Then. Now. And Then.
I was recently watching one of the best films of the 90’s. Arguably, it was one of the finest acted films ever. That movie was Glengarry Glen Ross. Through the outstanding cast and performances, I noticed something trivial that made me think. Looking at their desks, during the movie’s best scene, all you saw were papers and a telephone. That was it. No computer. No Fax. No Printer. No Cell Phones. How in the world did things get done? It seems like a lifetime ago, and yet, it was the semi-recent past.
The last 15 years have marked a changing of the guard. Slowly, the culture has adapted to these newfound devices. We may have already hit the saturation point as a society (douchebags such as TMZ prove that point well). You would be hard pressed to go through an average day without utilizing at least a handful of such amenities; cell phones, iPods, text messaging, BBM. You don’t even realize what a hold these external forces have over your well being. There are studies which show that people can have similar withdrawal symptoms to detoxing from heroin as they do from abstaining from using PDAs. (By studies, I mean facts I kind of made up.)
How has this influx of invention and new media completely brainwashed the general population? You have the older generation, who by enlarge, are anti-growth in this field. They find social media to be a wasted endeavor. They speak in a derogatory manner towards e-mail and the internet in general. However, at the same time, you have 4 year olds who can navigate their way through web sites with ease. It is normal for people to be set in their ways, but once a child is brought up knowing how to use the web from such a young age, the possibilities are limitless for where the future will take us.
There is so much information on the internet nowadays that it can be dizzying. But certain websites have become part of the fabric of life in America, as well as much of the world, to a certain extent. Look at Facebook and Twitter. An episode this season of Saturday Night Live is a perfect example of how Facebook can have an affect on things. Betty White was the host. She was the host directly because of Facebook. When a group started on the site imploring Lorne Michaels to have her host, it swelled up to such a degree that he acknowledged it and had her come to 30 Rock (and kick some ass!).
Simple concepts such as Facebook and Twitter (once again, created by guys in their 20’s) that have shattered the notion of “a small world”. Within mere seconds, information is transferred to every corner of the Earth. By using these fantastic tools, people have gotten to be more engaged and open about themselves. As a result, we are more connected to one another than at other point throughout history.
Twitter not only allows friends, family, celebrities, athletes, writers and others connect. But it is also a huge marketing strategy for businesses. Whole Foods currently has the most followers for any such entity, and has grown their overall net sales as a result of the constant stream of deals they tweet daily. Not even 24 months ago, Twitter had roughly 3 million users, mostly in the US. Now, it is growing at a faster pace than Justin Bieber fans, and bolsters over 75 million users worldwide. Lest we forget the influx of blogs (such as this one) which cater to millions of different tastes and interests. Whether it be celebrity blogs (Cuban, Aziz, Rovell) or average joes (GN, DubSet, Ask Me Shit), everyone has a voice that they can have heard. All it takes is a click of the mouse.
Take an industry such as apparel, for example. In 1990, you would have to fax over the same sketch of designs to all your customers and have them place orders based solely on this grainy outline. Now, you can e-mail each individual customer JPEGs of styles that are suited specifically for them, hundreds at a time, numerous times a day. The waiting is gone. Everything is instantaneous.
The question is this: in 20 years, will I stumbled across a film from 2010 and ask myself how did we manage to get by with all the tools we now have? What advancements will we be using that are still yet to be invented? Will these devices shatter what we know now as innovation? One thing will always stay the same though, no matter how advanced we get - “ABC: Always Be Closing.”
