Is Innovation In The Fitness And Wellness Industries Lacking ?

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In thinking about innovation in fitness and wellness, I sometimes get frustrated. It amazes me, for example, that so many leaders in the wellness and fitness industries don't even know what Google Health is or actually oppose social media marketing out of fear of what their members or clients will post.

I realize that there is some great innovation going on, but with many health club and fitness facility operators, innovation seems very limited. Obesity continues to rise and the number of people participating in fitness and wellness continues to be stagnant. Why isn't innovation in wellness and fitness happening as quickly as it could be ? I think it might be a function of the industry environment. Are there enough quality exchanges between thinking professionals about what the real problems and opportunities are ? Steven Johnson recently wrote Where Good Ideas Come From, The Natural History Of Innovation. According to Steve, great innovations need time to incubate and they need to collide with other hunches. They require great collaboration. Watch his video below as he explains how environment can create greater opportunities for innovation and further explores the issues of innovation in general.

Please let me, Bryan O'Rourke, know your thoughts about innovation in fitness and wellness. Do you think there are great opportunities that aren't being realized fast enough ? Do you think innovation is lacking in the fitness industry or in the wellness industry and why ? How could we create a better environment for innovation in our industry ?

Zeitgeist Of Fitness

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The spirit of the time or of the age - the zeitgeist. What is the spirit of our time relative to fitness I wonder ? Now with Google's Zeitgeist tool, you can know what is the spirit of the time is by category based on what people are searching for. Here's the graph for Les Mills in 2010 worldwide as an example. Very cool.

 

As our culture has moved online, I wonder, how is the Internet and connectivity affecting humans ? Is it bringing us closer together ? I like Google's Zeitgeist 2010 video. Watch it below and tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think ? Is the Internet raising human awareness ?

Social Media In The Fitness Industry

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Check out Robert Cappuccio, of PTA Global and PT On The Net, as he interviews me on Social Media at IHRSA 2011 in San Francisco. What do you think about social media in the fitness industry ? Let me, Bryan O'Rourke, know your thoughts. What is working for you ? I'll be presenting on the topic at FILEX 2011 this year. Hope to see you there.

Augmented Reality - Technology Is Remaking Business

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The digital and physical worlds continue to merge. As the adoption of the Internet hits its apex, more mobile and other devices become connected at higher speeds to the web and as applications deliver interesting ways for people to benefit from the convergence of these and other mobile technology trends, augmented reality is going to become more mainstream.

The implications to organizations and business models are significant.  Health, fitness and wellness business, which I write about, will experience increasing impacts from the application of these unique augmented reality solutions, many of which are going to be unanticipated.

Check out this application platform, Layar . Layar is a mobile platform for discovering information about the world around you. Using Augmented Reality (AR) technology, Layar displays digital information called “layers” in a user’s field of vision through their mobile device. Watch the video to see what I mean.

So what do you think ? Have you tried mobile augmented applications ? Let me, Bryan O'Rourke, know what you think. What will augemented reality mean for the fitness and health club business ?

The Economics Of Aging

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You've probably heard the news: Many of the nations of Europe are literally shrinking in population. In fact in Italy today 60% of children do not have a sibling, aunt, cousin or uncle: only parents, grand parents and or great grand parents. Birth rates are inadequate to sustain these populations, which are getting much older. This will pose great challenges for businesses and organizations that have traditionally relied on households of families as the largest group of customers. There is no doubt that the percentage of these are declining and further more that India and Africa will be the biggest contributors to world population growth in the coming decades. What are the implications ? They are significant. Check out the Nieslen research deck "The Aging Globe" below and think about it. Are you preparing for a future customer base that is older than the one you have now ? What are the implications to the health club business and to wellness in general ? I think they are significant. Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share your views on The Aging Globe.

The Aging Globe