Trends, Trust And Technology - What's Ahead In 2025

WEBVTT

00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:13.539
Thank you for joining us for

00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:15.180
this episode of That's Solo Life,

00:00:15.221 --> 00:00:16.821
the podcast for PR pros and

00:00:16.861 --> 00:00:18.440
marketers that work for themselves.

00:00:18.861 --> 00:00:19.640
People like me,

00:00:19.681 --> 00:00:21.321
Michelle Kane with Voice Matters,

00:00:21.602 --> 00:00:22.902
and my wonderful co-host,

00:00:23.001 --> 00:00:25.682
Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro.

00:00:26.202 --> 00:00:26.902
Hi, Karen.

00:00:26.943 --> 00:00:27.643
How are you?

00:00:28.742 --> 00:00:29.562
Hi, Michelle.

00:00:29.603 --> 00:00:30.303
I'm doing great.

00:00:30.344 --> 00:00:31.564
How are you doing?

00:00:31.684 --> 00:00:32.863
I'm doing well, doing well.

00:00:32.904 --> 00:00:33.863
By the time this hits,

00:00:33.904 --> 00:00:35.564
we'll have crossed that threshold into

00:00:38.387 --> 00:00:39.868
And here we are.

00:00:39.927 --> 00:00:41.048
And as promised,

00:00:41.067 --> 00:00:42.789
we're picking up from the

00:00:42.889 --> 00:00:44.168
previous episode of

00:00:44.808 --> 00:00:46.530
predictions for twenty twenty five.

00:00:46.570 --> 00:00:49.371
What's going to be hot in PR

00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:51.551
and our general communications world?

00:00:51.651 --> 00:00:53.091
And maybe what isn't or

00:00:53.131 --> 00:00:54.171
maybe what hasn't quite

00:00:54.212 --> 00:00:56.493
taken off in the way we thought it would.

00:00:57.813 --> 00:00:58.634
I think the first thing we

00:00:58.654 --> 00:01:00.935
want to hit on is just the

00:01:01.034 --> 00:01:05.757
rise of or perhaps a more intentional,

00:01:06.457 --> 00:01:09.299
deeper use of data-driven storytelling.

00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:14.021
We recently had Lisa Gerber on who, again,

00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:16.542
beautifully helped us

00:01:16.641 --> 00:01:17.882
understand the importance

00:01:17.942 --> 00:01:19.263
of telling our stories,

00:01:19.304 --> 00:01:21.984
whether that's our experiences,

00:01:22.204 --> 00:01:24.286
that of our clients, their companies,

00:01:24.325 --> 00:01:25.066
their purposes.

00:01:26.087 --> 00:01:29.688
But how can we as pros then best, you know,

00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:33.031
make sure that that is used

00:01:33.072 --> 00:01:34.412
to its full effectiveness

00:01:34.472 --> 00:01:35.894
on their behalves?

00:01:35.974 --> 00:01:36.433
Yeah.

00:01:36.474 --> 00:01:38.876
So there's that creative,

00:01:39.096 --> 00:01:40.856
there's that storytelling side,

00:01:41.016 --> 00:01:42.438
but you also have to look

00:01:42.457 --> 00:01:44.198
at the analytical side of

00:01:44.498 --> 00:01:45.680
making sure that you're

00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:47.141
telling the right stories

00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:48.322
to the right audiences.

00:01:48.361 --> 00:01:50.123
And so I believe that we

00:01:50.162 --> 00:01:51.164
will see PR pros grow.

00:01:51.903 --> 00:01:54.387
go deeper into using metrics

00:01:54.427 --> 00:01:56.930
to be able to decide the

00:01:56.969 --> 00:01:58.091
stories that they will tell

00:01:58.152 --> 00:01:59.412
and where they will tell them.

00:01:59.472 --> 00:02:00.555
And some of the tools that

00:02:00.594 --> 00:02:01.796
we're already using,

00:02:01.835 --> 00:02:03.358
like Google Analytics and

00:02:04.078 --> 00:02:05.000
some of the metrics,

00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:06.221
I think that we'll start to

00:02:06.341 --> 00:02:08.324
look at them in fresh ways because

00:02:09.145 --> 00:02:11.066
Up until recent years,

00:02:11.105 --> 00:02:12.705
we used those metrics in

00:02:12.786 --> 00:02:15.366
terms of reporting on our performance,

00:02:15.467 --> 00:02:17.806
on measuring how our efforts did.

00:02:18.228 --> 00:02:20.147
But I believe that we will

00:02:20.168 --> 00:02:21.587
see more people embrace

00:02:21.968 --> 00:02:23.549
digging into those metrics

00:02:24.149 --> 00:02:25.750
to measure where they

00:02:25.770 --> 00:02:27.370
should be spending their efforts.

