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Wal-Mart: A Victory Lap and Some Cold Water

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Well I’m feeling flush with excitement.  First I got it kinda right on 3D printing, and now there’s another case where you’ll need to check my ego: Wal-Mart seems to be obviously moving forward with e-Commerce.   Awhile ago I suspected Wal-Mart could indeed “go geeky”, so I’ll consider this a partial victory.

In short, Wal-Mart clearly has to move with the times to have a presence in e-Commerce, and is clearly doing it.  I’d add that when you throw on it’s mobile investments, Silicon Valley skunkworks, and Vudu, it can play pretty big.

But since I first speculated on what Wal-Mart can do, I think their reputation has gotten worse.  I’m no fan of Wal-Mart at all, so consider my bias pre-announced, but I think that people think even less of them than they did a few years ago.

So here’s where I see a potential issue: Wal-Mart’s reputation can affect their ability to move forward.  I present this, of course, for analysis.

First, there’s a recruiting issue.  I know plenty of people who won’t even go into a Wal-Mart, so how many are going to want to work for them?  Not sure how a big of a dent this’ll put into potential talent, but I’m sure the dent is there.

Also keep this in mind – working at Wal-Mart puts that on people’s resumes.  How many people who would work for Wal-Mart would not do so due to what others may think.

Secondly, there’s the competitor issue.  Yes, Wal-Mart has a huge “install base,” but it also has penny of people gunning for it directly (Target, Amazon) as well as indirectly (virtually everyone else).  All it takes is an alliance between several ornery competitors to give Wal-Mart some pain.

Third, I think Wal-Mart may be at a demographic disadvantage.  I’m not sure how well their current demographic is going to adapt to a more high-tech Wal-Mart, and what kind of heavy e-commerce base they can count on.  I’m not sure, frankly.

Fourth, back to reputation.  Wal-Mart has a repetitional weakness that competitors, issue #2, could probably use against them.  If you think others won’t get nasty, think again – especially considering Wal-Mart could be a serious threat to them.

So quick summary of this:

  • I think Wal-Mart is moving forward.
  • I think competitors will use Wal-Mart’s reputation issues against them, and in some cases they won’t have to try.  It could lead to some very strange bedfellows.
  • If Wal-Mart gets highly aggressive, this is going to be really interesting.  I suspect they’re going to go for gradual evolution instead – far easier.

Could be a very interesting time in the Geekonomy.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

How 3D Printing Is Moving Forward

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As you have may seen on our Twitter feed, Staples is going to have in-store 3D Printers.

This isn’t one of the plastic thread printers I usually talk about because they’re well known and my friends have them.  They’re MCor’s IRIS printer (http://www.mcortechnologies.com/products/iris/) which actually uses colored, glued, and cut paper.  It’s basically making things out of faux colored wood.  At least appearance-wise these things can be more advanced than your home 3d printer with single or two colors of plastic.

Awhile ago I noted that 3D printing could spread like Print On Demand.  I noted that a store like Lowes or Home Depot could have a 3D printer, much as CVS had made a POD deal with Kodak.  I guess it arrived – though as opposed to doing 3D printing while I get PVC pipe, I’ll get it while checking out some awesome folders.

In short, I’d like to do a victory lap for predicting this could happen – then get down to the repercussions of it.

I was mostly right!

OK, not an overly satisfying victory lap.  So let’s move on – what does this mean, in my expert opinion.

PROMINENCE: This is pretty prominent.  People go to Staples for all sorts of things, which you can tell because of Staple’s at-times oddball selections.  They do a lot and serve a lot of needs, so many people are going to get to exposed to 3D Printing.  This will probably accelerate acceptance.

CONTEXT: I predicted that 3D printing would first appear in more hardware-oriented contexts, or perhaps be something CVS piled onto.  I was wrong here, but the context is interesting.  People will be exposed to 3D printing in more of an office/professional/utility context.  I think this means it will be seen as more a media/creative/business tool than as a hardware/goods tool if there’s widespread public exposure.

COMPETITION: I don’t know how well this will work, and I’m kind of easily distracted by how cool it is.  If it is a success, then you can expect others to copy it (I’m looking at you, Office Max).  What we want to monitor is if it’s rational adaption or bandwagon-jumping.

COMPETITION THE SECOND: If this works out you think other companies making (or wanting to make) 3D printers won’t jump on the bandwagon?  I expect the bandwagon has a lot of room.

OPPORTUNITIES: This still presents opportunities for people who will work with the 3D printers, those who maintain them, and those who install and teach on them.  At least if this works out – might be something to pay attention too.  You may want to start putting 3D Printing on that resume . . .

LEGAL ISSUES: Oh, you just imagine the ways people will try to keep 3D printers from printing things that are of dubious legal nature.  I note this in general, but we’re probably going to hear more of it.

MEDIA PROMINENCE: I want to watch how people react in the greater media to this – if at all.  It could bring 3D printing into greater prominence, and in a positive way, unlike the edgy issues of 3D Printed guns.

This is a big step forward in 3D printing, my geeks.  Pay attention.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Media Adaptions, Books, And Why We Don’t Really Know Much

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On his own blog, Serdar noted that in a way books aren’t being written as books anymore, they’re parts of franchises and larger efforts.  In turn, some books aren’t being thought of as books because of this – they’re franchises, or works that are made to transition over, or something else.

We discuss a lot of media transitions here, especially adaptions, which Scott has done a heroic job covering.  Those are important in the Geekonomy as they drive efforts and affect geek culture.  However one thing rarely discussed is that this is a comparatively new phenomena, and one we’re only now exploring as it’s new.

Right now things can go from book to TV, from video game to movie, from comic to game, from  . . . well you get the idea.  Merely looking at the ever-expanding media empire that is Star Wars, or the way “The Avengers” succeeded against all odds, gives you an idea of how far media translations and transformations can go.  It’s almost normal now to discuss what actor will play who in a film or what anime would be great as an adaption.

It just hasn’t been normal for most of human history.

How many movie or television adaptions only became viable when computer technology and special effects reached enough of a pinnacle to actually make them believable.

How many adaptions only exist because of chance-taking like HBO’s Game of Thrones that wouldn’t have taken chances a decade ago?

How many television shows, books, or comic adaptions wouldn’t have existed just due to cultural issues in the past

For that matter, so much technology we take for granted didn’t exist decades or a century ago.  I rather imagine radio adaptions seemed somehow radical at the time . . .

Then of course go back 200 years and 99% of what we discuss about adaptions is moot.  Your biggest worry was probably how well the play went or getting a certain book.  Hardly comparable to “Is Benedict Cumberbatch going to make a good Smaug?” being a big concern for people.

(The answer by the way, is yes).

So when we discuss adaptions, when we discuss what it means for culture or economics, we have to remember this really is new.  We have to remember that this is new in human history, in a serious new way.  We don’t have many models, we don’t have previous experiences, we don’t have a lot to extrapolate directly from.

We’re in new territory here, so when we discuss economics, careers, etc. there’s not a lot to go on.  Accepting that is going to make dealing with these crazy times and options easier, as we don’t have to delude ourselves to our level of knowledge.

We don’t have much.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.