Bjorn Troch is The Social Traveler

Last year I met a Belgian guy who made me insanely jealous. He was traveling the world indefinitely using social media to connect, find places, set his itinerary and generally have a great time.

Along the way he was tackling crazy challenges suggested by the online community he has fostered. Right now he is riding alone on a tandem bike from Kuala Lumpur all the way to Hong Kong. He’s trying to do the ride of more than 5000 km in 3 months.

His name is Bjorn Troch and he calls himself The Social Traveler.

Turns out Bjorn is a really nice guy, which probably explains why his adventure is still progressing smoothly after a few years of non-stop country hopping.
Beyond having a great time and making us office workers jealous, Bjorn is also trying to make a difference to the communities he visits along the way by helping small local charities in each area.

And that’s where you can help. I have chipped in to sponsor a few kilometers of Bjorn’s travels knowing he will help small charities along the way….and I encourage you to do the same. It doesn’t take much to make a difference in some of these communities so help Bjorn help other and then follow his adventures from the comfort of your laptop.

Here is Bjorn’s full story….

The Social Traveler
I started this project early 2010 when social networks were still developing and growing at a fast rate. I realized that via Facebook it was the first time in history that people were this connected with each other around the world. I decided to explore this connected world and came up with ‘The Social Traveler’ idea.

How it works.
From the start people told me where to go, what to do, how to get there, who I should meet, where I should sleep… via social networks or in real life. I never used a guidebook. I kept following people’s suggestions and basically traveled from place to place, people to people, life to life. Sometimes people invite me for a coffee, a beer, diner or even offer me a place to sleep but it’s never a requirement. I just gladly accept invitations and keep exploring a connected world.

My Message
Because the way I’ve been traveling the past 2 years I learned that you should never be worried as long as there are people around. Just smile and talk to them. I can assure you that people are happy to provide you information, help or even offer you the most amazing things. Today we more and more live in a society that forgets that there’s people around them. Not talking to strangers on train, bus, street anymore… It kinda takes the life out of our every day lives. So I try to encourage people to ‘Be Social’ more. Just say hello, have a chat with the people around you.

The Challenges
From the beginning I let people challenge me to step out of my comfort zone. I didn’t accept everything because I didn’t want it to turn into some type of a jackass show. So up until today I walked Camino de Santiago in Spain, drove a Royal Enfield through the south of India, hitchhiked around New Zealand, didn’t drink alcohol for 40 days in Australia, ran city to surf and did many other small challenges. There are more challenges that I accepted but most of them are location dependent so I will tackle them when I get there.

My current challenge
Today I’m trying to complete the hardest challenge I ever got. I’m cycling from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong on a tandem bike. I’m alone on the bike and anybody can jump on or off any time and join me. Also for the first time on my travels I added a 3rd social layer to the project. Because I’m doing these challenges anyway I wanted to link them to small charities that I visit on my journey. So on this tandem journey I support and help 5 different charities. 1 in every country I go through. I visit every place, ask what they need and then will try to help them realize this via the network that is following my adventures. I’ll also sell the bike once I reach Hong Kong and will divide the money between the 5 charities.

My ultimate goal
I want to make it around the world via my social travel trajectory all the way to the finish line in Santiago de Compostella, Spain just by being social.

My Trajectory
I kinda layed out my social travel trajectory around the world. On this trajectory I’ve already got many people to go visit and challenges to overcome I just need to connect the dots and make it there. Check the trajectory here: http://g.co/maps/xzg8q (the red line is what I still need to do, the blue is where I am now)

Be part of the adventure
Now all this is not possible without the help from people, companies or brands. People are part by joining me on the challenges, guiding me or inviting me to their life, city. Companies can be part of this adventure by supporting a certain amount of kms of my trajectory.
1km = 1 AUD

How does the sponsoring work?
During the trajectory that you sponsor I tag, link you / your company as a supporter in live updates on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ & in the blogposts, video episodes that cover that part of the journey.

What’s the benefit for you?