00:02:27.810 --> 00:02:28.509
Yeah, I mean,

00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:29.491
that is the beautiful thing

00:02:29.531 --> 00:02:30.290
about that data.

00:02:31.050 --> 00:02:32.431
You know, not to geek out too much,

00:02:32.510 --> 00:02:34.872
but aside from, oh, I got this many hits.

00:02:35.412 --> 00:02:36.171
Okay, well,

00:02:36.331 --> 00:02:37.752
then did anyone travel

00:02:37.831 --> 00:02:39.052
elsewhere on your website?

00:02:39.272 --> 00:02:40.712
Oh, did they, you know,

00:02:40.733 --> 00:02:41.733
look at your services?

00:02:41.772 --> 00:02:43.653
Did they look at a specific service?

00:02:43.713 --> 00:02:44.633
Did they read any other

00:02:44.653 --> 00:02:45.873
blogs while they were there?

00:02:46.693 --> 00:02:48.414
And that truly can and

00:02:48.495 --> 00:02:51.955
should be informing other

00:02:51.974 --> 00:02:53.155
types of content that you

00:02:53.194 --> 00:02:55.295
create to strengthen...

00:02:56.198 --> 00:02:56.538
Yes.

00:02:56.638 --> 00:02:57.798
That area.

00:02:57.897 --> 00:02:58.538
Absolutely.

00:02:58.579 --> 00:03:00.899
Because none of it matters

00:03:01.019 --> 00:03:02.319
if you cannot get your

00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:04.580
audiences to engage with that content.

00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:07.260
And so I think, you know, in addition to,

00:03:07.381 --> 00:03:07.640
you know,

00:03:07.661 --> 00:03:09.701
I'm seeing more PR posts start

00:03:09.741 --> 00:03:11.102
to look at trends and start

00:03:11.141 --> 00:03:12.361
to look at what are the

00:03:12.382 --> 00:03:13.362
types of stories that

00:03:13.423 --> 00:03:14.862
people are hungry for?

00:03:15.302 --> 00:03:16.463
And then looking at the

00:03:16.484 --> 00:03:18.723
stories you tell to see, like,

00:03:18.764 --> 00:03:19.883
how do I fit into that

00:03:20.123 --> 00:03:21.485
universe of storytelling?

00:03:21.525 --> 00:03:21.625
Yeah.

00:03:22.085 --> 00:03:24.566
But also there are some very cool,

00:03:24.906 --> 00:03:26.026
this is where technology

00:03:26.067 --> 00:03:27.127
can really be our best friend.

00:03:27.146 --> 00:03:27.987
There's some really cool

00:03:28.027 --> 00:03:30.649
tools that can show you not

00:03:30.709 --> 00:03:32.370
only the engagement on your story,

00:03:32.409 --> 00:03:33.530
but it can break it down to

00:03:33.591 --> 00:03:36.551
geographical engagement.

00:03:36.572 --> 00:03:37.551
So for example,

00:03:37.632 --> 00:03:38.513
if you were putting out

00:03:38.552 --> 00:03:40.514
something and it's just a

00:03:40.574 --> 00:03:41.473
rich piece of content

00:03:41.493 --> 00:03:43.254
that's getting quite a bit of engagement,

00:03:43.754 --> 00:03:46.556
you might in the past think, okay,

00:03:46.616 --> 00:03:49.758
we'll keep our same targeting, this work,

00:03:49.798 --> 00:03:50.979
this campaign is working.

00:03:51.519 --> 00:03:52.500
But maybe it's working in

00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:53.860
very specific states,

00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:55.100
which then allows you to

00:03:55.561 --> 00:03:56.762
really look at those states.

00:03:56.782 --> 00:03:57.883
So I think that we're going

00:03:57.902 --> 00:04:00.044
to get more granular in how

00:04:00.084 --> 00:04:00.925
we look at things.

00:04:01.585 --> 00:04:03.086
I also feel like that puts

00:04:03.165 --> 00:04:05.948
pressure on us to...

00:04:06.669 --> 00:04:07.950
re-educate clients,

00:04:08.031 --> 00:04:10.912
not about quantity of media coverage,

00:04:11.012 --> 00:04:11.852
but quality.

00:04:12.451 --> 00:04:14.312
So I hope that that leads to

00:04:14.413 --> 00:04:16.093
us being much more

00:04:16.134 --> 00:04:18.355
thoughtful and designing

00:04:18.375 --> 00:04:20.516
campaigns with fewer targets.

00:04:20.555 --> 00:04:23.257
So maybe it's grabbing an

00:04:23.297 --> 00:04:24.896
exclusive with that one

00:04:24.956 --> 00:04:27.057
publication that actually

00:04:27.358 --> 00:04:28.798
readers have engaged with.

