There is so much to say about my incredible journey in 2011, it is hard to pick a highlight. There are certainly themes for the year; they center around growth, gratitude, and professional development. It looks like more of the same for 2012.
I will most likely be able to look back at this serendipitous year as a seminal one for me, thanks in large part to the undying support from my indescribable network of friends, family and colleagues. It was equal parts challenging, exhilarating, and satisfying.
On a professional level, it was the year of full transition to the field of digital marketing as a Digital Strategist. I had the opportunity to work with a wide-ranging collection of professionals in the B2B, B2C, agency and non-profit worlds. Their leaders have taught me so much.
On a personal level, the circle of life played itself out in poignant ways. New lives were brought into this world and milestones were celebrated, but we lost some great people who left things better than they found them. I think mostly of my children’s great grandmother, 93, who was such an inspiration.
In the technology world, it was never more crystalized this year than by the premature passing of Steve Jobs. He has been called many things, including the Thomas Edison of our age, and he is all of them. He helped to change the world and left an indelible impact.
We learned even more about his gifts after he was gone. I blogged about Jobs’ legacy and that post was a microcosm of how I had a small impact on the digital world.
Analytics for my blog show visits, visitors, and pageviews were up nearly 2.5 times the previous year’s levels. Visitors came from 63 countries and they spoke two dozen languages.
Those statistics show how much our world has changed, just in this millennium. I can reach thousands of people as a publisher, thanks to free platforms such as WordPress, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Google’s suite of products.
I got to meet and interact with some of my digital heroes in 2011: Doc Searls, Jeremiah Owyang, Jeff Pulver, Jay Baer, Jason Falls, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Ben Huh. I was maybe most touched by the inspirational speech of legendary basketball star Bill Walton and our brief meeting afterward.
I attended South by Southwest and had the privilege of moderating a panel at the #140 Conference when it came to my hometown of Vancouver, WA. It was a great year.
My theme for 2011 was “Digital is Everywhere.” We saw more consolidation of technology companies, the continued growth of social networks, the ongoing explosion of mobile and video. We are evolving toward the merge point that visionaries such as Jeremiah Owyang have been talking about: where Web, social, mobile, and platforms are seamless. Of course, it won’t stop there. We have no idea where it is going.
It looks like 2012 will be further points on that continuum: Brands will get smarter, marketers will get more real, and the core principles behind #occupy will move into the digital world. Watch for privacy and personal identity principles, such as those touted by the VRM movement, to gain greater traction as we become more digitally connected.
I personally can’t wait to see what 2012 has to offer. I say, “Auld Lang Syne!”
