Robert Salkowitz
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert Louis Salkowitz (born April 28, 1967, Philadelphia, PA) is an author, educator and
consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...
whose work focuses on the social and business impact of technology innovation. He is the author/co-author of four books and has written extensively for business publications including Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur and others on topics including generational change in the workplace, the impact of tech entrepreneurship in emerging economies, and the future of media and entertainment.


Generation Blend

Salkowitz’s first book, ''Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap'', was published in 2008 by John Wiley and Sons. It looked at ways that different generational cohorts –
Silent Generation The Silent Generation, also known as the Traditionalist Generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Greatest Generation and preceding the Baby Boomers. The Silent Generation is generally defined as people born from 1928 to 1945. ...
,
Baby Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. Th ...
,
Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
and
Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
– learn and use information technology in the workplace. According to one reviewer, the book “presents, for the first time as far as I can tell, comprehensive and objective (though somewhat unsystematic) analyses of why each generation is the way it claims to be (to the extent that it is that way), and how those attitudes translate to work behaviors.” Referencing a wide range of data sources covering demographics, technology adoption rates, workplace sociology and the lessons of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) around the learning styles of older adults, Generation Blend sought to offer organizations guidance on how to attract, retain, motivate and empower workers of all generations in a business environment of technology-mediated collaboration, instant communication, and transparency.


Young World Rising

''Young World Rising: How Youth, Technology and Entrepreneurship are Changing the World from the Bottom Up'' (Wiley, 2010) examined the impact of startups employing new
information technologies Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
such as
cloud computing Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...
and mobile devices in
emerging economies An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...
in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Salkowitz profiled twelve entrepreneurial organizations of various types, from shoestring startups to non-profits to successful enterprises, observing how these businesses successfully created social and economic value in resource-poor environments. Some of the organizations and individuals profiled include Suhas Gopinath (Globals, Inc.),
Bright Simons Bright Simons is a Ghanaian social innovator, entrepreneur, writer, social and political commentator. He is the vice-president, in charge of research at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education. He is also the founder and president of mPedigree. Ed ...
(mPedigree),
Ory Okolloh 300px, Okolloh in 2006 Ory Okolloh (or Ory Okolloh Mwangi) is a Kenyan activist, lawyer, and blogger. She is Director of Investments at Omidyar Network. She was formerly the Policy Manager for Africa with Google. In 2007, Okolloh co-created ''Ush ...
and
Erik Hersman Erik Hersman (born 1975) is a technologist, blogger and commentator who specialises in the impact and application of technology throughout Africa. Raised in Sudan and Kenya, he is a graduate of Kenya's Rift Valley Academy and Florida State Univers ...
(
Ushahidi Ushahidi is an open source software application which utilises user-generated reports to collate and map data. It uses the concept of crowdsourcing serving as an initial model for what has been coined as "activist mapping" - the combination o ...
), the founders of Globant, executives at
Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Ba ...
, and
Herman Chinery-Hesse Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse (born 1963) is a Ghanaian technology entrepreneur and the founder of theSOFTtribe, the oldest and largest software company in Ghana. He is popularly known as the Bill Gates of Africa. Chinery-Hesse also made the list of ...
. In the book, Salkowitz “analyzes and highlights several case studies that shed light on how a nexus of youth, technology and entrepreneurship are changing development processes throughout the globe” and identified key principles of entrepreneurial success in emerging markets and lessons that startups in developed countries could learn from these next-generation businesses. Through 2010-2012, Salkowitz wrote and spoke extensively on the themes of Young World Rising. He later offered a collection of interviews and supplementary materials as an ebook called ''Young World Shinin''g.


Comic Con and the Business of Pop Culture

Salkowitz’s best-known work, ''Comic Con and the Business of Pop Culture: What the World’s Wildest Trade Show Can Tell Us About the Future of Entertainment'', came out June 2012 from McGraw-Hill. The book used Salkowitz’s experiences at the 2011
San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
as a template for discussing trends in marketing, entertainment, media, publishing and other businesses. In the book, he forecast a number of developments in the comics and entertainment industry, including the rise of
digital comics Digital comics (also known as electronic comics,Ian Hague, ''Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels'', Routledge, 2014, ch. 2: "Sight, or, the Ideal Perspective and the Physicality of Seeing". eComics, e-comi ...
distribution as a significant market force, the increasing emphasis on
transmedia Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. From a producti ...
story universes as a dominant mode of commercial storytelling, and the mainstreaming of fan culture and fan conventions. Salkowitz coined the term “Peak Geek” to describe the moment when previously niche nerd interests like superheroes, video games and fantasy fully saturate popular culture. In May, 2012, Salkowitz delivered a talk at TEDx Fort Wayne entitled “Transmedia in the Hour of the Nerd.” Since the book’s publication, he has written, spoken and appeared extensively in the media to discuss the rise of comic culture and conventions.


Other work

Salkowitz was a founding partner in the Seattle-based marketing firm MediaPlant from 1999-2016, and has worked as a strategic consultant for companies including HP and
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
. From 2003-2007, he participated in a strategic planning process that resulted in Microsoft’s vision of the “New World of Work.” That project and the
scenario planning Scenario planning, scenario thinking, scenario analysis, scenario prediction and the scenario method all describe a strategic planning method that some organizations use to make flexible long-term plans. It is in large part an adaptation and gener ...
methodology that the team employed is explored in Listening to the Future (Wiley, 2009), which Salkowitz co-authored with Daniel W. Rasmus. Since 2016, he has maintained his own consulting practice, RS Associates, Inc. With Brian O'Roark, University Professor of Economics at
Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 b ...
in Pittsburgh, Salkowitz co-edited and contributed to ''Superheroes and Economics: The Shadowy World of Capes, Cowls, and Invisible Hands','' published by
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
as part of their Popular Culture Series in 2018. Salkowitz has written for many publications including Forbes and Fast Company. He is credited with being the first to forecast the rise of the anti-diversity backlash " Comicsgate" movement in a story published in
ICv2 ''ICv2'' is an online trade magazine that covers geek culture for retailers. ''ICv2s main areas of focus are comic books, anime, gaming, and show business products. The site offers news, reviews, analysis, and sales information for retailers an ...
in November, 2014. In 2015, he conducted an important survey of the fan event industry for
Eventbrite Eventbrite is an American event management and ticketing website. The service allows users to browse, create, and promote local events. The service charges a fee to event organizers in exchange for online ticketing services, unless the event is f ...
that estimated the economic impact of comic and gaming conventions at more than $4 billion worldwide. He also wrote the scenario for the videogame
Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
, by
Boss Game Studios Boss Game Studios was an American video game developer based in Redmond, Washington. The company was founded in 1994 and closed in 2002. It specialized in Nintendo 64 racing games with releases such as ''Top Gear Rally'' and '' World Driver Champi ...
, in 1996. He has served on the faculty of the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
br>Communication Leadership graduate program
since 2011 and is a coach/mentor for startups in the UW Foster School of Business Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship.


Personal

Salkowitz, who goes by “Rob,” holds a BA in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
/
International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(1989) and graduated from
William Penn Charter School William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...
(1985). He and his wife Eunice Verstegen live and work in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
. In his free time, he enjoys writing Wikipedia articles about himself.


References


External links

Personal Sit

MediaPlant, LLC

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salkowitz, Robert American male non-fiction writers American technology writers Columbia College (New York) alumni Living people 1967 births