00:04:28.858 --> 00:04:30.298
It's driven the most

00:04:30.358 --> 00:04:31.399
engagement around the

00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:33.500
stories that you're telling as opposed to

00:04:34.641 --> 00:04:36.403
dispersing that out among a

00:04:36.543 --> 00:04:37.584
number of publications,

00:04:37.624 --> 00:04:38.925
some that just don't

00:04:38.985 --> 00:04:40.286
perform very well for you.

00:04:40.786 --> 00:04:42.108
And that includes very

00:04:42.187 --> 00:04:43.790
well-read publications,

00:04:43.829 --> 00:04:44.771
because I've seen this,

00:04:44.810 --> 00:04:47.452
where outlets that have

00:04:47.713 --> 00:04:49.154
millions of readers and

00:04:49.194 --> 00:04:51.096
they have the highest reach

00:04:51.596 --> 00:04:53.619
just don't drive engagement.

00:04:53.658 --> 00:04:55.240
And so we have to stop and say,

00:04:56.281 --> 00:04:58.204
Why are we bothering?

00:04:58.264 --> 00:04:59.285
Why are we using our

00:04:59.324 --> 00:05:00.846
resources to target these

00:05:00.887 --> 00:05:02.369
people when we're not

00:05:02.408 --> 00:05:03.370
seeing the results on the

00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:05.632
other end and re-educating

00:05:05.673 --> 00:05:07.154
clients that they have to

00:05:07.194 --> 00:05:09.177
take the focus off of the marquee,

00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:13.502
off of the logo and look deeper at,

00:05:14.002 --> 00:05:14.964
but does it matter?

00:05:15.528 --> 00:05:15.709
Yeah.

00:05:16.110 --> 00:05:17.331
Oh, gosh, that's so true.

00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:17.771
And, you know,

00:05:17.831 --> 00:05:22.173
it's similar to how I advise

00:05:22.435 --> 00:05:24.817
my social media clients sometimes.

00:05:24.857 --> 00:05:26.338
It's like, no,

00:05:26.418 --> 00:05:27.338
you don't have to post a

00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:28.319
gazillion things.

00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:30.300
Do one really well done post.

00:05:30.341 --> 00:05:31.521
Target the right people with

00:05:31.562 --> 00:05:32.843
a little bit of a spend.

00:05:32.862 --> 00:05:34.004
It doesn't have to be a lot.

00:05:35.285 --> 00:05:36.565
And that's where your

00:05:36.605 --> 00:05:37.646
success is going to lie.

00:05:37.687 --> 00:05:39.988
So, yeah, we need – it's the age-old –

00:05:40.468 --> 00:05:42.812
the the age-old uh wisdom of

00:05:42.932 --> 00:05:43.932
finding where your people

00:05:44.132 --> 00:05:46.675
are and and presenting

00:05:46.694 --> 00:05:48.177
yourself well in in those

00:05:48.216 --> 00:05:50.939
spaces so so true but of

00:05:50.978 --> 00:05:52.380
course none of this matters

00:05:52.521 --> 00:05:54.062
if if nobody trusts you

00:05:54.223 --> 00:05:56.345
right so that's our next

00:05:56.384 --> 00:05:58.065
trend that that we know is

00:05:58.086 --> 00:05:59.187
going to be very important

00:05:59.226 --> 00:06:00.408
in twenty twenty five is

00:06:00.528 --> 00:06:02.951
trust building uh

00:06:04.678 --> 00:06:06.081
You know, do we really need to say why?

00:06:06.821 --> 00:06:07.641
I mean, just, you know,

00:06:08.023 --> 00:06:09.024
with the ability for

00:06:09.064 --> 00:06:10.125
conspiracy theories and

00:06:10.144 --> 00:06:11.406
misinformation to travel

00:06:12.047 --> 00:06:13.809
faster than truth can fly,

00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:15.891
it's just more important

00:06:15.930 --> 00:06:17.752
than ever if your client is

00:06:17.773 --> 00:06:19.675
going to succeed in their enterprise,

00:06:20.576 --> 00:06:22.117
they have to be able to be trusted.

00:06:24.086 --> 00:06:25.326
I completely agree.

00:06:25.487 --> 00:06:25.708
I mean,

00:06:25.827 --> 00:06:27.968
and we've seen the erosion of trust

00:06:28.007 --> 00:06:30.809
in institutions over many, many years,

00:06:30.848 --> 00:06:32.310
but I feel like one of the

00:06:32.370 --> 00:06:35.011
trends next year, because it's important,

00:06:35.050 --> 00:06:36.230
you've got to have trust,

00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:37.711
you have to build advocacy,

00:06:37.872 --> 00:06:39.331
advocacy leads to trust,

00:06:39.391 --> 00:06:40.512
it leads to engagement.