Media exposure:
You get exposure in the moment as it happens but also later when people read or watch episodes of my social travel adventure. You understand that over time your exposure will grow.

Here are some current stats:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSocialTraveler

• 1467 likes | Talking About: 10 to 15% (= high engagement) | Weekly reach: 4500 to 6500 Uniques | Demo: 20 – 40 yo / F: 60% M: 40% / + 30 countries. Friends, Travel enthusiasts, People working in Digital, Social Media.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Social_Traveler

• 1722 Followers | Klout: Between 40 & 50 (= good score) | Travel Bloggers, Travel Enthusiasts, People working in Digital, Social Media

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101061020217230062845

• in 4271 circles | Circle Count: 12.869 out of 18,5 million indexed profiles | Early adopters, People working, dealing with Digital, Social Media, Travel Bloggers

Foursquare (linked with twitter) https://foursquare.com/social_traveler/list/social-around-the-world

• 1000 friends (maxed out). I Get new friend request on daily basis… | ‘Be Social’ Tips become more popular and popular

Instagram (linked with twitter)

• 148 followers in less than month | No more stats on this so far…

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSocialTraveler?feature=mhee

• 18500 video views

PR opportunity:
By informing your local blog or press you can get even more exposure, a sympathy vote and maybe even attract new clients. I recently got an article about my journey in a local Malaysian newspaper. The journalist saw a picture of me and the tandem bike on Facebook

Check it out here: (https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PFPAbhFzX8o/T7CnAzBqKPI/AAAAAAACFJA/tYbUGdZCv8k/s576/1336977146822.png). More press clips here: http://www.thesocialtraveler.net/search/label/Press

You help me help charities.
You are part of a unique social travel adventure around the world.

What do I use the money for?
Basically it keeps me going. I use it to buy travel gear, tools to complete my challenges, food, drinks and accommodation. For my tandem challenge for example I bought the bike and all necessary gear and do necessary repairs (I’ve never seen so many bike shops in my life! ) I always go for the ‘backpack’ options since that’s the cheapest and most social.

Are other companies already part of this?
Up until today I got 2 companies signing up for this type of sponsoring.

• AGX, a digital agency from Belgium for 1000 km

• Engagor, a social media management tool for 2000 km.

Let’s do this!
To make it to Hong Kong I need 3000 more km sponsored. To make it around the world even more but I’m sure one thing will lead to another as it always does.
Your help is really very much appreciated since I’ve put all my heart, energy, means and effort into this entire project.
—
Visit Bjorn’s website
Follow him on Twitter
Follow him on Facebook

You can make PayPal donations here or companies wishing to sponsor should contact Bjorn via his Facebook Page and he’ll get back to you with details (and an invoice).

Recently I have been championing a move to hold a large innovation and tech festival in Newcastle, Australia. We’re calling it DiG. So far it has a group of people working on the concept, a website and Twitter handle. We’ve still got a long way to go.

The encouraging thing is that “from little things big things grow”. Look at this infographic from the team at Rock Sauce Studios on the rise and rise of SXSW in Austin, Texas. They only expected 150 to show up to the first year, they got 700. This year the Interactive Festival at SXSW drew over 19,000 visitors.

SXSW has been amazing for the Austin economy and a fantastic event for launching new products and services. Maybe one day DiG could have a similar effect here in Australia.

Since the down of the commercial internet in the early 1990′s banner ads have been the default form of advertising. Google shook things up massively with their Adwords program but most media sites still rely heavily on banner ads for revenue.

Banner ads have always stuck me as old media imposing their old models on new technology. However, measurement is different as advertisers were encouraged to look at clicks rather than exposure, as they would have done with press display ads. Branding became less important and click-through became the goal.

The question is do banner ads really work? Are they effective? This nice infographic from the team at Prestige Marketing explains who’s clicking, who’s not clicking and why.

Who Looks At Banner Ads Infographic

A few years back Advertising Age in the USA launched the Power 150 international ranking of media and marketing blogs. It caused quite a fuss. I thought it would be worthwhile revisiting the Power 150 to see how much has changed. There have been a lot of commercial entries in the last few year compared to the pure blogs that first appeared.

