From a single blogger destroying the decades of credibility of 60 Minutes, to a school teacher who drove millions of viewers to an iPod commercial created for fun. Individuals have more power than ever before. The Internet boom/ bust left in its place a fertile scalable foundation with new, easy to use tools and means of distribution at little or no cost…and it will only get better. The photo above of Manhattan Beach pier at sunrise was an impromptu photo I took with my Treo 600 while walking my dog two Xmas mornings ago. I have one 11 yr old son who started programming in Flash and went to the UCLA campus to C++ Camp last summer, and my older son (14) is busy producing, filming and editing digital film leveraging his iBook and software in middle school. The power has shifted to the individual

There is a massive shift to empowered people expressing their individuality - A trend of “Mass Individualism”. Particularly in the areas of content and community as demonstrated by the tremendous growth of individual empowered entertainment (iPods, PodCasting, Blogs, Tivo, VOD), and the display of individuality within new communities (MySpace, Tribe, Flickr, SecondLife, KickApps). People are empowered like never before.

I been fortunate to work with early stage, fast growth and Fortune 500 companies in leadership roles (CEO, CMO, GM) to drive the growth of their Internet (eCommerce & Content) business and have led some of the internets leading businesses (“founding” and spinning off fashion apparel leader Nordstrom.com, President of paid content leader USSearch.com). One reoccurring success focus of mine has been the growth of “Lifetime Customer Value”. Focusing your core goal as "increasing the value of a customer" sets the stage for other metrics to fall into place; customer acquisition, transaction size, purchase repetition and profitability. So how can content and community play a role in customer value?

Most eCommerce sites though successful still look like the same one dimensional catalogues of 1999, yet these powerful trends of content, community and individuality have emerged. What does it look like when you blend empowered individuals within a platform of content, community and commerce? And how can content companies embrace their new found ability (broadband, VOD, Mobile) to think "direct commerce and retail" and build Lifetime Customer Value relationships?

The infrastructure is now in place and economical, powerful new trends are emerging empowering mass individualism, driving with new forms of eCommerce blended with content and community. There is a new window for new consumer brand leaders to emerge. I am determined to be in the midst of building such leaders...Stay tuned.

The power has shifted to the individual - I have placed some great relevant links on this page for you to explore. Also you can read more here Go to Blog