I might read sci-fi books and stay up on tech news, but there’d be close to no chance you’d ever see me at Comic Con or playing a video game. On the other hand, virtual reality is something we are all going to have to get used to, at least all of us near and under 30 years old.

The Cyberpunk War Between Facebook, Google, and Sony

More on its mainstream potential from the NY Times

‘That’s because virtual reality is the natural extension of every major technology we use today — of movies, TV, videoconferencing, the smartphone and the web. It is the ultra-immersive version of all these things, and we’ll use it exactly the same ways — to communicate, to learn, and to entertain ourselves and escape.’ article link

Connectivity and social interaction are easier than ever. But with millions literally at our fingertips, how authentic and deep are these relationships? This is and will be our biggest question. I really enjoyed the Business Insider article on how a guy got 1 million twitter followers. It has less to do with him or twitter than the fact that organizations grow based off their ability to build one-on-one relationships. article link

‘Here’s what people miss:

• The benefits of the one-to-one paradigm are not linear. They are exponential. By focusing on adding value to people privately, others are more likely to be loyal, share their experiences publicly through their social media, or endorse you on a reputation platform (ie – LinkedIn).

• Messages in the broadcast paradigm are becoming increasingly less effective. The amount of content that people share every year is doubling. This means that there is more and more content competing for the same amount of attention. One-on-one messages from people that know each other are more likely to get through than average content sent to a group.

• One-on-one interactions create deep relationships. Social psychology research shows that a key to deep relationships is perceived partner responsiveness, which consists of being understanding, validating, and caring when listening to others. All of these are best communicated through one-on-one interactions.

  One-on-one is critical. It is time-consuming. What should we do?’

I actually disagree with the second bullet point here. Yes, content is increasing. The attention isn’t necessarily increasing. I don’t believe our individual taste, styles, desires, likes, hobbies, etc…change. Each one only pays attention to what is relevant to themselves. When I bake, the base of my dessert starts with a gluten free vegan recipe. There may be 10 new dessert bloggers hopping on the internet in any given week, but I don’t necessarily follow their blog. 

Similarly, every musician, performer, or gallery exhibiting artist knows it’s the direct relationship with their fans that’s made them successful.

And in closing, the beautiful aesthetics and clean minimalism of this iPhone amp have me swooning. As soon as my credit card stops weeping, I’m ordering it!