Here is the latest list of Australia’s Top Media & Marketing Blogs according to AdAge Magazine. The rankings take into account a range of factors, some more US-centric, but it gives an good indication of which sites are making an impact. Check them out and support Australian bloggers.

Aus Rank / Blog / AdAge Rank

1. Digital Buzz / 11

2. Bannerblog / 17

3. Problogger / 40

4. jeff bulla’s blog / 58

5. The Inspiration Room / 53

6. Mumbrella / 85

7. Personalize Media / 116

8. Campaign Brief / 121

9. Entrepreneurs Journey / 133

10. Trends in the Living Networks / 148

11. Brand DNA / 171

12. Bestads / 228

13. Laurel Papworth / 262

14. Servant of Chaos / 332

15. Young PR / 360

16. DanLew.com / 378

17. This Ain’t No Disco / 415

18. the threebillion project / 425

19. i need hits / 445

20. AmnesiaBlog / 484

21. Limeshot Design / 485

22. acidladbs / 563

23. Better Communications Results / 581

24. Adspace Pioneers / 618

25. PR Disasters / 638

26. CopyWrite / 644

27. Media Hunter / 653

28. Get Shouty / 673

29. Online Marketing Banter / 705

30. Ryan’s View / 764

The latest Newcastle radio ratings delivered bad news for those stations on the AM dial with both 2HD and ABC1233 recording significant falls.

NXFM topped the ratings again with a share of 18.9%, holding out stablemate KOFM on 17.6%. NEWFM recorded a rise of 1.1 for a share of 8.8% whilst NXFM was the only other station to increase their share.

The real damage was on the AM dial where both 2HD and ABC1233 dropped 2.8%.

For 2HD it was their lowest ratings in the last few decades and signals a significant loss of support. The station lost share in every demographic including a massive loss of 7.2% with the 65+ audience who had previously been their main supporters. 2HD also went down in every shift except Drive, including a drop of 5.3 in Mornings with John Laws.

The cumulative audience figures were even more revealing. 2HD now has a cumulative audience of just 65,000 for the week, while ABC1233 who also took a big hit still has 19,000 more listeners across the 7 days.

For ABC this survey may yet be an anomaly after a few solid years of good results. But at 2HD the alarm bells should be ringing loudly as this result is part of a long term decline that now sees them in the worst position I can remember. (Note: I previously work at 2HD and NEWFM and have followed their fortunes for over 20 years).

When the current management team was installed at Sandgate 2HD had a share of 15.6% and NEWFM was the basket case they were trying to lift from around 7%. Four years later NEWFM is closing in on 2HD for all the wrong reasons. NEWFM has spun its wheels in this time but 2HD has dropped 6%. The cumulative audience is a major concern. the combined audiences of 2HD and NEWFM are similar to the signal station audience of KOFM or NXFM.

I have been alarmed at the disparity between NXFM / KOFM and 2HD / NEWFM for years as it represents a major issue for advertisers and the quality of Newcastle radio. Well its now officially worse than ever.

Something needs to change before commercial radio becomes totally irrelevant in this market.

Nielsen: Newcastle Radio – Survey #1 2012

Station Share %

2HD – 9.4

KOFM – 17.6

NEWFM – 8.8

NXFM – 18.9

ABC1233 – 10.6

2JJJ – 10.7

Breakfast Share %

2HD – 10.1

KOFM – 18.6

NEWFM – 6.8

NXFM – 19.9

ABC1233 – 12.9

2JJJ – 8.3

Cumulative audience Mon-Sun ppl 10+

2HD – 65000

KOFM – 146000

NEWFM – 95000

NXFM – 157000

ABC1233 – 84000

2JJJ – 89000

I came across three pieces of mind-numbingly bad advice today, all from experts in their respective fields, all to prominent organizations. Each of them have caused me to question:
A) the quality of expert advice
B) the lack of digital knowledge in the business world
C) how organizations can determine which advice they can trust.

But let’s start with the bad advice. These are clangers.

