A Note from a Reader of Pull
June 16, 2010
Don’t forget: I’ll be at #SemTech next week and will give a keynote speech at 08:30 on Thursday, June 24th. Come!
I got this in my in-box the other day. People often think authors don’t want to hear from readers directly, but I can tell you that in nonfiction it’s not true. We love getting emails from readers. It’s been about 10 years since I got a “you changed my life” email, so I thought I would share this (with permission of the author):
David,
There’s a particular feeling one experiences when standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. The first is reverence. That something so enormous and beautiful could have been carved by water and time is mind numbing. The second sensation is utter calm. It urges you to let go of the handrail, run with all your might towards the edge and
jump.
I’ve just finished reading Pull. Before me spans a vast, beautiful landscape. Only this time, it’s not the past I’m looking at, but the future… A future of possibilities that will be defined by the individual decisions and collective behaviors of mere men. And it’s charging towards us like a torrent of water. I want to be a part of that future. Now.
For 13 years I’ve been designing integrated media solutions for companies who want to extend their brands. Only lately, the self-serving monologue of traditional branding has been hijacked by the Social Web. Few understand it (fully). Most are scared shitless of it. But almost universally, everyone seems to be missing the big picture.
The future lies in the hands of the collective, not the privileged few. The Social Web was only the beginning. The Semantic Web (and the Web OS) are what will change people and cultures forever… precisely because no one will have absolute control over anything. For once, men and woman will learn how to “share and play nice with others” for the common good.
In my world, that means branding is no longer a speech, but a conversation. It means that business will have to let go of their silo-mentality and embrace the users who are actually shaping and defining their precious brands in real time. It means that history will be co-authored by every single one of us—not just a bunch of middle-aged white dudes in suits.
Your book has radically changed my thinking about almost everything (from a business perspective, at least). For that, I wanted to say, “thank you.” However, I also wanted to say, “is there anything I can do to help?”
I don’t know how. All I know is that I want to be involved. Somehow. In short, I’m ready to
jump.
If you ever have a need for a guy like me, just holler.
Aaron Thornburgh
@MindforDesign (follow him!)
