Over one kilometre
Mankind's ability to invent and use tools to improve our efficiency has always been our source of power. The internet is just the latest major manifestation of this ability.
Back in the 1970s, a study was done comparing the efficiency of locomotion for various species, measuring the amount of energy each expended over the course of a kilometre.
The condor, with its massive wing span and ability to leverage pockets of warm air, came out on top as the most energy-efficient of the horde.
Humans appeared about a third of the way down the list. That was, until we hopped on a bicycle.
The efficiency with which we can cover a kilometre on a bike outperforms not only the condor, but other modes of transportation like the car or plane (see figure 1). It's one hell of an invention.
A young Steve Jobs saw this study and made a comparison between the bicycle's impact on our ability to move and the computer's impact on our mind. The computational advantage we gain from using a computer relative to the energy required to wield one is revolutionary.
Following on from the computer, the greatest innovation to transform human efficiency has been the Internet. Suddenly, endless volumes of information and opportunities to build relationships lay at our fingertips.
We've reached the point where the ease and consequent pace of activity has become overwhelming. From communicating in GIFs to our voice controlled home assistants, people are experiencing new ways of communicating at dizzying rates, all of which spawned from online connectivity.
Kids in their bedrooms now get video viewerships traditional networks can only dream of. Amateur bloggers draw crowds that pro writers struggle to touch. Crudely drawn cartoons affect the outcome of major elections.
The world is being constantly turned upside down and the opportunities are limited only by our imaginations...
…so what do we as marketers do with it?