The first company, a prominent industry leader, wants to get more search traffic for a new service they offer. Whilst weighing up an organic search engine optimisation strategy they’ve received advice from an Adwords specialist. The response: spend the budget on an Adwords campaign because the clicks from the traffic will increase your organic search results.

WRONG. There is no relationship between paid results and organic search results. Organic search results come from a combination of inbound links (indicator of popularity) and on-page optimisation for targeted terms.

The second company, a small independent team, are also looking to grow their meager website traffic. They spoke to a prominent social media expert about how to increase traffic, also mentioning that the site isn’t yet optimized for search. The expert told them not to worry about SEO because social media is affecting search results.

Um, NOT QUITE RIGHT.

Google commands over 90% of the search market in Australia, so they’re the ones to worry about ranking with. Google was indexing Twitter for a while but that relationship ended mid-2011, about the time they launched Google Plus. Now Google is including Plus in their Search Plus Your World results but that is all. They’ll include LinkedIn profiles in name searches but that’s about it. At this stage the indexing of social sites by Google is not enough to build an SEO strategy around.

The fact remains that most good websites derive the largest part of their traffic from organic search, often more than 50%. Social is a good driver of traffic to a site and it’s important to address but not at the expense of search. I would always recommend a client gets their search under control first then moves onto social.

The third story just blows my mind. I spoke to a friend today who owns a white collar franchise business. He optimised his blog site for search last year and also got some blogger friends to add him to their Blogrolls, pointing to both his blog and his page on the national franchise website. As a result both sites rose rapidly from search obscurity to first and second on Google for his highly competitive industry search term. In fact, his properly optimised blog outranks the less well optimised company page.

Now, on the advice of an international SEO firm engaged by the parent company, he has been instructed to remove the inbound links to his site from the Blogrolls. The experts say that the company risks being punished by Google for having too many inbound links. If the franchise owner doesn’t comply the parent company will remove his page from the site.

HUH??? To me this is almost negligence. This guy receives a healthy stream of qualified enquiries due to his prominent search results. His sales become part of the parent company’s revenue. They are threatening to punish one of their own franchise owners for his success in search, for doing his job well.

The SEO experts are concerned that he has too many inbound links (compared to rest of group) and so have drawn the incorrect conclusion they come from link farms. Link farms are bad and Google is looking to eradicate them. That’s a good thing.

Problem is that in this case the links come from being listed on the Blogrolls of 3 reasonably popular blogs. It’s totally white hat, totally above board and totally within Google’s rules. The fact that this guy’s sites are ranking first and second demonstrate that, far from punishing him for these links, Google is rewarding him.

The craziest thing is that the company is willing to punish one of their franchises because other people like him enough to link to his sites. How can they dictate and control who can and cannot link to him? How can they punish him for web popularity when in modern marketing that is the aim of then game?

Three examples of poor advice by highly paid experts in one day. And that’s just the stuff I was told about.

What is clear in at least the first two cases is that if you ask a specialist for help they’ll tell you to do what they specialise in because that’s what they know and that’s how they make a living. An Adwords reseller will tell you not to worry about SEO because SEM will do the job. And a social media expert will tell you to grow traffic using social media. No surprises there.

The challenge for businesses is to first seek advice not from specialists but from generalists who can see the overall picture.

When we are sick we go to a doctor who assesses our overall health. The doctor will then refer us to a specialist if necessary or prescribe a less expensive solution if he or she is able to.

Given the amount of poor advice being given out by specialists in the digital world it would seem that businesses first need to find a “doctor” to assist them with their digital marketing.

This was a topic of vigorous discussion at the last Lunaticks Society meeting, where it was suggested by people in regular contact with NBNCo and their suppliers that Newcastle wasn’t on the short term list.

Today the NBNCo announced their Three Year Roll-out Plan. The Prime Minister proudly trumpeted that areas like Campbelltown, Gosford and Coffs Harbour were next on the list but no mention of Newcastle and the Hunter.

