Posted by Kevin Boon. Follow me on Twitter.
Ten years ago who would have ever predicted the collapse of major car companies like GM and Chrysler? Who would have predicted the fall of banks and this global recession? Who would have thought that an African-American President would be elected?
Looking back life was much different in 1999. It was pre 9-11. There was less security and no wars in Afganistan or Iraq. Amazon and Google were around but still trying to figure how to earn profit. China and India, although we knew they were up and coming had still not emerged on the world scene. Facebook, Flickr, Linkedin, Twitter, Ted and thousands of social networking sites did not exist. We interacted in person, by phone, email and the Internet. Back then the Internet was mostly a place to gather information.
Fast forward to today where our lives have been turned upside down. We interact differently with our hand-held devices. Businesses are having to find innovative new ways to reach customers. The mortgage crisis and global recession have impacted the confidence of people. At the same the number of companies, ideas and innovations is evolving at breakneck speed.
The biggest change from 1999 to 2009 is the clutter of the web, technology and information which give us access to an infinite array of choices. Making sense and learning how to use the clutter to better our lives is the work most of us face today.
What will the next 10 years bring?
Who knows?
My feeling is we will start to see the beginnings of fundamental change in how we approach life. We will re-look at our careers and business models, create new habits with respect to consumerism and materialism and open up the frontiers of medicine with cures that 10 years before we would have never believed possible. Education will evolve and empowerment and leadership will be new keywords to help people grow. People will find more ways bring more balance into their lives. Quality of life will be put on a higher level.
In the overall scheme of things life is really about choice. Technology in today’s world gives us more choice than ever to make better decisions and improve our lives.
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