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Society is in flux. The global economy is in meltdown. Education is in turmoil. Why? The world has, and is, changing faster than we can keep up. One of the reasons for this disconnect is our insistence on teaching our young people in the same way that we ourselves learned. We're teaching as if there were a dearth of resources, when actually we're spoiled for choice. 'Digital literacy' is a term much debated, but which allows us to grasp hold of an important concept. Literacy in the digital arena just isn't the same as it is when sitting at a desk with paper and pencil. But how is it different? And what can we do about it? Allow me to suggest some ways in which we can come up with a workable definition for 'digital literacy' and show you methods by which we can educate our young people for the blended digital/physical world they do, and shall, inhabit!

Chip Heath and Dan Heath The Heath Bros. walk the walk in this manifesto about three straightforward ways to make your strategy work. They preach the power of concrete language and stories to communicate your strategy effectively. Missed the Heath Bros. on "The Today Show" or NPR? Get to know them here because these ideas stick.

"When we align ourselves with the opinions of others without examination, we are robbing ourselves of the opportunity to analyze our own preferences and desires, to determine our own solutions. We miss the chance to review the criteria others are utilizing, to question their biases and seek our own inspiration. In stunting the development of our own individual perspectives and initiatives, we trap ourselves in lives that appear to be predestined, and deny the possibility of realizing our personal potential."

"Businesses built to operate in the Networked World are as different from the Industrial Age models as a computer is from a multi-plane camera. Networked organizations are more biological than industrial. They resemble their employees more than their employees resemble them. They are highly adaptive, mobile, open, sensitive to their environment, and ultra-responsive. They continuously evolve, nurtured by a steady stream of intelligent input from inside and outside the organization. In a networked organization, where good ideas originate is not half as important as how–-and how frequently—those good ideas become reality. Good managers don’t try to control their brand’s narrative but, rather, to foster an environment in which it can be liberated, expanded and unleashed across networks. The emphasis is not on following a script, but on improvisation."

“I have spent years talking with brand fans; from obsessed Harley Davidson riders to young Japanese Hello Kitty admirers (one of whom, incidentally, owns more than 12,000 pieces of Hello Kitty merchandise), to devoted Irish Guinness beer drinkers. I’ve, time after time, been struck by the apparent parallels between the power of religion and of brands over followers. But, in reality, would such a claim possibly hold up? Is it possible that some brands have managed to create their own religion by, coincidently or deliberately, adopting triggers and tactics from the world of religion? The question became an obsession for me.”