Technology Speeds Ahead at a Dizzying Pace

To consider the rapid pace of technological advancement, imagine if you could go back in time 20 years.

Bring an iPhone with you.

Leave it on the seat of a public transportation train or bus.

Once discovered, it would cause a furor.

People would be sure it is sign that we are being visited by aliens who mistakenly left something behind.

They wouldn’t believe that it's commonplace technology just 20 years in the future.

Now that you've taken a moment to consider the breakneck speed of the technology you're probably reading this on, check out 33 Things You'll Be Surprised Didn't Exist 20 Years Ago.

Imagine trying to explain some of these to the you of 20 years ago.

2024: An AI Kick in the Head

 

This exchange on LinkedIn was a real eye-opener.

The post:

I've taken up sketching and illustration again. Why after 25+ years? Well let's just say I have a feeling I'm gonna need a second income stream soon. At 49, I'm too young to be a politician or president, but seemingly too old to write banner ads or TV scripts for mouthwash. Weird that huh?

A response from a follower:

An enlargement from the comment:

That was a rude awakening.

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Here's the link to the original post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/suggett_illustration-illustrating-sketchbook-activity-7143333046149087232-5m-z

Predicting the future is easy … getting it right is the hard part

Every new year, the predictions flow.

Before you let them have an enormous impact on your attitude or future plans consider some of these expert predictions:

1977

“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” – Ken Olson, president chairman and founder, Digital Equipment Corporation

1992

“The idea of a personal communicator in every pocket is a 'pipe dream driven by greed'.” — Andy Grove, CEO of Intel.

1995

“I predict the internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.” – Robert Metcalfe*, Founder of 3Com

1998

“By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.”– Paul Krugman, Nobel Prizewinning economist

2004

“Two years from now, spam will be solved.” – Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft

2007

“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.” – Steve Balmer, CEO of Microsoft

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* In 1995, Metcalfe argued that the Internet would suffer a "catastrophic collapse" in the following year; he promised to eat his words if it did not. During his keynote speech at the sixth International World Wide Web Conference in 1997, he took a printed copy of his column that predicted the collapse, put it in a blender with some liquid and then consumed the pulpy mass. He had suggested having his words printed on a very large cake, but the audience would not accept this form of "eating his words."

Source: Wikipedia

I Shoulda Said Something

 

He was what I wasn’t.

One of my ex-bosses was a true wordsmith … fretting over each word until he had the unique one that best matched its specific purpose in the sentence.

His writing was precise.

And impressive.

And it included a lot of words that weren’t accessible.

His writing left no doubt that he was the smartest person in the room.

But his writing didn’t connect with our audience.

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To clarify, the finished product was not terrible. Just more suited to academia than business.

Interestingly, he communicated brilliantly in person, He just over-worked the written word.

He was a great example for "write like you talk" but he couldn't help himself when it came to words on paper. 

Did they laugh? or did they snicker? or giggle? or chuckle? or guffaw?

He might've started with laugh, but, if upon reflection, he felt it was a loud, boisterous laugh, he would change it to guffaw.

 

He would go through every piece word-by-word. And when the process was done, every sentence had been wordsmithed into a more precise message ... and that became the message to be distributed.

He was a visionary leader with a big personality. When he was done wordsmithing, he would be proud and excited about the piece. And his enthusiasm would be infectious.

I would get caught up in that.

I wish I had fought harder to make the copy less correct and more effective.

I believe today I would.