00:06:40.992 --> 00:06:44.014
you know, higher lifetime customer value,

00:06:44.093 --> 00:06:45.874
it has a lot of financial

00:06:45.934 --> 00:06:48.035
benefit as well as, you know,

00:06:48.074 --> 00:06:48.855
just benefit to the

00:06:48.875 --> 00:06:50.074
reputation of the brand.

00:06:50.115 --> 00:06:51.175
So I feel like public

00:06:51.295 --> 00:06:52.696
relations is going to get

00:06:53.115 --> 00:06:56.857
more deeply involved in trust building.

00:06:57.956 --> 00:06:58.937
And that will come through

00:06:58.997 --> 00:07:01.997
content that will come through, you know,

00:07:02.278 --> 00:07:05.238
really making sure that we are, you

00:07:05.779 --> 00:07:07.562
um helping brands to be

00:07:07.601 --> 00:07:10.105
proactive against crises um

00:07:10.185 --> 00:07:11.747
by you know stacking that

00:07:11.786 --> 00:07:13.629
bank of trust and being

00:07:13.930 --> 00:07:15.211
super thoughtful about

00:07:15.331 --> 00:07:17.214
what's put out how it's put

00:07:17.334 --> 00:07:19.237
out um because you know

00:07:20.778 --> 00:07:22.160
we see this and we're seeing

00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:23.600
this explode in ways that

00:07:23.661 --> 00:07:25.903
are scary and dangerous,

00:07:26.223 --> 00:07:27.406
like what happened with the

00:07:27.485 --> 00:07:29.127
UnitedHealthcare situation.

00:07:29.267 --> 00:07:32.372
And then we saw the new CEO

00:07:32.411 --> 00:07:33.612
come in and say something

00:07:33.673 --> 00:07:35.415
that further eroded

00:07:35.456 --> 00:07:37.978
people's trust in healthcare institutions,

00:07:37.999 --> 00:07:39.079
which is unfortunate

00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:39.781
because then they get

00:07:40.141 --> 00:07:42.281
Paint it with a broad brush

00:07:42.541 --> 00:07:45.862
and it really rubs off and tarnishes,

00:07:45.942 --> 00:07:46.202
you know,

00:07:46.322 --> 00:07:48.004
other brands that may have a

00:07:48.324 --> 00:07:49.283
different way of thinking.

00:07:49.324 --> 00:07:50.163
So I think it's going to be

00:07:50.444 --> 00:07:52.964
really important to set

00:07:53.345 --> 00:07:55.946
yourself apart by being

00:07:56.005 --> 00:07:58.666
truthful and toss around

00:07:58.706 --> 00:08:01.208
the words transparency and authenticity.

00:08:02.228 --> 00:08:03.670
And I hate to use those

00:08:03.689 --> 00:08:05.651
because they seem very overused,

00:08:05.672 --> 00:08:07.213
but I think it's really

00:08:07.254 --> 00:08:07.853
building that

00:08:08.095 --> 00:08:11.177
infrastructure that supports

00:08:11.218 --> 00:08:12.079
being trusted.

00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:13.519
And so that's all of the

00:08:13.581 --> 00:08:14.841
touch points of the company.

00:08:14.942 --> 00:08:16.363
You, again, you know,

00:08:16.423 --> 00:08:17.464
I always go back to mission

00:08:17.504 --> 00:08:18.365
vision values.

00:08:18.406 --> 00:08:19.206
Those are more than just

00:08:19.266 --> 00:08:21.048
plaques on the wall or, you know,

00:08:21.108 --> 00:08:23.170
a line in your employee handbook.

00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:25.331
you really have to double

00:08:25.351 --> 00:08:26.271
down and make sure that

00:08:26.312 --> 00:08:27.692
they're being understood

00:08:27.812 --> 00:08:31.516
and lived and are able to be questioned.

00:08:32.235 --> 00:08:35.477
When people are not living up to that,

00:08:36.038 --> 00:08:37.318
you need to empower your

00:08:37.359 --> 00:08:38.840
employees with a reporting

00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:41.481
mechanism that has a

00:08:41.522 --> 00:08:42.922
feedback mechanism that you

00:08:42.962 --> 00:08:44.163
take action on.

00:08:44.562 --> 00:08:46.365
Because sometimes there's a

00:08:46.424 --> 00:08:48.306
wink and a nod about things and

00:08:49.947 --> 00:08:50.908
I have never liked that,

00:08:50.928 --> 00:08:52.350
but I think that this

00:08:52.429 --> 00:08:53.370
twenty twenty five is a

00:08:53.431 --> 00:08:54.392
year that you really need

00:08:54.432 --> 00:08:55.371
to stand strong in that.

00:08:55.413 --> 00:08:56.994
And that starts from the top.

