Everything has changed from what we knew or how things were done before now, with the advent of some of the current awe-striking innovations of technology. Life would never be the same anymore, no, never. The way we eat, talk, socialize, record, buy and sell, procreate; in fact the ways we do everything have all been fashioned and fine tuned in unimaginable ways. All thanks to modern technology. In all these disruptive processes, there are countless people who have tried and fail, as well as equally countless copycats who might have followed at some stage in the sojourn, but who, quite unfortunately, eventually fall short of the model, or the modern ways of things. Agreeably, it really takes a lot to shift the course of an industry, but sometimes, we may really have no option other than to flow with the era and the tide of changed. In essence my dear, the world has moved on from the past, and so should you and your business too. For if you don't, you may be consigned to the relics of history, to be among 'the have beens.' How has this wind of change impacted on your business, what kind of change has it been, would you prefer to go about your business the old fashioned way or not, has it been a wind that brought good tidings or not? In the course of this article, we shall venture into some of the things, or rather products of technology, that have changed the business world, and in fact, our whole lives forever.
BUSINESS PRODUCTS THAT HAVE INDEED CHANGED OUR BUSINESSES FOREVER.
Apple iPhone.
Blackberry radically changed the way the business community had always interacted with one another, but the advent of the Apple iPhone has taken all that was achieved or triggered by Blackberry to a whole new level. Furthermore, iPhone's mass market reach makes it a far more disruptive factor than Blackberry ever was. Truly, you are very right to posit that the iPhone was more than just a phone and email gadget, no. It was truly the first mobile phone that is also a pocket borne computer. To mention just one of its thousands of mind blowing features, there is the Appstore, which has introduced very seismic changes in the video game world, and its standalone GPS industry seems to be teetering.
Amazon.com.
From its humble beginning as just a bookstore, today Amazon has grown to breathtaking proportions over and above all others. Amazon is without any doubt a threat to the entire global retail spectrum. The company doesn't really have to worry about rent prices, but still remains extraordinarily profitable. Little wonder that, even retail kings like Wal-Mart is feeling the heat exuded by this threat, which mandated it to launch a series of price wars in 2009, particularly during the holidays, and that slightly, but only slightly, improved its competitiveness. Still, Amazon rules the retail world, and it looks set to continue that in a very long time to come.
Nintendo Wii.
Agreeably, Sony and Microsoft followed the traditional path this console generates, but surprisingly, Nintendo chose rather to roll the dice, if you get what I mean, by ignoring any geographical prowess and focusing strictly on making games easy to play once again, but surprisingly this time, with the aid of a motion control feature or device. Boom! The bet worked, can you imagine? Now, the Wii is not only a sales leader, its popularity has literally forced its competitors to also incorporate motion control into their traditional machines. These traditional controllers are not gathering dust just yet, but they are facing more competition than they have ever imagined. Did you hear that? Yes, that's it. That's it.
Netflix.
This company was shrugged off into insignificance by Blockbuster when it was first introduced back in 1997, due to their conviction that people preferred the human touch when they rented films. But surprisingly now, this one-time retail store giant has shrunken to about just 500 stores from above 4000 previously, and they have Netflix to thank for that fall and their lack of foresight, as well. Meanwhile, Hollywood studios are realizing that the company is for once changing the entire home entertainment market, for everyone's good, with its video streaming model, and they are wary of its still growing powers and influence. Successes achieved in this endeavor by the company has even spurred companies like Amazon and Apple to invest heavily in this video streaming games. Men, check that out! That's sure a game changer, right?
Email.
The US Postal Service was thought to consider route cutbacks and closures, and that was viewed as ludicrous some thirty five years or so ago, but events proved them right. While both the Federal Express and UPS have also certainly felt the heat too, it is simply email that is more to blame for all their woes. Yes, it is, and why not. Just imagine, hand written letters had to take days or weeks, if not months, to be delivered! These archaic method has since been bypassed by the now prevalent instant communication. They too, have email to thank for this plummet or dwindling of fortunes.
Twitter and Facabook.
Quite recently, at least as recently as, before the coming of Facebook, if you wanted to let friends or loved ones to know about any amusing anecdote or where you were headed, you would have to pick the phone! Well, thank goodness, not anymore. Today, everyone's social life revolves around either Facebook or Twitter. In fact, Facebook is said to be the defacto means of reconneting with long lost friends and staying in touch with others, as well, while Twitter has become the default means of informing people about where you are and what is it you're doing.
Google.
Surprisingly, Google began as just another search engine, but quickly afterwards became a commonly used action word for all sort of online information search. If Google does not know, nobody among the descendants of Adam knows. How do you like that for an analogy? It is however true, very true indeed. Quickly, it began to disrupt other fields, including email itself, other software, news and advertising, with its incredibly lucrative AdWords program.
YouTube.
No doubt the Web has lured many eyeballs away from the hitherto traditional television, but no site does that more than YouTube. In fact, it is rightly claimed that YouTube has well over 111 million viewers recently, and the average viewer spends not less than 15 to 20 minutes on it per day, and looks like it is going to keep soaring. The company has reliably added up to about 20 channels with professionally reduced content recently.
Craigslist.
Classified advertisements made up the bulk of the revenue generated by the newspaper world, but unfortunately this avenue has all but dried up, thanks to this Web-based service which allows people and companies, both small and big, to sell their junk and also post job opportunities for free. Craigslist has transformed into a major tool for real estate agents too. The traditional print media is faced with insurmountable challenges nowadays, and Craig Network's creation is indicted as the major change in this industry.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES OR JETBLUE.
Most carriers were painfully small, even after the deregulation that has taken place in the airline industry. However, by the late 1990s, Southwest began to have an impact in this industry. It is able to do this through its ticketless travels, considerate fares and humor, which enabled it to change how people flew. Furthermore, JetBlue's focus on customer service sometime in the early 2000s put immense pressure on airlines, which forced them to compete not only on issues pertaining to flight costs, but on other areas as well.
All in all, competition is healthy mainly for the benefit of customer satisfaction, since in the end he will be the better for it as everybody will be striving to out-perform the other. This competition will spur on producers to do more and more in order to gain the trust and patronage they require from the consumers, which they need to remain afloat and buoyant.
CONCLUSION.
Without any doubt, technology and its unimaginable feats has changed everything in life as we knew it, and this change has one bold message: either you out-source in order to remain relevant, or you lose out forever, the Postal Services worldwide are a good reference point in this regard. On the surface, these developments may sound threatening, but on deeper reflection, you are bound to realize that without them, our lives would have been all but boring, tedious, straining and still. You can now advertise what you do from the cosy comfort of your home to people living in the remotest parts of the world, at little or no cost at all. In short, you can get people to know about you or what you do, wherever they dwell on Earth. I dig it when people claim that it is now possible, with the prevalence of the social media, to invade anybody's most sacred places and homes, at just the click of a button on either your smartphone or personal computer. This is very true, or isn't that what the social media has already achieved?
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