Archives For technology

Technology is putting you out of work. Unless..

June 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

My job with an online marketing agency has made me fully realize something about technology and our futures.  This isn`t a new trend or movement in the employment landscape nor will it stop anytime soon.  Technology is becoming more advanced as I write this.

Technology is eliminating and changing the skills which are required to work in your industry.  At the same time it is allowing people from around the world to compete for a job which would have in the past only been known and available to those in close proximity.

What does that mean for the individual?

It means that companies have more resources and options at their finger tips.  The more resources (employees) options companies have the less they have to pay to retain them and thus the slippery slope we are in now.  You see companies outsourcing work overseas for a fraction of the cost and choosing to leave behind trained qualified people.

On the other hand this creates more opportunities for people to compete for the jobs they would like to do.  It also allows companies to really select the best fitting employee because they have more options.  There are pros and cons.

The Art Of Adaptation:  Skills are now less valuable now.

Success in this market will depend on your resourcefulness and ability to adapt.

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2012 in review – Blog Stats

December 31, 2012 — Leave a comment

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 8 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Communication Paralleling Technology: Will character develop?

September 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

 

Many more people carry phones on them today.  Everyone has one or knows someone who does, and not just has, but is obsessed with.  We are constantly on social networks, e-mails or apps.  We tell ourselves we need to be, it’s the way of the world now, it’s how people communicate.

This is correct.  Communication is changing and will continue to change at a rate that parallels technology.  The flip side is that there are basic communication fundamentals that will remain constant.  Face-to-face communication is one of these fundamentals.

Verbal interaction with someone within the personal space of their body is different from communicating through a medium such as a phone.  You can feel their breath, the vibrations in the air from their voice, their physical presence in space emanating that indescribably aura they give off, looking directly into a physical eye instead of a pixellated image of one on a computer screen.  It’s just different.

How is it different?  It’s real and not semi-virtual.  It’s not changeable.  First impressions mean more when you can’t delete that Facebook post, that tweet, claim that you didn’t send that e-mail or disconnect your wi-fi to get out of a sticky Skype conversation for a time out to think about what you will say next.  There is an apprehension, an uneasy feeling you must overcome to engage in communication with someone.

In face-to-face communication you need to be a real authentic person, with real conversation skills, empathy, understanding and ability to deal with the tension and anxiety that comes with that.  Face-to-face communication builds character.  

We are Generation One when it comes to cell phones.  If we don’t hold on to face-to-face communication and give it a value at least equal to that of communication through technology what will happen to the next generations ability to communicate… to build character?

The Art Of Adaptation:  Intentional change should never sacrifice our character.

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They can hear you… Adapt to that.

April 10, 2012 — Leave a comment

The Art Of Adaptation:  Evolutionary processes are now in our control and need to be monitored and transparent to all.

Not many people know but secretly I am a nerd.  I love technology.  I love everything from the tangible items to the theoretical frameworks and concepts.  For me technology is interesting for two reasons:

  1. How it helps us in our day-to-day lives.
  2. How it can possibly harm us.

I think at this point we have a clear handle on how technology can help us and that we are adapting to technology at a steady pace when it comes to things which enable positive processes.  On the flip side, I think as people and as a race we have a very loose handle on what possible threats technology can pose.

We no longer destroy things that we fear, we ignore them… which can be worse.

In a recent WIRED magazine article, James Bamford talks about the National Security Agency (NSA) who are building a massive facility which will monitor all communication in the US.  Phone calls, text messages, e-mail and beyond.

Why?

The NSA claims it is for national security but who really knows.  Without getting into more detail then I care to explain, this facility will have the capability to listen in on basically any communication the user would like.

Do they care that you are having a family dinner at noon on Sunday?  Probably not.  Do you care that they are trying to decipher North Korean coded messages about nuclear activity?  Seems like a movie, probably not.

Should you be aware that someone posses the power and capabilities to collect any of this data and use it how they see fit?  YES

This isn’t conspiracy theory mumble jumble and I’m sure if WIRED Magazine knows about this one particular facility then there are other projects going on that we don’t know about.

The point I am trying to make is that technology is advancing whether you like it or not and some innovators are willing to take it to the extreme until someone pushes back and sets boundaries.  I don’t believe we should slow the evolutionary process but we should monitor, control and keep it fully transparent. 

Humans have no significant amount of experience with technology at this point in history that would make me believe we won’t make mistakes (large ones) going forward.

Be active in the process of adaptation especially when it comes to technology.  Start by reading this article in WIRED.  Then post your comments on how you intend to keep on technology from here out.

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