The rather ambiguous roll-out plans on the NBNCo site suggests that work will “commence” in Newcastle and Charlestown areas some time before June 2015, with it being operational within 12 months of that. So maybe we will have NBN broadband by June 2016….over 4 years from now. And that commitment is only to 25% of the households in suburbs listed.

Here is the disclaimer on the NBNCo roll-out plan:

The Rollout Plans reflect NBN Co’s position as at 29th March 2012. The Rollout Plans are provided for information purposes and are intended to be a guide only. The contents of the Rollout Plans should not be relied upon as representing NBN Co’s final position on their subject matter, except where stated otherwise. Any views expressed by NBN Co in the Rollout Plans may change as a consequence of NBN Co finalising formal technical specifications, or legislative and regulatory developments. Any dates provided are indicative only. Any such dates are subject to change and are dependent upon a number of factors. The Rollout Plans may be withdrawn without notice. The Rollout Plans contain forward looking statements. These forward looking statements contain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and may involve significant elements of subjective judgement and assumptions as to future events which may or may not be correct. We make no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the currency, accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information in the Rollout Plans.

To me that indicates nothing is set in concrete and expect things to change a lot in the next few years.

While the government and NBNCo line is that we’re well-serviced already for broadband, anyone living and working in Newcastle knows that’s far from the truth. If we’re back of the queue Newcastle will be left behind in the burgeoning digital economy.

The other major concern is that if there is a change of government next year, which right now appears to be on the cards, an incoming Coalition government could scrap or significantly reduce the roll-out of the National Broadband Network (as is their current stance). Those of us at the end of the queue will miss out and only those already under construction or completed will be serviced.

Should we sit on our hands and wait? NO. As is usual in Newcastle we will need to make something happen ourselves. The opportunities are too big and the risks of being left behind too great. Read My Plan for Creating an Innovative City or How to Build a Smart City.

As I have illustrated recently, Newcastle is in an ideal position to become a center for tech innovation. We have all the ingredients for a start-up and technology center. The space, the lifestyle, the lower cost of living and affordable office space whilst being just 2 hours drive away from Australia’s largest city, with a large airport on our outskirts plus a massive university and hospital. State and Federal governments should be looking at Newcastle as a solution for an increasingly overcrowded Sydney.

If the Federal Government (Labor or Coalition) and NBNCo won’t deliver high-speed broadband to Newcastle in a reasonable time-frame we need to make it happen ourselves.

I know of at least two companies, Davicom and Countrytell (client disclosure) who have plans to deliver wireless mesh across the city and WiMax Broadband throughout the area. They’re already doing it in other regional areas of NSW with local government support. They have the plans and technology in place, they just need the support here in Newcastle in order to commence. It could be up and running this year, putting us well ahead of the rest of Australia.

Who do they need support from? The region’s major stakeholders and employers; University of Newcastle, Hunter Area Health (and John Hunter Hospital), Hunter TAFE and local councils. Then its a matter of tapping into the broader business community, especially major industries represented by Hunternet.

Each of these organisations would benefit from faster, more cost-effective communications immediately. Their support ensures the commercial viability of the proposed WiFi and WiMax solutions, then the benefits begin to trickle down to the rest of the business community and the community in general.

Towns like Austin in Texas have over 1/8 of the population working at the 3900 tech companies in the area (more info here). Newcastle could attract a similar tech community to enjoy our amazing beaches, relaxed lifestyle and short commutes if we had high-speed broadband and other necessary infrastructure.

My belief is that if the Federal government isn’t going to make this happen in Newcastle soon it is definitely in the interests of the State Government and its local members Tim Owen and Andrew Cornwell to help these plans become a reality. If they help secure initial funds and then sit down with the other major employers listed above we can get ahead of the NBN roll-out and be in control of our own destiny in the Newcastle area.

What can you do?

Start lobbying your local members, especially State members, and tell them we want high-speed broadband in Newcastle. Lobby your local councils and tell them the same. Write letters to The Herald asking why we’ve been left behind yet again. Call 1233ABC and speak to Aaron Kearney or Carol Duncan who are both passionate about this issue. Tweet the Premier Barry O’Farrell and let him know we want a solution (remember he’s not the cause of this but might be able to support a solution).

