SHAMELESS PROMOTION ALERT: I dislike it as much as you do, but I want you to know that I will be talking about myself and my company in this post. Please close the page right now if you don't want to find out about the coolest new digital agency in LA. Otherwise read on and enjoy my most recent "2 cents" about the economy, the digital world and my mission:

Reality check: we are stuck in a Keynesian-style public economy where there continues to be opportunity for more DIY experts, jack of all trades and overall mediocrity than ever before. At the same time we are experiencing a demand-driven, private funding market where great ideas married to decent development and design, with 10,000+ "unique's" a month gets you lot's of attention and $1MM in Angel cash. Absolute craziness. Just ask the British economic historian Robert Skidelsky. He released a book around this time last year about the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes In it, he explains the rise and fall of Keynes's philosophies starting in the late 1930's and its ongoing relevance throughout history, particularly following the start of the present day global financial crisis. Now you might be thinking: "is he one of those know-it-all writers who hopped on the recession bandwagon to inject misinformation into our brains?" No, think again. His three volume biography on Keynes's took over 20 years to be fully released and although the first volume wasn't outwardly recognized, the later two were awarded arguably the 6 most prestigious English writing prizes in the UK - maybe the Brits in charge had to warm up to him first. Either way, he is currently Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick, England, a director of the Moscow School of Political Studies, founder and executive secretary of the UK/Russia Round Table, chairman of the Centre for Global Studies and recently joined the Advisory Board of the Institute of New Economic Thinking. So you probably believe that he knows what he's talking about, but why does this matter?

Well, I'm not a developer, I'm a sales and marketing guy. Throughout my experiences, I realized that to have a great product means nothing if you don’t market it as a great product and offer key benefits in the process. That’s why I believe marketing and sales still run the world, if and when they are done right. However, over the last 12 months, everything has changed. The online digital world has started to collide with the offline real world in ways that I never dreamed of when I first "signed on" to AOL using a dial-up connection and heard those all-too-familiar modem sounds connect me to the magical “world wide web.” And that was only a couple years ago! Now, with a click of a button, connections are made all over the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Marketing is now about being found easier, and making a bold impression once you are found. Word of mouth now extends to social media, video, blogs and beyond. My mission is to help people connect the dots and intelligently brand their business in a way that sets them apart from their competition, all while building a personal connection. I use Wordpress for sites, research tools for SEO, aggregation for social media and SaaS/platforms for everything else. I do this because I have respect for the engineers, developers and designers who continuously pump hours into companies they believe in, to create magnificent software services that enhance our lives.

Oh, and one other thing: I talk to people. I know it's old school but despite my previous statement there is still an overwhelming sense of human nature that is being bombarded and suppressed by digital overload in our personal, professional and entertainment lives. I don't know about you but just managing my own digital properties, social media accounts, email accounts and blogs is much more than a full-time job. Digging through a daily barrage of information is wasting time and fragmenting our lives more than ever before. Let's be honest. If we can’t find, understand and experience a taste of what we want in less than 30 seconds, then our money and time is being spent elsewhere. That's a shame, but it's the truth. Add to that a learning curve for many of the so-called DIY or self-service platforms out there and you have a perfect storm. That is why I have officially launched Rockstar Digital, an agency for building and managing the best mobile apps powered by Mobile Roadie and digital marketing campaigns powered by Topspin, you have ever experienced. I’m doing this because I love art and it's everyday impact on people but also because most of my success was initiated by listening and learning from the best. They have taught me more than I could ever learn in a classroom. No offense Skidelsky, I know you are a University man, but I would have never known about Keynes uncanny connection to modern economic history, without your book. I tip my hat to the internet for bringing me a gem of knowledge and to you for you're honest delivery of the facts mixed intelligently with theory. That's what the new digital age is all about. For those who embrace it, it's an exciting time of change, development and rapid adoption. For those who remain consciously clueless, the next 12-24 months will be a long, hard and frustrating road.

With that said, remember to keep things simple when producing content but know your facts and know your source. Make honest decisions when choosing where to distribute so that your campaign doesn't fall on deaf ears. And lastly, create marketing that interprets your passion and connects with your target audience in a natural, unbiased way. It seems idealistic, but when you break it down, it's very easy compared to what you could be distracted into doing after spending 15 minutes on a couple of random 'how-to" blogs. Be real. That's all I ask. Let's start taking control of our lives and contribute positively to our environment rather than adding to the madness. Let's bring balance back. It might take a while, but the light at the end of the tunnel will be worth the journey if we all work together to become "rockstars" in our digital and human lives.