After I wrote about the idea that there might not be a next big thing in the world of technology (specifically, consumer electronics), an article appeared on Recode.net about "Big is the next big thing."

I loved the article, because it talks about an idea that I think I found exciting about 6 or 7 years ago, but have kind of forgotten about. Its about companies embracing 'digital' – not in the sense of building a Facebook page, or developing a social/content strategy, or making a useful iPhone app (or any of the other ideas that seem to pop up in every brainstorming session), but companies embedding digital technology within every aspect of the business, redefining themselves and their business models, looking to collaborate with other sectors.

The internet has always been about connections and networks – first computer networks with ARPANET/internet, then information networks in the 1990s with the World Wide Web, then social networks with Web 2.0 and social networking sites in the 2000s. But this next stage of networking businesses, where 'digital' moves up a step beyond just redefining marketing and starts redefining businesses.

But I think this is the paragraph that really got my attention;

Collaboration between sectors often starts when digitally enabled companies find new life through enhancements that expand their products or services well beyond their originally intended use, which attracts new buyers in new industries.

In other words, businesses are hacking on a corporate-level scale.