Don’t get me wrong, its great that are at least on the list now. I want the NBN here in Newcastle as soon as possible. I don’t want us to be left behind. But I also don’t want everyone to think “we’re on the list now so it’ll be fine” because its not that clear cut. We can’t afford to be complacent.

We have a right to be frustrated about where we are in the queue for the NBN and I am genuinely concerned that a change of government could see us miss out altogether. The point is we can have high-speed broadband in this area sooner rather than later. We would benefit from a comprehensive wireless mesh irrespective of the NBN being here.

Do you want to wait until 2016 or beyond? Its time to raise our voices and make it happen.

I joined Twitter 4 years ago today. At first it was mainly to help co-promote the launch of the Age of Conversation. Like many business owners I was skeptical about this new messaging system and didn’t use it much to begin with.

I remember going to a PubCamp in Sydney hosted by Jed White (who later became a good friend) and being somewhat bemused by a team of people from Happener led by Markus Hafner (who later became a friend) all furiously tweeting from their laptops while speakers did their presentations. It all seemed a bit silly.

But inevitably I began using Twitter more and more. I remember Gavin Heaton (who has become a good friend) telling Gordon and me that it won’t be until you have at least 50 followers and are following at least that many that we’ll see the value in Twitter.

A big breakthrough came a year later when I went to my first #singleorigin coffee morning in Surry Hills and met a few of the people I’d been following, like Tiphereth (who became a good friend) that I started to value the human connections Twitter was unearthing. That night a STUB event was held at The Grace Hotel and it was like meeting the who’s who of my little Twitter universe. That night I met Mark Pesce, Stilgherrian, Malkuth, Maarinke and Gavin Costello (who’s name I actually thought was Frank Sting) amongst many others (it was a big night, some beers may have been spilled and the memories are slightly blurry). Quite a few of these people have become good friends.

Amazingly, this silly little messaging system started becoming a valuable business resource. My Newcastle-based agency began receiving enquiries from companies who had people following me on Twitter….from all over Australia. Suddenly I was doing business with Justine and Suzie (both who have become good friends).

What many business people see at a time-suck device became a key driver of new business for us. Doors were opening that had previously been closed, all due to some weird 140 character connection.

A subsequent trip to the USA became a much more interesting experience due to the people I met via Twitter and the advice and tips I received from followers as I traveled around. I had a great time at SXSW with Kevin Gawthrope, Beth Harte, Jed White (yeah him again), Guy Kawasaki and Gary Vaynerchuk, and caught up with a few of them again in San Francisco.

We launched a #newcastlecoffee tweet-up here in town that brought together a diverse range of people (way too many to mention, so check the list) with one thing in common, we connected on Twitter. A lot of great friendships formed.

Out for #newcastlecoffee came the Lunaticks events which attracts even more people for some great discussions and debate.

These days I go on training rides with cyclists I first met on Twitter, like Simon, Wayde, Steph, Paul and David.

I see breaking news for the first time usually on Twitter. I discover useful new information, products and services on Twitter every week.

In short, what I had originally dismissed as a distracting fad has become very important to me both socially and commercially.

4 years and 34,000 tweets latter Twitter has changed a lot and the way I view and use Twitter has changed even more. But its due to all the people I have met and new friends I have made that I am glad I signed up four years ago today.

Thanks to everyone who said “hi” along the way.

We are experiencing a permanent shift in shopping habits from which many brick and mortar retailers will never recover.

After the initial hysteria and over-hyped promise of online shopping in the late ’90s dot-com boom, most retailers shrugged off the threat of online and continued with their traditional business models. The prosperity of the new millennium in Australia meant that retailers were profitable and the apparent need for change was unnecessary.

But as the decade continued online was becoming much more sophisticated. Social networks sprang up to increase connectivity and word-of-mouth, and e-commerce became an easier function to execute. Online giants like Amazon, e-Bay and Apple introduced millions of consumers to simple electronic transactions, steadily decreasing the fear of credit card fraud.

