"We're at a digital and human crossroads," according to Brian Solis, a digital analyst, anthropologist, and best-selling author. As an early geek apologist of Web 2.0 and social media, Solis saw digital Darwinism as a forcing function of humanity. Now he believes we have unwittingly become the problem we were trying to solve. After studying technology's evolution, the effects on business and society are undeniable - we f'd up. But it's not all our fault. By design, social media and personal devices were meant to suck us in. But, there were also unforeseen consequences as a result. We fell to the dark side. In this rousing and personal anthology, Brian (an eternal optimist) will share the history of how the disrupters became the devils and the opportunities for us to resurrect our idealism.

1. Brian Solis, Principal Analyst and Futurist
Altimeter, the digital analyst group at Prophet
@briansolis

7. Something went wrong…
Turns out, it was by design.

9. Left to our own devices…
If someone is left to their own
devices, they are not controlled
and can do what they want.

10. POSTING ABOUT PARENTING
SKILLS AND HOW MUCH THEY
CHERISH FAMILY TIME!
@briansolis

11. Likes Become a Social Currency:
We measure the value of
friendships based on something
as petty as likes

12. Al Margen Pagina
Camera.
Action.
Likes.
@briansolis

18. I post, therefore I am…With every action, we expect an equal or greater reaction…

19. Why don’t they follow me back!?

21. Selfie-Actualization

28. Selfie Actualization
The more we share about the way we see ourselves vs who we really
are, the more we become a facade of that person…not that person.

29. The Law of Accelerated
Selfie Disruption
As technology experiences exponential growth, so does its
impact on our societal norms and cultural beliefs

40. YouTube autoplays and suggests videos within
seconds, robbing you of time.
Snapchat turns conversations into moments, stripping away
depth from interactions that define relationships.
Instagram glorifies the picture-perfect life and affects our self-
esteem and happiness.
Facebook is polarizing relationships, turning communities into echo
chambers and isolating relationships.

41. Your home screen is
designed to take away
moments of self-reflection,
critical thinking, and
consciousness.
#IntermittentVariableRewards

43. Addiction is about soothing
psychological distress. It's
using something to cope
with a problem in life.

44. Meet Generation-C
People look at their phones 1,500x each week.
They spend 177 minutes on their phone per day.

45. Technology has hijacked our minds and society.
Harder to Disconnect
Increased stress
More anxiety
Less sleep
Lower self-esteem
Reduced empathy
Diminished thinking
Reduced inputs

46. “It’s a race to the bottom of the brain stem.
Getting people’s attention at all costs.”
- Tristan Harris

47. “Netflix’s biggest
competitor is sleep.”

48. “We use AI and neuroscience to
increase your usage...make apps more
persuasive…it's not an accident. It's a
conscious design decision. We're
designing minds. The biggest tech
companies in the world are always
trying to figure out how to juice people.”
Ramsay Brown COO Dopamine Labs

51. “Monologue has given way to dialog.”2007
2018 “Dialog has given way to echo chambers.”
2018/9 “Echo chambers become movements.”

52. “When I want to help my
friends see politics in a new
light, I post my POV on
Facebook. Works every
time!”
- Said no one ever

53. “Sometimes when I want to
help my friends see politics in
a new light, I post my POV on
Facebook. Works every time!”
- Said no one ever

54. Truth is open to interpretation
Facts are debatable now.

55. Remember the good ole days of “Fake News?”

61. Social Media can connect
governments with people and
people with representatives to
build an informed, engaged and
collaborative community and
movements for good.

62. “We don’t see the
world as it is, we see
the world as we are.”

63. “Mic chanced upon the social justice
narrative, discovered it was Facebook gold,
and mined away.” One former staffer
revealed that Mic learned you could
“commodify people’s feelings” for clicks
earlier than most other online publications.

65. THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

71. The Influence Graph

73. #FAKENEWS
#IGNORANCE
#BOTS
#THEALGORITHM

74. p.s. there’s hope.

76. Regain Your Independence
Everything starts with you.

79. Better posture
Deeper friendships
Meaningful conversations
Improved memory
New perspectives
Focus

81. “Mindfulness is the outcome of building
skills and strengthening the mind and
body in the right place. We strengthen
the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the
brain associated with attention, planning,
and goal setting. We also train in
deepening self-awareness, self-
management, communication,
motivation, and empathy.”
- Laurie J. Cameron, author “The Mindful Day: Practical Ways to Find Focus,
Calm, and Joy from Morning to Evening

83. Control the narrative.
Be a beacon for truth.

84. What you do and say online
resonates with your strong ties and
reverberates across networks to
inspire movements. Use it for good.
#NetworkEffect

85. Social CapitalReciprocity
Trust
Relationships
Persistent
Consistent
Benevolent
Actions
Voice
The Currency of Social Media
Assistive

86. In the end, we are all
just humans seeking
others like us to share
experiences, learn,
grow, love and leave
our mark on the world.

87. In a sea of uncertainty and
noise, be the source of…
Value
Energy
Help
Guidance
Laughter
Relief
Engagement
Validation
Hope

89. SEEK THE TRUTH
SPEAK THE TRUTH
EVEN IF YOUR VOICE SHAKES
EVEN IF YOU FEEL ALONE
IT INSPIRES OTHERS TO RISE
TOGETHER, WE BRING CHANGE
@briansolis

90. Brian Solis
bsolis@prophet.com
Altimeter Group, a Prophet Company
briansolis.com | @briansolis
Linkedin.com/influencer/briansolis | Facebook.com/thebriansolis