This is definitely in the running to be one of my favorite talks I’ve ever done. To promote my new book, and in participation with the 7 Days of Genius Festival, I sat down with Bloomberg Television anchor and managing editor Stephanie Ruhle at 92Y in New York. We talked about social media, the current state of marketing, and so much more. Stephanie definitely kept me on my toes and the conversation was straight fire.
One of the most memorable quotes of the night came from a question Stephanie asked me about whether social media is changing our society—that mobile phones are somehow undermining real human interactions. My argument is, and always has been, the same: nothing has changed. From 1900 to the 1950s, people would have their heads in newspapers or ears to the radio or in the 1960s, people would be watching TV instead of talking to each other. Social media hasn’t changed the fact that people will find ways not to have to interact with each other. A lot of parents today are “scared” that social media is bad for their kids. I compare these parents to the moms and dads in the 50s who thought Elvis shaking his hips was the devil.
This all lead to the memorable quote: “We get scared of everything that we didn’t grow up with; it’s what human beings do.”
Another favorite moment: when I talked about the current state of entrepreneurship. We are throwing money at these start-ups without thought into what they could become. My catch-all phrase: “I think we’re going to find out a lot of unicorns are actually rhinoceroses.”
You can watch the full talk here:
