With his lion’s mane of rock-star hair and attention-grabbing job title, David Shing, Digital Prophet, has become the face of AOL on the conference circuit. His public appearances are riveting distillations of facts, figures and ideas from across the online landscape, translating reams of data into bold, clear predictions of our media future. But it’s behind closed doors where Shing’s role really take shape, as he works to convert his prophecies to dollars, collaborating with AOL’s agency and marketing teams to develop creative brand engagement.

Always a huge draw at PromaxBDA events, Shing will kick off June’s The Conference 2014 on June 10 with the aptly titled session, “Are We All Clear? New Media and the Golden Age of Confusion.” Somewhere in the midst of a recent madcap speaking tour through Europe and New Zealand, he paused to chat with Brief in advance of the presentation – to, well, prophesize on the future of social media and the TV industry, and why it’s important to polarize marketers.

BRIEF: Much has been made of your title, Digital Prophet. What was this title meant to convey when you first created it?

DAVID SHING: I’m flattered that so much has been made of my title. It was created with a view of injecting some fun into what I do – which is look at trends and ideas and contextualize them for brands and marketers. There are a bunch of creative and fun titles out there: Imagineer, Evangelist, Chief Trouble Maker, Social Media Rockstar, so I may not be alone.

You’ve been quoted as saying you created your title in part because it “polarizes” people. Why was/is it important for you to polarize people?

I believe that marketers need to be challenged to think beyond the standard marketing techniques used today, so l like to start the challenge with my introduction.

How do you come up with and develop new ideas?

I am inspired by analog. Visiting art galleries, watching live music, meeting with friends… these all help to influence my ideas. To flesh these [ideas] out, I am a hardcore mind-mapper. It helps me get a quick, full 360-degree view of the topic I am exploring.

What have been some of your prophecies that have come to fruition?

A few things that I believe are happening and have been discussing for a couple of years are:

1.) Defriend and Unfollow – The digital detox of online relationships that provide less value.

2.) Participation – moving away from text contribution and moving to images, video and sound in real-time.

I have also been way off on some things, but hey, that’s what happens in this ever-changing landscape. As things move super fast, what worked for an audience in one instance may not be the right fit for the next.

Which major social media hub do you think has the best chance of still being here in 50 years?

50 years! No one can predict that given the Internet is less than 30 years old. But those with strong innovation and products that help connect people to each other will stand a chance of being around.

Is social media as we know it a temporary thing?

Social media as we know it will constantly evolve. I think humans are curious and are always looking for ways to connect. If technology can help make those connections real, deep and interesting, that is where the social evolution is headed.

AOL and other big digital media companies are making huge moves into TV-style entertainment content. Is everyone’s piece of the pie big going to be big enough for this to work?

Video is a massive growth industry. It has been proven with TV, which continues to grow in some segments. What we are focused on at AOL is delivering the right video at the right time to the right audience. Independent of device but dependent on context is important and is something that traditional TV cannot do. Also, it seems people online cannot get enough video. Thanks to both connectivity and more importantly the quality of sight, sound and motion on these devices. In fact 85% of people online watched video last month. We think the pie is definitely big enough.

Where do you see the television industry going? What is the TV industry doing right? What is it doing wrong?

TV has finally realized it has an active audience and people are voting with their commitment to shows and series across social platforms. Where they are winning audiences over cinema is their ability to be flexible, agile and use data to ensure they can commit to engaging content. More calculated risks like that become the norm.

Where the industry needs to continue to experiment is with authentic brand integration and sponsorship.

I found a quote describing what you do as “the greatest piece of performance art since Andy Kaufman.” Do you consider yourself an artist in your day job?

I am a creative, an artist and a musician and all of these aspects and creative outlets influence my day job at AOL.

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