New decade, new thinking: Jason Knight's valuable lessons for 2011

That was the fundamental argument of Jason Knight, Brand Activation strategic planning director, as he unpacked his 'New Decade, New Thinking' presentation on Friday, 28 January 2011, at the headquarters of Ogilvy South Africa in Bryanston.

"Need to look at the past"

"If we look at the future, we will see that there is no relativity. Therefore, we need to look at the past and we will see where we come from and how things have quickly changed," Knight told the audience.

"Now that the fridge can buy milk online and our Internet penetration has tripled - over six million people have access to the Internet in SA - and we have over 50 million cellphones, and Google touches 300 million people's lives every day with its two billion searches every day, coupled with 106 million people following tweets and counting, what is next?" asked Knight.

"Either we create a participatory economy with a genuine chance of a better life of all, or we face the possibility of a civil war caused by the gross imbalances of our society," Knight said, foreseeing a potential threat to society's stability.

He urged nations to broaden the economy to include all communities. "Otherwise, we could run the risk of an uprising," he said, perhaps referring to recent events in Tunisia and Egypt where thousands of enraged people, helped by social media tools, have been raging a war on their corrupt, tyrannical and greedy leaders.

Expect a revolution

If the masses are alienated, expect a revolution, he pointed out, quoting from German philosopher Karl Marx.

Knight said the African Union's failure to place a lot of emphasis on good governance has been hurting the continent's social and economic progress. It is believed that more than 80% of people in Africa live in dire poverty, mostly surviving on less than US$1 per day.

As the world's population is set to reach seven billion in 10 years' time, mostly driven by China and India's populations' explosion, some economists, including the UK's Thomas Malthus, predict that the world could experience a scarcity of resources if food production does not keep up.

"That was the prophecy we are still living with today. We cannot keep plundering resources the way we are doing now," Knight warned.

No more green-washing

"We will continue to question the system as we face a serious and environmental crisis," he said, adding that there should be no more green-washing. "Stricter controls and guidelines ensure that manufacturers touting a product as 'green' or 'eco-friendly' will have to link those claims to specific attributes, for example 100% percent recyclable package."

Furthermore, as the quest to find a healthy balance with technology gains momentum, Knight said the moderation of technology is starting to become important, and people are looking for ways to align their priorities.

"People are starting to look at the bigger picture with technology. We are constantly communicating yet making fewer connections. We have a diminished capacity for solitude. What impact does it have on a relationship? What precedent are we setting?" he wondered.