?

I studied directing and dance at drama school in my youth and have always felt that I’d find my way back to it eventually.

Author’s note: Would anyone else like to see Whatley dance?

With so many talkers and gamers out there claiming to be experts and influencers. Do you consider yourself a smooth talker, a real talker or a don’t talk to me i’m not a talker?

I wouldn’t call myself an expert, nor would I label myself an influencer. I don’t think I’d ever say ‘I’m not a talker’ however – in fact, on this whole labelling oneself thing; it’s not for me.

Name three people who have inspired you in your life.

If you were a superhero, who would you be and why?

Superman. It’s the flying. It’s always about the flying.

The world is coming to an end and you have to take one celebrity into the safe bunker to live with forever. Who do you take?

Forever? Are we being gifted eternal life in there? Amazing… For the sake of the human race then it would have to be someone smart, young and female. Cameron Diaz? Is that too much of a cliche?

Do you have any regrets about anything?

Hard question. There’s the standard ‘I have no regrets – for I would not be the man that I am without all that has happened within my life’ answer that I could roll out – and I believe that. However there are some things I look back on and wonder what would’ve happened had I approached them differently. I don’t know. It’s not something I dwell on.

What cool projects are you currently working on?

Like you genuinely expect me to answer that
[answer: a bunch, but none I can talk about]

Author’s note: Pffffft

What does the future have in store for you?

Today, more than ever before in my entire life – I genuinely don’t know [http://whatleydude.com/2010/12/so-long-2010/].

If you could give one piece of advice to young creative minds, what would it be?

Defend ideas. Be smarter. Take risks. Fail. Do over.

And above all, seek out at least one mentor who you can talk to, confide in and ultimately, seek guidance from.

To follow James Whatley on Twitter, click here and to read more about his personal life, you can navigate directly to his blog here.
Also, make sure you check out the world famous word of mouth company, 1000heads where James creates his corporate magic.