A New Philosophy: The Future of Mobile Computing
I have decided that it is time to lay out my philosophies regarding the tech industry in the next few segments posted here. I have been following the tech industry
I have decided that it is time to lay out my philosophies regarding the tech industry in the next few segments posted here. I have been following the tech industry for a few years now and during which I have noticed several major macro-economic trends are developing and yes, I used the word macro-economic. I find these facts fascinating, however I will not blame anyone if you don’t share my enthusiasm. Here we go.
MOBILE
Now I know that mobile being the future is usually a gimme and very obvious. However, I feel that most people understand the way mobile is progressing into the future incorrectly. To start we need to lay down some numbers for a foundation. The human population of planet earth hit 7 billion as of March 2012 and is growing. There are 2.5 billion people on this planet that currently have access to the internet and there are 5 billion people with wireless cell phones. The current majority of those cell phone users having what we will call “dumb” phones for lack of a better term. It is important to note that the iPhone and most Android smartphones are now a few years old. If you connect those data points you will see that most older smartphone models which are connected to the internet are now being offered as the free phone by carriers to customers who want to upgrade from their “dumb” phones. These carriers use mostly two year contracts with their customers.
Therefore in the next two years, it is predicted that the actual population of the Internet will almost double thanks to new smartphone users coming online in various countries around the world with their new internet connected mobile devices. That’s not even including the 54.8 million tablets now online that didn’t even exist four years ago. It’s pretty incredible to think that the internet is only half the size of what it will be in just two years time, even though it’s been over 20 years since Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN. This single statistic shows that the internet as we have experienced it thus far is only the very beginning. The way the internet is experienced, looks, and interacts with human life is going to evolve drastically going forward in time.
There is a second part of the mobile renaissance that is misunderstood as well. Mobile devices won’t be the only devices used in the future. To clarify, mobile devices are referring to both tablets and smartphones, as opposed to PC’s, desktops, and gaming consoles. All of these devices matter and will be used together. There is a major reason why and my next theory/post will show you why.
To be continued…
You Only Live Once
Here we are at “The Starting Line”. Life is a blank slate in front of us. We only get one shot at this thing called life, and if there is one thing this generation knows
Here we are at “The Starting Line”. Life is a blank slate in front of us. We only get one shot at this thing called life, and if there is one thing this generation knows it is that we were raised to never waste a moment of it; to make the most out of every moment and follow our dreams.
YOLO. Extremely cliche but the question still remains, what will we do with our life? Our elders think that we expect too much out of life. That there is a work ethic epidemic. I disagree with that belief. What has happened is that the incentives which motivate a work ethic in younger generations has changed very rapidly in the past decade and at a pace with which many corporations and managers have failed to keep up. The world is more connected than ever, and is exponentially connecting even quicker. This is the first generation to know the existence of, to use, and to understand the repercussions of the Internet. It has always existed in our lives. Where to older generations it is simply another new thing that has come along. However, we are digital natives to this new world of technology. This means we see opportunities and have access to knowledge that our elders only dreamed of having at our age. To think that extreme alteration in mentality won’t have repercussions in the structure and organization of a workplace is naive and what those elders fail to realize is that an entire generation now has this new mentality. And yet, another sub generation still in high school has that mentality even stronger than those coming out of university. YOLO… Yes, this is a fad attributed to a rap song by Drake and true its use in pop culture has diminished its value, but it still has meaning. It’s a reminder to all people of their own mortality and it is a signal to all who are listening that we as a society are beginning to see a shift in paradigms.
In the past, older generations were paid and rewarded with the currency of money. But the future generation doesn’t see money having that same value to them. It’s value is not absent entirely, just very diminished. Younger generations prefer compensation in the form of life experience and personal time. They know “You Only Live Once”. This isn’t to say that the younger generations don’t have the will to work like their elders believe. It just means they don’t have the will to work for things they don’t believe strongly in and that won’t immediately contribute significant experience back into their lives. Time is the new commodity to be traded. In corporations of the future, flexibility could become the main corporate benefit. There is already a growing trend in the availability of flexibility to employees. More and more companies are adopting new technology which gives their employees the ability to work from home, push papers as they attend their relatives 4th of July BBQ, or send an email before they jump from the top of a cliff while living their dream of base jumping.
The companies that fail to acknowledge this shift in paradigms will pass away with those older generations. Corporations that wish to stay alive and avoid extinction will have to be as nimble and agile as these new generations are. Generation Y (born 1980's), Generation Z (born 1990's), and Generation AO (born 2000's) will each be more plugged in than their predecessor and exponentially more plugged in than the older dinosaurs who will inhabit the executive positions within the corporations that hire them. The new exchange system where money is a second best for employees, compared to the ability to gain individual experience will become the norm over time; regardless of if elder generations like it or not. The truth is that there is a new breed about to make their ascent in the modern world. We understand technology in a way that no others have before. This will be our upper hand in the world. Those who fail to embrace the new societal norm will not truly attain greatness in the world. To borrow a word from @Jason,
““Those who fail to strive for greatness will be the rice pickers and the people who do understand the new laws will be the samurais”.”
This is the Starting Line. I’ll ask you one more time. What do you plan to do with your life? I plan to get to the Finish Line. I hope to see you there…
About Kevin Siskar
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” — Albert Einstein
Short Bio: Kevin Siskar is director of the start up accelerator, The Founder Institute, in New York. He is also the Founder of Brinkway. He applies his degree in Cognitive Neuro-Science, the analytical combination of Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, and Artificial Intelligence, to enable the capacity for innovative problem solving and insights to unique challenges. He has energetic passion for creating new alternatives to identifying hidden obstructions that negatively impact growth. Inventive analytical perspectives from cognitive science have allowed him to pursue multiple aspects of data for innovative outcomes. Previously Kevin worked as a Technology Researcher for Jason Calacanis' Launch Ticker, which served as the inspiration for the new Inside.com.
Long Bio: http://www.siskarsolutions.com/about/
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