I have seen lots of predictions about what might come in the future for those of us in technology. It seems that every year new things come about that I never dreamed about. I could never have imagined that a touch screen would work well for me on a cell phone, even as short as a year ago, but now I can't quite image not having one.
As the world changes, it seems that so many old paradigms and methods of doing business either evolve or die off. I think this is just the way the world changes, but I think that the last decade, and possibly the next one, will change the world quite dramatically.
It's Friday, and I've got a little bit of an off topic poll for you today. I don't have any great predictions, but I was wondering about one thing:
In twenty years, do you think more people will work with bits or objects?
It seems that for much of the world's history, a vast majority of people were working to produce physical goods. They grew crops, built furniture, calculated the angle and thickness needed to ensure the cables on the Golden Gate bridge will hold up all the tourists visiting San Francisco. However in the last decade or so I'm seeing a shift of more and more "knowledge" workers that work with data and information, make decisions, and write those cool iPhone apps; they essentially push bits around.
What I'm really wondering here is do you think your kids, or the next generation is going to likely working with bits instead of actual physical goods? After all we have made tremendous advances in automation and mechanical tools that so many less people are needed to produce more and more physical goods. Lots of large companies don't even have their own manufacturing plants, preferring to outsource that work.
For the poll, let's ignore simple jobs like restaurants, landscapers, etc. There will always be people doing those jobs. Let's instead focus on careers for people. Will they be digital or physical?
Steve Jones
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