Ronald Reagan was known as “The Great Communicator.” Barrack Obama will have a similar legacy. Agree with him or not, the man is a powerful communicator which gives him and his party a tremendous advantage in selling ideas. Barrack leveraged technology and social media to extend his reach to his audience. Blog posts mentioning Barrack outnumbered his opponent 3 to 1. Barrack had 24 times the followers on Twitter than McCain, which means Barrack had a much more engaged and energized constituency. As noted by Phil Ayres, Barrack’s vision and leadership played a large part in mobilizing his supporters (you can’t have influence with people if they don’t trust you). But vision and leadership aside, he leveraged technology to spread his message at historical levels. And this trend will continue…

Traditionally, the president gives a weekly radio address to the nation. If you happen to be standing next to a radio when he gives the address, or when it’s played back, you get to hear it. Personally, I’ve never heard a single radio address…I don’t listen to talk radio. I’ve heard clips played back, but I’ve never heard the full thing. Now, Obama announced he’ll do his weekly updates via YouTube. What does this mean? It means that people will now subscribe to his weekly messages and play them back at their own convenience. It means millions more people will have Obama staring them in the eye each week. It means Obama will be able to make the hard sells to the American people to get things done, much like Reagan did. It also confirms that traditional television is no longer the primary medium for spreading news and ideas. Pure genius. I really don’t agree with his world view and a lot of his policy objectives, but I admire his intelligence and style. Technology is changing everything…politics, business, social life, everything.

In the pre-internet age, television was best suited to reach a large audience. Marketers had an idea of where people would be sitting (in front of the tube) and could guess at the programs their target audience was watching. It was/is a very impersonal, top-down exchange of information.

Now the rules have changed…dramatically! Instead of creating ads that are acceptable by everyone and offensive to no one, companies leverage powerful tools to reach specific audiences. Instead of marketing to everyone, smart companies like Activision are zeroing their focus on people that talk, spread the message, and do the marketing for them. Introduce the message and let the consumers bounce it around.

The below video is a brilliant example! It’s had over 1.3 million views in less than a week. If I were a Guitar Hero fan, I’d be sharing this with my teenage buddies. The ad is inappropriate for mainstream, but it’s just right for Activision (and cheap). If GH is cool enough for Heidi Klum to play in her underwear, it’s pretty cool, period! And if you find the video offensive, don’t worry, they’re not talking to you.

It seems as though even the movie business will be disrupted by flattening forces in technology. YouTube recently opened up its “screening room” to show full-length motion pictures. Sure, people will always prefer the big screen over their computer monitors, but imagine for a second… In the not so distant future, TVs will come preloaded with internet capabilities. Instead of spending a fortune at the theater watching flicks designed to appeal to large audiences, people will flip their wrists and select movies that match their unique personal tastes. Think Netflix on steroids…

The internet introduced the concept of the Long Tail, which basically means technology enables people to earn a living by servicing small, obscure markets. In the past, musicians had no choice…it was either sell your stuff at Wal-Mart or starve to death. Since there is limited shelf space, the trick was to create mega-hits that appealed to everyone. Not the case anymore. There may not be much demand for Crystal Method in each city, but if you aggregate the Crystal Meth fans, there’s a sizable market. The internet has/is connecting these remote markets. If you’re relevant to a target audience, you’re in business.

And now movies… There will always be the mega hits, but now there seems to be opportunities for community-driven entertainment. I’m not a movie-guy, but if I was one, I’d be assembling a community of like-minded, passionate people and start collecting ideas on a next film. I’d earn a living serving this community, leading, gathering information, and producing relevant entertainment.

The tidal wave of innovation will soon hit the legal profession. As a lawyer, will you be the equivalent of the Blockbuster enthusiast saying “I’ll always want to drive to the store to rent movies” or will you be on the lookout for innovative ways to save money and produce results for your next generation, internet-spoiled, highly sophisticated clients?