Saturday, September 13, 2008

How Progress Wrecks Everything


"The major advances in civilization
are processes that all but wreck
the societies in which they occur."

- Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)
Mathematician, Author & Philosopher

Every great leap forward, everything we've invented has caused major changes in how we live. As new technologies are born there are also changes in how we do business.

The fax machine nearly put couriers out of business. The explosion in home computer sales almost killed IBM back in 1993. When Al Gore invented the Internet he re-wrote the rules of business. Every change in how we work causes a huge impact. How we adapt to these changes determines whether or not we survive.

Amazon.Com started as the Internet bookstore. They were a media darling with investors lining up to give away their money. The stock stayed high even when they were hemorraghing money! Then the Internet bubble burst. But Amazon learned the wisdom of the long tail so, they added every product in the solar system. Now, what started as a humble bookstore has turned into the world's largest and most phenomenally well-stocked General Store.

Amazon recognized a major change caused by the Internet. They adapted, with some bumps, but now they thrive. But plenty of others never survived. Hopefully you weren't invested in any of them when they collapsed.

And, no, I don't miss the damn sock puppet commercials.
The Digital Age has made everything move faster. The Internet continues to evolve and change. You cannot stop the march of progress.
Best to pay attention.
Louis Rosas-Guyon's FREE 5-week e-Course for Eliminating Tech Costs
R-Squared Computing - Business Technology Coaches

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