Look for the tipping point

Opportunities and threats arise because of change.  So a job of a strategic thinker is to look for impending change and to act based on its expected effects.

In a recent discussion, concern was voiced that with newspapers and other print media in trouble and some disappearing, people's ability to make themselves heard in our society is being limited.

That's certainly a concern, but thinking further about the current environment and trends shows that millions of people are spending significant parts of their day tweeting, blogging, emailing, posting videos, making friends on Facebook, getting Linked In, etc., etc.

While much of this communication may be banal and fleeting, through the Internet people do have more and more ability to make themselves heard.

Just a guess, but have we reached a tipping point?  Has the paradigm now changed to the point where traditional print media no longer are relevant in the way they once were, to be replaced by a tidal wave of electronic community communication?

This new paradigm is a threat to newspapers, to be sure.  But it's an opportunity for many, as well.  Here's one idea:  How about syndicated news services for blogs?  Heck, they probably exist already, so how about a service helping connect syndicated news services with bloggers?

Tipping point = paradigm shift = opportunity (or threat).  Look for it!