00:08:57.073 --> 00:08:58.033
It goes from the top,

00:08:58.053 --> 00:08:59.596
from the boardroom to the basement,

00:08:59.655 --> 00:09:00.956
as I always like to say.

00:09:02.577 --> 00:09:05.700
So I hope that that this is

00:09:06.081 --> 00:09:07.961
not just a trend of the moment,

00:09:08.001 --> 00:09:08.903
but it's something that we

00:09:08.942 --> 00:09:10.624
all dig deeper and believe

00:09:10.744 --> 00:09:14.787
in and carry that out more

00:09:14.866 --> 00:09:15.988
forcefully in twenty,

00:09:16.008 --> 00:09:17.048
twenty five and beyond.

00:09:17.489 --> 00:09:18.190
Yeah, agree.

00:09:18.370 --> 00:09:18.590
Agree.

00:09:18.610 --> 00:09:19.590
I mean, at the very least,

00:09:20.331 --> 00:09:20.951
those who are not

00:09:20.990 --> 00:09:22.331
transparent and trustworthy,

00:09:22.371 --> 00:09:23.352
it never ends well.

00:09:23.513 --> 00:09:24.352
It can take a while,

00:09:24.913 --> 00:09:26.195
but it never usually ends well.

00:09:26.235 --> 00:09:27.775
And, you know, let's be honest.

00:09:30.076 --> 00:09:31.798
I like to think that most

00:09:31.837 --> 00:09:33.019
times when people think of

00:09:33.119 --> 00:09:34.120
starting a venture,

00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:36.221
no matter how large or small,

00:09:36.341 --> 00:09:38.042
you want to be helpful to people, right?

00:09:38.062 --> 00:09:38.562
It's like, hey,

00:09:38.581 --> 00:09:39.682
I want you to buy my thing

00:09:40.123 --> 00:09:41.043
or my service because it

00:09:41.063 --> 00:09:42.424
will help make your life better.

00:09:43.256 --> 00:09:45.639
So believe that and act that way.

00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:46.759
And you're so right.

00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:47.100
You know,

00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:48.902
when all of your employees are

00:09:48.942 --> 00:09:50.323
empowered with that ethos

00:09:50.364 --> 00:09:50.984
and know that they're

00:09:51.024 --> 00:09:54.447
expected to live it out, everybody wins.

00:09:54.768 --> 00:10:00.152
So to do otherwise is just short sighted.

00:10:00.172 --> 00:10:01.653
But, you know, what can I say?

00:10:03.658 --> 00:10:04.958
But so another trend we were

00:10:04.979 --> 00:10:07.259
looking at that we thought by now,

00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:08.000
oh my goodness,

00:10:08.020 --> 00:10:09.640
isn't there a song from the sixties?

00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:10.942
I'm not going to sing it in the year.

00:10:10.981 --> 00:10:12.643
Twenty five, twenty five was twenty five,

00:10:12.682 --> 00:10:13.043
twenty five.

00:10:13.123 --> 00:10:14.283
OK, we got five hundred more years.

00:10:14.884 --> 00:10:15.344
Anyway,

00:10:15.384 --> 00:10:16.965
we all expected to be the Jetsons

00:10:17.024 --> 00:10:17.985
by now with our little

00:10:18.044 --> 00:10:19.365
saucer cars in the air.

00:10:19.885 --> 00:10:21.047
Maybe that's what the drones are.

00:10:21.567 --> 00:10:21.866
I don't know.

00:10:21.886 --> 00:10:23.427
Maybe by the time this hits,

00:10:23.447 --> 00:10:24.107
we'll know what they were.

00:10:25.408 --> 00:10:27.210
But just the idea of AR and

00:10:27.309 --> 00:10:28.649
huge experiential

00:10:32.323 --> 00:10:33.423
Immersive experiences.

00:10:33.583 --> 00:10:34.203
Thank you.

00:10:34.344 --> 00:10:34.865
Yes.

00:10:35.024 --> 00:10:35.245
You know,

00:10:35.264 --> 00:10:36.504
we thought that they would be a

00:10:36.544 --> 00:10:38.326
lot more commonplace by now, right?

00:10:38.385 --> 00:10:41.087
And they just haven't.

00:10:41.307 --> 00:10:42.587
I think part of that is,

00:10:43.548 --> 00:10:44.928
as the pendulum swings out

00:10:45.009 --> 00:10:47.029
of the pandemic,

00:10:47.471 --> 00:10:50.131
we're still eager for gathering

00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:53.422
together.

00:10:53.461 --> 00:10:54.023
You know, I mean,

00:10:54.143 --> 00:10:56.164
I know I'm still kind of sick of Zooms,

00:10:56.205 --> 00:10:56.345
right?

00:10:56.365 --> 00:10:57.066
Let's do a Zoom.

