Times They Are a Changing

Bob Dylan said it best forty years ago, “Times, they are a changing!” At Aquascape we’ve reached the tipping point with the convergence of social media and technology. For that I say, Halleluiah, it’s been a long time coming!

For years I’ve envisioned how Aquascape would fit into today’s world and today I can finally say we’ve arrived! But because “times they are a changing“ we’ve got to keep arriving to keep pace with the most rapidly and radically changing times in history!

On January 1st we will be launching our online Aquascape Academy. Everything Aquascape has ever done, ever written, ever created, is being born again in a simpler, more effective fashion. You won’t need to attend a seminar or buy a book to find what you’re looking for from what we offer, or better yet, have offered. Bottom line is, if you want to become a Certified Aquascape Contractor, train a new foreman how to install a Signature skimmer, show your customers how to prepare their pond for winter, find the contract Aquascape uses to sell water features, or read an article from the Aquascape Lifestyles Magazine…whatever it is you want to know, all you need to know is how to go online to our site to find it. How cool is that?!

If it makes you sad that Aquascape isn’t going to be traveling from town to town putting on Build-A-Pond Day, after Build a Pond Day, consider this: No matter how many people we reached “the old school way” it was a drop in the bucket compared to how many we are going to introduce to our methods, our philosophies, and our model by going “new school.” If you’re wondering how effective watching videos and taking tests could be know this: we’ve never tested a single participant at a Build A Pond Day to see if they retained what we showed them. Today you can learn everything from how to play an instrument, to speak a foreign language, dialect, and all online. Why should designing and building ponds not be the same?! In fact, if we went to attract the next generation of pond designers and builders, it’s the only way we will! When kids want to learn anything about anything, they “Google search” it. I do the same, and come to think about it, I bet you do too. Point made?

Aquascape has embraced technology and social media, to its core. Our YouTube channel, Aquascape4, has 4 million views today and if it’s not more than twice that many by this time next year something’s wrong. Where do you think it will be five years from now? Any questions on why we are embracing this now?! If you want to see what the future of all education is, and not just Aquascape’s education, Google (go figure) Khan Academy. We used their open source software to create Aquascape Academy. Times they are a changing! At Aquascape we are on the cutting edge of technology and social media and so are our customers, and better yet, our customer’s customers. I just finished watching a YouTube clip I found on Facebook shown by Jaack Harju of Atlantis Water Gardens, AtlantisWaterGardens, he’s sharing with his customers, me, and now even you a video journal of his trip to Ghana, Africa with the Aquascape Foundation in January. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone he posts. Something tells me I’m not going to be the only one!