My first real introduction to the internet came in the late 1990's when I worked as a clerk in a store with a guy named Tommy. Tommy was in a rock band called Brat Prince, and often invited me over for their post show parties. One night someone said, "Hey, check this out," and pulled me into one of the bedrooms. Sitting at a computer was a drunk fan of the band. Behind him were half a dozen other drunk rockers. On the computer screen (it was a desktop with a big, heavy monitor) were several small pictures of other drunk and stoned rockers from around the world. "That guy's from Norway," the guy at the computer laughed, "How cool is that?" I'll be honest, I wasn't very impressed. I didn't think much of the whole internet thing then.
I'm a smart guy, and a definite geek, but I've never been a computer geek. I just didn't understand how computers worked, and I wasn't very interested in learning. I would learn the software I had to know at each new job, but I didn't learn much more. My interests were in other places, such as BMX bikes, skateboarding, success, and human potential. I had a "wait and see" attitude when it came to the internet. Then I became a taxi driver. I spent all my time in a cab, had virtually no free time, and went to the library when I wanted to get on a computer. This was in the early and mid 2000's, and I had to pay $5 an hour to use a computer at the Huntington Beach library. Then, in 2003, my taxi company put computers in our taxis. It completely changed the dispatch system and how taxi driving worked. In short, the computers took fares away from good cab drivers and gave them to bad cab drivers. In addition, the computers allowed the taxi companies to put many more cabs on the road, and that meant less business for each driver. Computers killed taxi driving. In 2000 I worked three days a week and could pay all my bills, live cheap, and have four days off. In 2004 I had to work seven days a week, and I lived in my taxi because I couldn't afford to rent an apartment. I struggled on until late 2007, then became homeless because I just couldn't make it driving a taxi anymore, and I couldn't find another job. It didn't matter how hard and smart I worked, technology changed the industry in a huge way. I'm just one of millions of people who have been displaced by technology in the last 20 years.
Long after I left taxi driving, Uber and Lyft came into the picture, changing the personal transportation industry even more. During these last fifteen years, the internet has matured after the Dot Com Crash. In addition things like podcasts, blogging, and social media have drastically changed both society and business. Along with those came cell phones which have now evolved into pocket sized computers that would have amazed Captain Kirk in those early Star Trek episodes. This incredible amount of technological change begs the question: How do we live in this rapidly changing world? Most people now can't imagine living without their smart phones that have only been in existence a few years. At the same time, companies they work for are struggling to figure out how to advertise and keep customers in a world where 30 second TV commercials don't work so well anymore. Anyone remember Kodak? They employed thousands of people and ruled the camera and film industry. As I understand it, Kodak went bankrupt the same month that Instagram was bought by Facebook for a billion dollars. Thousands of hard working people lost their jobs because management at Kodak didn't see the digital photo revolution coming. How well does the company you work for keep up with technology?
To most of us, technology has become a double edged sword. On one hand we have devices and online networks that allow us to do many things we couldn't before. On the other hand, these same technologies could make our jobs obsolete, or at least endangered. How well do you keep on top of the rapid advancement of technology? How well does the top management of your company keep up? Has your industry gone through major changes due to technology? If it hasn't, will it happen soon?
I've gone through a year of living on the streets and several years of unemployment because I didn't feel like trying to keep up with technology. Now I spend a good chunk of my time reading and listening to YouTube lectures to learn more about how technology is changing the world, and where I can use my particular skills in this ever-changing world. Are you doing the same?
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