what to do with 10 Million Euro? Or without a job?

In times of near (or hormonal) panic, finding an answer to the worst possible scenario to my girlfriend is the way to put things back into perspective again. Just the other day, my girl and I were thinking out loud what to do if we were to lose both our jobs and wouldn’t be able to find a buyer for our unvoluntarily chosen pied-a-terre. You know: basic recession stuff. Our first spontaneous response was that we would let both our homes in order not to lose money and to take the first plane to South East Asia, find a paid job at a diving center to get around and wait until the recession in the West has passed into oblivion. Or finally start entrepreneuring in sustainable innovation.

When today I was inspired by the question what I would do with a 10 Million euro bank account, part of the answer was exactly the same. So was hers. In her email reply to this simple question, she immediately sent me a link of a diving property for sale on Bora Bora, Tahiti. 

Now, the next question of course would be: how to achieve this without this comfortable bank account. Basically, that’s the same question as what we would do if we were to lose both our jobs. 

So what are we still doing here? Spending over a third of our available time thinking of new products and bringing them to maximized shareholder value for a telecom company. Admitted, I do enjoy working there. Yet apparently, if I would allow myself the choice, I would do other things. Perhaps I still can learn from what I’m doing. 

If perceived free to make the choice, I would start entrepreneuring into Asia, saving the reefs of this world from getting into their own type of recession. Starting a diving school, ecolodge and my reef-sustainable innovation agency helping local entrepreneurs finding alternative sources of income to feed their families. 

This is a journey in my head, now trusted to the big bad digital world. A journey with an increasingly clearer goal. And an increasingly clearer path. Next stop: feeling free to bring this journey to its next stage. 

It’s questions that triggered this journey. Now I’m curious, what would be your answers?

House for sale 2.0 – continued

Just to show how simple it can be – the guy who’s (still) trying to sell our house was amazed that this was possible! He will now post it on his site, send it to people, put it on the national housing site Funda (search 6542 JK) whereas I’ve posted it on my social network site, tagged it here, tagged it on google-maps… please spread the vid!

House for sale… yeah right!

Familiar with the frustration that those who you expect to sell your house, just don’t seem to get it and in the end actually do little more than taking pictures with a camera you just don’t have and preparing the papers for the legal part? Did he actually sell it for you? Did he market your house as if it were an actual sellable proposition? Hell no! And why do I pay this guy? Because he has entrance to this one website where actually everybody checks for houses and because he can let people in when I can’t. He doesn’t make my house shine. He doesn’t think about how to be different. He doesn’t think…

Where is the dutch property broker that thinks of a great story to tell about my house, makes a nice podcast of this story, makes it spreadable, puts links on social-sites and fora where the targetgroup actually hangs out and where they can be redirected to a 3D-design of my house on google maps and where a chat-api is connected to my mobile twitterdevice to answer questions from visitors, where people can walk around in a virtual neighbourhood a-la Second Life and where people can see live streams of the area via webcams..?

Where is this property broker? Why hasn’t anyone started this…or who wants to start this? I’m up for it! Because I can think marketing, but lack the technowledge to make it happen…

[edit 12/9/9:] As a start, luckily there seem to be more people concerned about this lack of 2.0 and innovation thinking… see this site for example…

To Doodle or not to Doodle

Some companies do get it! HEMA – a dutch low-budget chain of department stores – reinvents “Doodling” – the brainless scribbling almost everybody does whilst talking over the phone or listening to yet another boring presentation or lecture.

On their site, you can upload your Doodles and see what other Doodlers have Doodled. The site also indicates which materials have been used (pens, pencils, notebooks, etc), of course linking to their online product-catalogue. The best Doodles will be used by HEMA in next year’s new school-collection, fx in their school-agenda. Of course it lets you forward Doodles to all your dudes!

I’d say that’s a great 2.0 Doodle HEMA pulls off here!

Passion to the people!

Let me tell you what my great passion is: it’s passion. Don’t you just love it when you hear or see someone talk with that flickering in their eyes, with so much energy that, if all passionistas joined, it would solve the energy crisis? Why I love it?

It’s passion that thrives change. Passion creates Energy. Energy creates movement.

More and more, the consumer’s passion is in the lead. (hear! hear!) With contemporary apps online and offline, they design their own world, their own profile, their own movement! The way they like to see the world and the world to see them! Passionistas continuously look (and find) “the new”. Communicate about the “cool new thing” they’ve found. “That awesome app on their iPhone”. “That great new commercial on YouTube, that I really just had to forward to you”. “That handy new site where you definitely should register!”.

Companies increasingly think they face the challenge to follow the ever faster changing customer profiles. Trying to get grips on what could be their consumer’s current need, they follow the consumer wherever they seem to go. Does our customer use Twitter; let’s go there! Is she on Hyves; why aren’t we? The thing is… companies are following!

The consumer that spreads the word, sneezes around and starts the real hype is continuously looking for new ways to express themselves, to share, to communicate, to be…companies that follow the consumer will never be in the position to offer something new for those sneezers. Build on the old to create the new, but be sure you create the new. Dare to segment and let your passion be to be different, to be remarkable, to have consumers follow you! Let passionistas adopt to your passion. Tell them what your passion is. Only such a continuous passion will enable companies to be followed, instead of being a follower.

Passionate people like passionate characters. Be one!

Pasionate people tell passionate stories. Tell them!

What’s your passion?

Mingle with the crowd!!

Hi!

Welcome to The Mingle-Inn! The place where people are invited to mingle with the crowd, as long as it is slightly related to the themes posted here.

After having read a billion articles on blogging and social media and having had one the first 2.0 adventure stories on the web on the Blog character about 5 years ago, this will be an attempt to a more serious approach to blogging.

As one of my hobbies actually is 2.0 (offline ánd online) and my paid hobby focusses on Marketing Innovation, it sure was about time to start this. So that’s what you will find most themes being related to: marketing and innovation.

I will use this blog, not only to have others find out about interesting links and trends, but also to sharpen my own theories and thoughts. This is an open invitation to all of you out there to mingle with the crowd and comment on – and add to – what is being said by the Inn-crowd!

Be around!

Cheers