No year in payments is exactly alike – perhaps conversation is the only constant. 2017 was epic, from Amazon to bitcoin to hillbillies to Walmart, as the following eBook pages prove. Here’s to a 2018 filled with more food for thought, across the realms of commerce, retail, cybersecurity and beyond.
Dear Readers,
I guess I’m a storyteller at heart.
Every Monday, I publish a piece on PYMNTS that’s my take on something that happened in the world of payments, commerce and retail the week before.
But instead of just rehashing the news, I always try to bring a bit of context to those stories that, I hope, makes them more interesting to read and my perspective a little clearer. Context, in this fast-paced world in which we all operate, seems often to be lost – even overlooked – as an irrelevant detail that’s pushed to the side.
But it’s something that’s absolutely essential if the goal is to have an informed, honest debate about the topics that are driving the future of commerce.
So more than wanting to share my points of view with you each Monday, I want to start a conversation with you – one that I hope prompts even more discussions with your colleagues about where we’re headed as a commerce ecosystem, and why.
As you can see, I’ve written about a lot of topics over these last 12 months, as 2017 has been something of an epic year in payments and commerce. I’ve shared my points of view on everything from Amazon to Walmart; from bitcoin to voice commerce; from why hillbillies matter to payments players, to why millennials might not, to television as commerce’s next untapped commerce frontier.
John Steinbeck once said, “Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the man who helps others to talk.”
My hope is that I helped play a small part in starting the important conversations about the direction of payments, commerce and retail this year.
Thank you for your readership – and for the part that you play in shaping our future. I look forward to having many more conversations with you next year.
All my best for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2018,
Karen
P.S. My sincere thanks to the rock star PYMNTS.com design and production team who assembled this book. It is simply fabulous.
December 2017