May 2003

Techno-possible

It occurs to me that technology is playing a big part in some huge shifts going on in our world today—some seemingly negative and others positive. But maybe negative and positive are judgment terms and we don’t really need them.

First computers saved us all hundreds of hours every year in mundane tasks. Then, they took away thousands of blue collar jobs.

First the Internet created near-instant global connectivity (at least for those with computers). Then it resulted in extreme isolation as we no longer needed to get with real people in order to gather information or engage in commerce. And now the practice of blogging is making it possible for some of us to get to know each other much better.

Now also, according to Tom Peters, technology is stealing white collar jobs. And yet at the same time it’s making it eminently more possible for those no longer in traditional roles to run their own businesses. Many services that used to require the help of an employee can now be done by the business owner. Affordability.

While the Internet makes competition not just fierce but international, it also creates very affordable marketing opportunities with email. And, of course, even the little guy can look as good as the giants in the marketplace .

Technology that powers the Internet and makes long distance calling so affordable means dramatically expanded potential markets. How much business have you gotten from your website? You ought to be getting at least some.