A friend
explained over lunch how his son and friends came across the idea of imbedding
messages on the soles of flip flops so beach goers could leave messages behind
them in the sand, perhaps including the inevitable end- of-summer lament: “She loves me, she loves me not,” though that
would require a lot of shoe leather. The
flip flop project was a modest dorm room affair until a stripper learned of the
business and posted her approval on Twitter. The rest is history and a nice uptick in
cheeky sales. Just to make sure my remarks are not apocryphal,
please visit the site at www.Flipsidez.com.
I wanted to
record this mix of intuition and luck before the sea comes in and wipes out the
one or two-word #hashtag endearments on the remaining beaches where sand is not
yet a luxury. No word if some version of
this will be used by sure-footed sky divers and sky walkers who, like their
beach brethren, insist on being ephemeral and disappearing into the sunset.
If you think
these observations have nothing to do with digital, you might be right or you
might be wrong. My friend had just come
from a meeting in which a cross-section of publishers lamented, in spite of all
the headlines and fuss, the challenges they face with digital publishing and
how little impact digital revenues have on the bottom line. After all, publishers are lucky to derive 5%
of their total revenues from digital. We
are all looking for that huge digital hockey stick to appear on our Balance
Sheets.
We are both
survivors of the Dot Com boom and were wondering out aloud whether that kind of
vapor was seeping into the marketplace again. I don’t think so and argued over lunch that
the digital sophistication in the media ranks these days is quite high, and,
anyway, we got over our flirtation with banner ads a long time ago. I suggested, however, that it might take
another twenty years before digital revenues routinely represent 30-40% of
total revenues of the average media business. But who knows. I heard
the same forecast from CEOs in 1998. I’ve
yet to hear a digital prediction that has come true.
Nonetheless,
the urban legends around the digital space are simply delicious. Is it really true that you are 116 times more
likely to survive a rattlesnake bite than intentionally click on a mobile
banner ad? For a thorough unpacking of
dubious mobile stats, please go to www.digiday.com.
My friend
remains convinced that we are experiencing a period of digital “froth,” citing
some evidence that the interest in digital editions is sagging and consumers
are tiring of the billion app App Store. There was a note of nostalgia in his voice. He mentioned an associate in the auto supply
business who markets online parts for vintage Mustangs. His business philosophy is simple: If there a niche product he can put in a box
and market via the internet, then there’s a business. The auto guy just sold his share of the business
for $17 million and promises to live happily ever after.
The
psychologist James Hillman wrote that we’re probably better off having a drink
with a friend than going to psychotherapy. There was no booze at this lunch and no
therapy that I noticed. But Hillman has
a point. He also advised a generation to
keep an eye on their dreams and wait for moments of invention.
I did, and
as if on cue, an enterprise dream landed in my lap. You can trace the incubation right back to
the flip-flop guys. The central dream
image was of wooden toy train engines with red and yellow “noses,” that were
converted for use as shoes for a particular young, fashion-conscious set. There was a hint that a local football team
was also interested, proving that fashion’s crossover appeal is a universal
archetype. The androgynous guys were
strutting with purpose across my dream stage, a wonderful, uplifting set.
I have yet
to ask my friend whether this dream might suggest a business. I’m still on the digital fence, but plan to
see the Tony Award-winning “Kinky Boots” that had, I understand, a similar,
inauspicious beginning. That is, once it
discovered an essential truth: the sex
is in the heel.
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