April 27, 1998
I'm full of dopamine from a bike ride I just finished, so the next ten people to sign up for the ShankMinds: 2022 Virtual Conference on November 10th, get a free half hour of consulting time with me thrown in as a bonus! Not only do you get to hear from 12 of the most brilliant minds in every field ranging from Web 3 to PR toMarketing, Small Business to Fitness to Mental Health, but you to get to network with 100 other brilliant minds, AND you get a half hour one-on-one brainstorming session with me, whenever you want it! But sign up NOW - We're almost sold out! It's going to be an amazing day!
On April 27th, 1998, something interesting happened which may or may not have started to shift the balance of retail power in the world forever. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Do you know what Amazon's first slogan was? "Earth's Biggest Bookstore." Yup. Amazon's original mission was to sell books, and books alone. That's what Amazon was built to do.
I'll bet you a ticket to my Virtual Summit on November 10th that the last thing you bought from Amazon was NOT a book.
Anyway, on April 27th, 1998, Amazon, a company that "sold books on that thing called the Internet," acquired another obscure geeky company that listed every actor and actress and in what movies they played. That company was called IMDB. (Bet you didn't know Amazon owns IMDB.)
Why would a bookstore buy what was essentially a database company? Well, fast forward to today: Ever watch a movie on Amazon Prime? You can stop the movie or TV show at any time and click on any performer and get info on everything they've ever been in - with the option, of course, to purchase it right from Amazon.
Now - Did Jeff Bezos know that 25 years later the future would be streaming? I doubt it. BUT - He saw value in IMDB, for whatever reason he did. Yes, Amazon is a logistics company at heart - But it's also a personalized marketing company. If I'm watching Alias while on my Peloton and I see an obscure guest actor, I can immediately see what they've been in, and add it to my queue for my next bike ride. That (among other things) guarantees that I'll never stop paying for Amazon Prime. I'm too invested.
So I ask you today: What can you do with your company, with your job, with your entrepreneurial venture that may seem disconnected today - but could easily change the world tomorrow? Are you looking for the value? If not, can you change your perspective? You'd be amazed what you might see if you do.
Off to shower, I'm all Peloton-gross.
:)
-Peter
PS: If you're around at 11am Eastern time today, join me on my Facebook page - I'm interviewing John Snow, the founder of Victory Boxing, and a professional boxing trainer for the past 30 years, who has trained countless champions. We're going to take ten minutes and discuss what you can learn about business and life from being inside a boxing ring. John is also one of the speakers at my Virtual Summit on November 10th!
PPS: Sometimes, I feel bad for my daughter, who has to put up with her ADHD dad. 😂
Peter Shankman
That Peter Shankman. Skydiver, Ironman, HARO Founder, Dad. NYC and an Airplane.
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