00:10:57.485 --> 00:10:59.447
Do I have to attend this

00:10:59.467 --> 00:11:00.389
conference virtually?

00:11:00.408 --> 00:11:02.431
I'm like, well, you know,

00:11:02.451 --> 00:11:03.711
I'm not going to watch it at all.

00:11:03.731 --> 00:11:05.673
So now I'd rather just go if

00:11:05.693 --> 00:11:06.695
I'm going to do it at all.

00:11:07.355 --> 00:11:08.537
And I think that does tie

00:11:08.596 --> 00:11:11.198
into what we thought was

00:11:11.239 --> 00:11:13.201
going to be a huge

00:11:13.260 --> 00:11:14.962
revolution and changing of

00:11:15.043 --> 00:11:15.844
people's behavior.

00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:17.672
an interest and it just

00:11:17.692 --> 00:11:19.274
really hasn't hasn't come

00:11:19.294 --> 00:11:20.937
to pass yet not saying it's

00:11:20.977 --> 00:11:23.042
never going to but not yet

00:11:24.099 --> 00:11:25.039
It seemed like such a

00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:27.962
logical next step in technology, right,

00:11:27.982 --> 00:11:30.684
to go from, you know,

00:11:32.066 --> 00:11:34.028
to this technology being

00:11:34.048 --> 00:11:35.610
able to discover things or

00:11:35.669 --> 00:11:36.910
being able to research to

00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:39.653
actually bring you into an

00:11:39.692 --> 00:11:41.936
experience that was very real.

00:11:42.115 --> 00:11:45.038
And, you know, it works in gaming culture.

00:11:45.558 --> 00:11:47.900
But here's the funny thing about, you know,

00:11:47.941 --> 00:11:49.162
predictions and trends.

00:11:49.322 --> 00:11:49.543
You...

00:11:50.595 --> 00:11:52.817
can never count out human behavior.

00:11:53.398 --> 00:11:55.419
And human beings, I think to some degree,

00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.001
still find that a little creepy.

00:11:57.923 --> 00:11:59.303
Not everybody is ready to

00:11:59.344 --> 00:12:00.725
step into immersive worlds.

00:12:00.765 --> 00:12:02.407
People are even pushing back

00:12:02.486 --> 00:12:04.369
against video interviews

00:12:04.408 --> 00:12:05.770
because they're worried

00:12:05.791 --> 00:12:07.552
about the security of all

00:12:07.592 --> 00:12:08.953
of this technology and

00:12:09.114 --> 00:12:10.416
opening doors to that.

00:12:11.135 --> 00:12:13.057
And, you know, as you said,

00:12:13.817 --> 00:12:15.198
we didn't count on people

00:12:15.278 --> 00:12:17.740
craving human interaction.

00:12:17.801 --> 00:12:19.261
We thought, you know, this is great.

00:12:19.302 --> 00:12:20.361
We don't have to leave our house.

00:12:20.381 --> 00:12:21.863
We can do everything from here.

00:12:21.923 --> 00:12:22.984
And look at this.

00:12:23.043 --> 00:12:23.904
I can, you know,

00:12:23.965 --> 00:12:24.966
click on a product and I

00:12:24.985 --> 00:12:26.145
can see how it looks in my

00:12:26.206 --> 00:12:28.888
house and I could try on lipstick and,

00:12:29.008 --> 00:12:29.788
you know, eyeshadow.

00:12:30.089 --> 00:12:31.570
how it looks on my face or glasses.

00:12:31.909 --> 00:12:33.150
And those things are very cool.

00:12:33.230 --> 00:12:34.611
Thank you very much.

00:12:34.672 --> 00:12:35.493
They're very cool.

00:12:35.552 --> 00:12:36.913
But do we want to live our

00:12:36.933 --> 00:12:37.533
lives like that?

00:12:37.573 --> 00:12:38.575
We don't want to live our

00:12:38.615 --> 00:12:41.037
life inside of a computer, basically,

00:12:41.537 --> 00:12:42.817
which is what it feels like.

00:12:43.298 --> 00:12:44.198
It turns out we don't.

00:12:44.239 --> 00:12:45.019
We're not there yet.

00:12:45.059 --> 00:12:47.321
And it's kind of like electric vehicles.

00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:49.322
Everybody is like, this is great.

00:12:49.342 --> 00:12:51.203
It's going to be great for the planet.

00:12:51.264 --> 00:12:53.466
And it's going to save you money on gas.

00:12:53.525 --> 00:12:56.388
And while all those things might be true,

00:12:57.543 --> 00:13:00.085
People's behavior said, eh,

00:13:00.225 --> 00:13:01.405
not ready for that yet.

00:13:01.525 --> 00:13:03.086
Is there an interim step?

