The Coming Social Media Explosion In Fitness & Wellness

The socialization of the web  and even Internet search is upon us. While Social Media has been the buzz (you know I hate that term) for the past few years the next few years are going to be softer as players figure out the ROI. Then, as a result of technologies and consumer adoption, it will explode. If you don't believe that view watch this clip from Gary Vaynerchuk, author of the Thank You Economy as he explains details.

Let me, Bryan O'Rourke, know your thinking on this. Do you think Social Media, Alternative Media, will explode in a big way from 2013-2015 ? Do you have a plan for how this is going to impact your business ? How will it affect the fitness and wellness industry ?

Is Innovation In The Fitness And Wellness Industries Lacking ?

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

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

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

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 ?