The storm clouds for retailers were on the horizon but only a few paid them any attention.

Then the GFC hit in 2008 and consumer confidence shrank. Traditional retailers braced themselves for the inevitable pain, expecting it to be short-lived. After all, these things just go in cycles, don’t they?

However, this time things were different. After almost 2 decades of spending, Australians decided it was time to save money, to become a little more frugal. Our shopping habits began to change.

Consumers, steadily growing comfortable with shopping online found that there were significant savings to be made on many purchases. Apparently many of our famous retailers were charging us more for items than our friends overseas were paying.

Books, cameras and many clothes were cheaper online, often from overseas. Suddenly, stores that stocked these items were beginning to feel the pinch. Borders and Angus & Robertson collapsed.

Some of the Australian retail giants began to complain about the unfairness of it all but the truth is they hadn’t prepared for the looming storm. They felt that things would return to normal as the economy rebounded.

Four years after the GFC consumer confidence is still low. We’re saving more and spending more carefully. Increasingly we’re shopping online for bargains and convenience. Less and less of us see the any point in visiting the local mega-mall to buy items we can buy in minutes online.

Daily deals sites have exploded in popularity online in the last two years, training us to hunt down or wait for heavily discounted prices on many items.

The perfect storm has arrived and its changing retail forever.

We’re loyal to some brands that produce quality items but not to retailers who are merely clearing houses for a range of brands.

The future seems to belong to specialist bricks and mortar retailers (we still enjoy the shopping experience) and online retailers who can offer savings and / or convenience we’re time poor and want to maximise our leisure).

Peter Alexander and Smiggle are in; they continue to trade well with their own fun products.

David Jones is out; why pay more for the same items we can buy elsewhere?

The retailers who moved early into online retailing and the new online only retailers are the winners in this new environment.  Those who ignored the early warning signs, who stubbornly stuck to their bricks and mortar model are losing and losing big.

Who’s losing?

David Jones, Myer, Harvey Norman – only now starting to belatedly  address online seriously. The problem is they sell products we can also buy elsewhere. The department store concept is an old one past its time.

Anyone who sells items in traditional stores that we can easily buy online for less – like electronics, clothes, books and travel.

Who’s winning?

Domino’s Pizza - mixing stores with advanced online ordering and now mobile phone ordering systems. Online sales are now 40% of total sales.

Webjet and Wotif – making travel cheaper, easier and faster to book.

Deals Direct – online clearing house full of bargains. Have also opened BedBuys.com.au

Kogan – the online only electronics retailer is causing a world of pain for JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman, not just in sales but by confirming the idea that we can pay less by avoiding the traditional retailers.

Lorna Jane – strong brand selling its own products through its own website.

Oroton – a famous brand that moved early to online. Their sales grew 180% last year and www.oroton.com.au is now its largest store.

Smiggle – fun and fashionable stationary stores that prove people are still willing to enter shops for unique products and experiences.

Peter Alexander – strong brand, fun products sold many stores complimented by a strong online presence.

The fastest growing products categories online are a strong predictor of which bricks and mortar retailers will shrink or disappear in the next few years:  travel, books (including magazines and newspapers), DVDs, clothing & shoes, CD’s, alcohol, supermarket shopping.

It took longer than breathlessly predicted in the dot-com boom, but a combination of easier online transactions, considerably lower prices and increased frugality has led to a shift that will see the retail landscape change forever.

The question now is which industry is next?

One model we’ve been looking at is Austin, Texas. Over the last decade Austin was the 3rd fastest growing city in the USA, booming to its current population of 790,000.

Its no coincidence that Austin is home to the famous SXSW festival, part of which is one of the biggest tech industry events in the world. This has led to Austin becoming home to around 3900 tech companies employing over 100,000 people.

Here is a 30 second video from Susan Davenport, senior vice president of the Austin Chamber of Commerce explaining how technology and innovation have helped build a great city.

Other posts on this topic:

My plan for creating an innovative city

How to build a smart city