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Jeffrey Cole, founding director of USC Annenberg’s Center for the Digital Future and founder of the World Internet Project, joins host Kevin Goetz to explore how technology reshapes media, business, and human behavior. A longtime adviser to governments and major companies, Cole is the co-author of Disrupters at the Gate. He and Goetz discuss why transformative change comes from unexpected places, why successful companies miss it, and whether anything can truly disrupt the movie theater.

Skipping Law School and Betting on the Internet (02:37): Cole recounts abandoning law school days before classes began, then teaching at UCLA while working in television production. His conviction that the internet would change the world led to the World Internet Project and a career advising presidents and CEOs.

Disruption vs. Innovation (07:14): Cole explains that innovation improves on what exists, while disruption often comes from unknown players and upends the business model. By that measure, he argues, Apple has shifted from disrupter to innovator since Steve Jobs’s death.

Cascading Disruptions and Elon Musk (11:20): Cole says world-changing disruptions typically arrive about every 150 years, yet the internet, COVID, and AI have all hit within 25 years. He also calls Musk the Thomas Edison of the 21st century, while explaining how Tesla fumbled self-driving, and Waymo succeeded.

Finding a New Lane (19:45): Cole credits Fred Smith’s FedEx as the model for Amazon, then shows how companies can survive when their business models collapse. A wall cleaner became Play-Doh, and Fuji turned its film chemistry into cosmetics.

Streaming, Netflix, and the Moviegoing Decline (26:39): Cole explains why he told CinemaCon that theaters aren’t going anywhere, while Goetz argues that streaming’s cost, convenience, and choice have permanently changed moviegoing. Cole praises Reed Hastings for disrupting his own DVD business and Ted Sarandos for building an original content powerhouse.

Hollywood vs. New Technology (37:26): Cole shows how studios fought sound, television, and the VCR before finding ways to profit from them. Television divisions now often out-earn film divisions, and the VCR became a major source of studio revenue.

What Would Disrupt the Theater? (45:14): Goetz presses Cole on what could bring real growth back to moviegoing. Cole points to special, big-screen experiences like The Odyssey but says those are innovations, and that any true disruption will come from somewhere unexpected.

Host: Kevin Goetz
Guest: Jeffrey Cole
Producer: Kari Campano
Writers: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, Nick Nunez, and Kari Campano
Audio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment)

For more information about Jeffrey Cole:
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_I._Cole
Personal Website: https://jeffrey-cole.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyicole/ 

For more information about Kevin Goetz:
- Website: www.KevinGoetz360.com
- Audienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678
- How to Score in Hollywood: https://www.amazon.com/How-Score-Hollywood-Secrets-Business/dp/198218986X/
- Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Substack: @KevinGoetz360
- LinkedIn @Kevin Goetz
- Screen Engine/ASI Website: www.ScreenEngineASI.com