Last night I watched Piers Morgan. Not because I particularly care for him or his show. Call me insensitive but it doesn’t hurt my feelings that his program is getting cancelled. Rather I tuned in because of that night’s guest, Mark Cuban. As a sports nut I enjoyed watching his exploits and listening to his opinions as an NBA owner. As both his profile and bank account continued to rise I kept my eye on him. I freely admit that I am intrigued by the billionaire because of his engaging personality and business savviness.

Mark Cuban provided a great interview and dished out some great sound bites proving once again that the guy is just flat out made for the public eye. For tonight’s post I want to provide the three most interesting aspects from the interview with a special emphasis on the final one I will share. He said something that should be the mantra for any person working in the digital age.

What’s In Your Wallet? – Piers asked Cuban to take out his wallet and give the audience a peek of what was inside. He obliged and emptied out a wallet that contained a credit card, debit card, driver’s license, a few business cards, and some cash….$700 to be exact. I didn’t know exactly what to make of that amount at first. I mean of course the equivalent of him hauling around $700 in his wallet is on par with me carrying around a half cent in mine but wouldn’t that amount of cash be attractive to a robber? Then again if someone actually did rob him could you imagine how disappointed they would be if he carried no cash at all? Would finding zero cash anger a criminal enough to hurt Cuban when all he wanted to do in the first place was just take his cash? Maybe $700 is the perfect amount! Mark actually said he would have been carrying more if he hadn’t just returned from Las Vegas.

Mark Cuban taking out his wallet on Piers Morgan last night.

Cyber Dust – One of Mark Cuban’s companies created an app called Cyber Dust. It centers on the exact same concept as Snap Chat except it deals with text messages rather than pictures. You send someone a text and they have a limited period of time to view it before the message disappears. Cuban says he uses Cyber Dust for the majority of his correspondence with business associates. I think the idea is cool but it has the exact same drawback as Snap Chat…you can screenshot anything. However I do like the opening line in the description of the app (even if it is untrue): There is no record of every word you say. Why leave a trace of every word you text?

I downloaded the Cyber Dust app and had a conversation with my brother.

Words to Heed – During the interview last night Mark Cuban described the importance of staying ahead. He explained that he keeps up on all new trends in the digital world because he can’t afford not to. In the best line from the whole show Cuban quipped that “There is always a 12 year old trying to kick my ass.” BINGO! When I look at people younger than me, especially youth in high school, I realize that they naturally already have many of the skills and knowledge that I had to take time to perfect and learn. In addition they are consuming all the new technologies and digital developments the second they become available. But I don’t use these very real facts to get me down, rather I use them to motivate me. The new media industry is extremely competitive but also very innovative and FUN…I want to keep working in it and that pushes me to keep pace with the younger generation, even if it means putting in a lot of extra work. The fact that a billionaire almost thirty years older than me fights the same battle lets me know that I am not crazy.

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Mr. Cuban, you are an honorable man. Thanks for giving Piers Morgan the most interesting show he has ever had and thanks for helping to lead the digital charge in this country. Best of luck to the Dallas Mavericks. Don’t Blink.