When I use the phrase knowledge economy, or when anybody uses that phrase, what does

it mean?

What does the knowledge economy refer to?

Well, in short, it refers to a system or society in which the production of goods and

services is based primarily upon knowledge-intensive activities.

Okay, and you can think of it as opposed to a manufacturing economy or an agrarian society,

maybe a hunter-and-gathering society, although we don't have a ton of those left anymore.

So the knowledge economy is all about whether people are working in careers or vocations

for companies or is tracking out on their own either way based on some specialized knowledge

that they have acquired through education, training, or experience.

So in some ways, when I talk about the knowledge economy, it's not new.

It's been a couple of decades at least since people have been going on about how globalization

is going to change the world and the rising tide of e-commerce.

I feel like it literally has been 20 years or more that everybody's been breathless

over this, but at the same time, it has actually changed the world.

I mean, that's what allows so many of these stories and examples that I tell you every

day to happen or to take place.

And these days, there are countless mediums, platforms, networks, the social web, the ability

to connect with people who have shared interests all over the world.

No matter how esoteric or specialized your interest is, you can find somebody else out there

who has the same thing.

And that used to be very limited.

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