Skip to main content

It has to be my rapidly advancing age. Or the wet weather that has a devastating effect on my aging bones. Or all the sleepless nights I am spending, pondering over this crazy global warming problems. Anyway, stuff annoys me massively these days. *sigh* Can’t be good for my inner Feng Shui.

Take Pinerly. They are new, unknown. Maybe they are good, and the biggest thing since remote controls and sliced bread. Or maybe they are rubbish, nowhere, and with more issues than an alcoholic in Iraq. There is no way for me to know, as I could not try their service –yet-.

Here is the catch: to be able to beta test their service, I need to seduce friends to use their service. Excuse me? I am a digital dinosaur: before I recommend something, I want to see the goodies. I want to test them. Form an opinion, you know?

I get the strategy: create a need, create a hype, create an artificial long waiting line, create a viral snowball of desperate people wanting to try your service.

The thing is, dear @Pinerly: I can probably live my online life perfectly well without you. Anyway, that is what I will try. All the best.

Danny Devriendt is the Managing Director of IPG/Dynamic in Brussels, and the CEO of The Eye of Horus, a global think-tank focusing on innovative technology topics. With a proven track record in leadership mentoring, C-level whispering, strategic communications and a knack for spotting meaningful trends, Danny challenges the status quo and embodies change. Attuned to the subtlest signals from the digital landscape, Danny identifies significant trends in science, economics, culture, society, and technology and assesses their potential impact on brands, organizations, and individuals. His ability for bringing creative ideas, valuable insights, and unconventional solutions to life, makes him an invaluable partner and energizing advisor for top executives. Specializing in innovation -and the corporate communications, influence, strategic positioning, exponential change, and (e)reputation that come with it-, Danny is the secret weapon that you hope your competitors never tap into. As a guest lecturer at a plethora of universities and institutions, he loves to share his expertise with future (and current) generations. Having studied Educational Sciences and Agogics, Danny's passion for people, Schrödinger's cat, quantum mechanics, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fuels his unique, outside-of-the-box thinking. He never panics. Previously a journalist in Belgium and the UK, Danny joined IPG Mediabrands in 2012 after serving as a global EVP Digital and Social for the Porter Novelli network (Omnicom). His expertise in managing global, regional, or local teams; delivering measurable business growth; navigating fierce competition; and meeting challenging deadlines makes him an seasoned leader. (He has a microwave at home.) An energetic presenter, he brought his enthusiasm, clicker and inspiring slides to over 300 global events, including SXSW, SMD, DMEXCO, Bluetooth World Congress, GSMA MWC, and Cebit. He worked with an impressive portfolio of clients like Bayer AG, 3M, Coca Cola, KPMG, Tele Atlas, Parrot, The Belgian National Lottery, McDonald's, Colruyt, Randstad, Barco, Veolia, Alten, Dow, PWC, the European Commission, Belfius, and HP. He played a pivotal role in Bluetooth's global success. Ranked 3rd most influential ad executive on Twitter by Business Insider and listed among the top 10 ad execs to follow by CEO Magazine, Danny also enjoys writing poetry and short stories, earning several literary awards in Belgium and the Netherlands. Fluent in Dutch, French, and English, Danny is an eager and versatile communicator. His BBQ skills are legendary.

6 Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Heliade

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading