Each month, Tony Uphoff, visionary CEO of Thomasnet.com, joins Cloud Wars Live for a recurring segment. “Uphoff on Industry” will explore the innovations, upheavals, and breakthroughs reshaping the world of manufacturing and industrial markets. In this episode, Tony and I probe how it’s been like to be in a social media and pandemic world.

Tony starts off with Facebook and the monetization of rage that you see on social platforms, and the systemic racism in the US. In the sixties, you had a print-based world, and a television-based world – and that’s it.

Tony quotes Stephen Stills, “Something’s happening here.” I say, “What it is ain’t exactly clear.” These young people are going to grow up with a set of expectations – and some of the more seasoned folks think it’s almost an instant disruption.

I joke with Tony that my black t-shirt is a 40-year-old vintage item. Tony says that my sartorial splendor and food choices are deeply troubling.

We conclude with it’s a time for listening. Try to understand what is happening and don’t be too quick to volunteer opinions. It’s a very scary time and you see a lot of false positives and negatives.

Also in this episode:

· Employees are saying, “I’m good thanks – I’ll stay right at home”

· Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella: two years of transformation crammed into two months

· Everyone in the world is paying attention to Zoom

· Email is the Rodney Dangerfield of digital platforms

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