00:13:03.167 --> 00:13:06.710
And so it's been a much longer time.

00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:09.371
I thought that by now solar

00:13:09.412 --> 00:13:10.972
panels would be on every house.

00:13:11.033 --> 00:13:12.735
Turns out, not true.

00:13:13.361 --> 00:13:14.802
Yeah, no, exactly,

00:13:14.822 --> 00:13:16.403
because that feels like a no-brainer,

00:13:17.062 --> 00:13:17.283
right?

00:13:17.303 --> 00:13:18.423
And I think some of this

00:13:18.443 --> 00:13:19.583
could just be barriers,

00:13:20.445 --> 00:13:22.404
either psychological barriers to, ooh,

00:13:22.424 --> 00:13:23.966
that would be really hard to do,

00:13:24.405 --> 00:13:26.567
where do I find someone, all of that.

00:13:27.386 --> 00:13:28.488
I know I feel that way about

00:13:28.528 --> 00:13:29.288
the solar panels.

00:13:29.307 --> 00:13:30.948
I'm like, ooh, that'd be kind of cool,

00:13:30.969 --> 00:13:31.408
wouldn't it?

00:13:32.570 --> 00:13:34.412
Similar to EVs, right?

00:13:34.451 --> 00:13:35.413
Because, you know,

00:13:35.452 --> 00:13:36.875
next time my lease is up,

00:13:37.255 --> 00:13:38.136
will I want to do that?

00:13:38.236 --> 00:13:38.736
I don't know.

00:13:38.777 --> 00:13:39.258
And actually,

00:13:39.278 --> 00:13:40.019
I was just talking with

00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:42.402
someone about that last week.

00:13:42.461 --> 00:13:42.981
I said, you know,

00:13:43.143 --> 00:13:44.464
I think of charging stations,

00:13:44.583 --> 00:13:45.024
like if there was a

00:13:45.065 --> 00:13:46.966
charging station at every gas station,

00:13:47.368 --> 00:13:48.589
it would be more efficient.

00:13:48.828 --> 00:13:49.369
More of a,

00:13:49.528 --> 00:13:50.549
you'd feel there was more of a

00:13:50.590 --> 00:13:51.789
gateway to usage, right?

00:13:51.809 --> 00:13:53.149
You think, oh, okay, yeah,

00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:54.890
this is going to be easy for me to adopt.

00:13:55.410 --> 00:13:56.610
So I'll give it a shot.

00:13:56.671 --> 00:14:02.832
Whereas if the ease of it is not apparent,

00:14:03.374 --> 00:14:05.073
I think it's less likely to

00:14:05.094 --> 00:14:06.855
be adopted as quickly maybe

00:14:06.894 --> 00:14:08.254
as we're expecting or that

00:14:08.315 --> 00:14:09.774
we're projecting.

00:14:09.794 --> 00:14:10.836
I love that.

00:14:12.270 --> 00:14:13.192
The, oh, Michelle,

00:14:13.231 --> 00:14:14.231
you just hit on something.

00:14:14.831 --> 00:14:17.313
That's because technology,

00:14:18.594 --> 00:14:20.715
like with chat GPT or generative AI,

00:14:20.835 --> 00:14:22.816
once chat GPT made it easy

00:14:23.096 --> 00:14:24.856
for you to go in and type sentences,

00:14:24.937 --> 00:14:26.457
it just took off.

00:14:26.498 --> 00:14:29.178
It's not the technology itself was new,

00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:31.860
but it became accessible.

00:14:31.941 --> 00:14:33.361
And I feel the same way

00:14:33.381 --> 00:14:34.981
about these immersive experiences.

00:14:35.062 --> 00:14:35.763
In some ways,

00:14:36.363 --> 00:14:37.784
That does sound cool to be

00:14:37.845 --> 00:14:39.966
able to take a webinar

00:14:40.267 --> 00:14:42.429
because we still do attend webinars.

00:14:42.470 --> 00:14:44.172
We have those in rotation

00:14:44.552 --> 00:14:47.034
and make it more of an interactive,

00:14:47.075 --> 00:14:48.356
immersive experience.

00:14:48.657 --> 00:14:49.918
But how accessible is that?

00:14:49.977 --> 00:14:51.580
Is the technology just built

00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:53.022
into the things that we use?

00:14:53.062 --> 00:14:54.202
Can everybody use it?

00:14:54.243 --> 00:14:55.264
Or do you have to go...

00:14:56.024 --> 00:14:57.086
and spend fifteen hundred

00:14:57.125 --> 00:14:58.046
dollars on a pair of

00:14:58.106 --> 00:14:59.226
goggles to be able to

00:14:59.326 --> 00:15:00.668
access that that's not

00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:01.948
reasonable for our

00:15:02.089 --> 00:15:03.850
audiences and you know I

00:15:03.909 --> 00:15:06.052
think that adding immersion

00:15:06.072 --> 00:15:07.493
to some of the even

00:15:07.552 --> 00:15:08.813
in-person stuff could be a

00:15:08.833 --> 00:15:10.375
way to bridge the gap of

00:15:10.475 --> 00:15:11.515
you know like conference

00:15:11.556 --> 00:15:12.635
costs because that's always

00:15:12.696 --> 00:15:14.236
a big complaint from people

00:15:14.256 --> 00:15:15.317
is how much it costs to

00:15:15.378 --> 00:15:17.899
actually attend um but

00:15:17.940 --> 00:15:19.740
we're just not there so

00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:21.341
once the once it gets to a

00:15:21.402 --> 00:15:22.123
point where it's

00:15:22.702 --> 00:15:24.684
offered and it's easy and

00:15:24.725 --> 00:15:27.346
accessible to the masses,

00:15:27.426 --> 00:15:28.527
I think that we will see

00:15:28.547 --> 00:15:29.467
greater adoption.

00:15:29.508 --> 00:15:31.109
So I love that you brought

00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:31.828
that up because that's

00:15:31.849 --> 00:15:32.850
something for us too.

00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:33.230
It's like,

00:15:34.051 --> 00:15:35.991
you can be way ahead of time and

00:15:36.032 --> 00:15:36.952
you can invent something

00:15:36.972 --> 00:15:38.673
that one day is going to be

00:15:39.014 --> 00:15:41.196
so crazy useful and so popular,

00:15:41.716 --> 00:15:43.336
but sometimes you may be a

00:15:43.397 --> 00:15:44.197
little ahead of time and

00:15:44.238 --> 00:15:45.318
you have to be patient.

00:15:46.239 --> 00:15:47.159
You have to be patient

00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:48.380
enough to allow it to get

00:15:48.421 --> 00:15:49.902
there and for people to

00:15:50.042 --> 00:15:51.243
come along with you.

00:15:51.923 --> 00:15:53.326
yeah so true I don't know

00:15:53.365 --> 00:15:55.269
why do I think if we still

00:15:55.330 --> 00:15:57.913
went to the mall would one

00:15:57.953 --> 00:15:59.998
of the shops be an ar

00:16:00.038 --> 00:16:01.640
immersive experience store

00:16:01.721 --> 00:16:03.865
right come in and have an experience

00:16:04.678 --> 00:16:04.958
Yeah.

00:16:05.318 --> 00:16:07.139
They try to do that at our shows.

00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:08.340
And it's cool.

00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.500
Again, it's really cool in the moment.

00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:13.782
But, you know, are we just doing that?

00:16:13.922 --> 00:16:15.922
Has it become a part of our routines?

00:16:15.981 --> 00:16:18.883
And, you know, do we do it with... No,

00:16:18.962 --> 00:16:19.442
we don't.

00:16:19.543 --> 00:16:19.863
I mean,

00:16:20.504 --> 00:16:23.244
there's very limited exposure to AR.

00:16:23.364 --> 00:16:24.284
And I...

00:16:25.325 --> 00:16:26.725
I believe that if you talk

00:16:26.745 --> 00:16:28.126
to man on the street, you know,

00:16:28.206 --> 00:16:29.207
just man on the street

00:16:29.248 --> 00:16:30.469
interviews for Mike around,

00:16:30.908 --> 00:16:32.250
that probably most people

00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:34.390
wouldn't even really know what AR is.

00:16:34.831 --> 00:16:35.072
Right.

00:16:35.371 --> 00:16:36.272
That's true.

00:16:36.312 --> 00:16:37.373
So true.

00:16:37.413 --> 00:16:38.173
Well, hey,

00:16:38.234 --> 00:16:40.554
we hope that you are inspired by

00:16:40.615 --> 00:16:41.475
this episode,

00:16:41.535 --> 00:16:43.136
thinking about what could be,

00:16:43.177 --> 00:16:44.317
what's going to happen this year.

00:16:45.138 --> 00:16:46.058
And if you are,

00:16:46.119 --> 00:16:47.341
please do share this around.

00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:48.701
We would really appreciate that.

00:16:48.741 --> 00:16:51.124
Hit us up at soloprpro.com.

00:16:51.625 --> 00:16:52.525
Leave us a review.

00:16:52.566 --> 00:16:54.006
That would be super helpful too.

00:16:54.086 --> 00:16:54.988
Hit us up over on our

00:16:55.028 --> 00:16:57.671
YouTube channel and subscribe.

00:16:57.831 --> 00:16:59.091
All those good things.

00:16:59.493 --> 00:17:00.634
And until next time,

00:17:00.714 --> 00:17:02.696
thanks for listening to That's Solo Life.