Beware Of The Pace Of Change: People Are Oblivious To What Is Taking Place

I am continually reminded of what is taking place and how people are completely obvious to what is transpiring. I do not say this in an accusatory manner. Rather, it is simply meant to illustrate that people are completely focused upon something other than what is having a major impact.

Technology is expanding, growing, and becoming a larger portion of all of our lives. This is something that few can argue with. However, I do not think most are adept at looking at the changes that are taking place and the speed which it is moving. We are literally seeing industries upended in a year or two.

I will give you a simple example. Less than a year ago, in the United States, grocery stores (including Wal-Mart) starting experimenting with delivery. Essentially, people would submit their order online, the items would be pulled, and either one could pick the groceries up or have them delivered. This was a test project in 2018.

Yesterday, I read an article that stated out both Kroger and Wal-Mart are going to have delivery service available in over 70% of their stores by the end of 2019. This is a radical shift from where things were a couple of years ago.

This also puts tremendous pressure on the competition. After all, is there a more stodgy industry than grocery stores? Yes here we see a marked shift that happened very quickly.

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I work in an industry that is forced to transition. The challenge is with the fact that what many are trying to adopt is facing similar challenges. Many are seeking to move into software. The problem is the margin one software is being destroyed. Companies are not spending big money on in-house servers that require support and then loading on expensive software that is bought. Instead, they are opting for a monthly fee and it is all in the cloud. This is driving down the profits across the board.

Blockchain is a technology that few are paying any attention to. While the media likes to espouse the statements of Jamie Dimon (hates Bitcoin but loves blockchain), the fact is people are being misled by this. The power of blockchain is not in a centralized system. What makes blockchain so powerful is the fact that the base layer is decentralized. This is what allows for the power of innovation and the creativity of developers to be unleashed.

I am the first to state that I am an ardent believer that we are going to see technological unemployment over the next decade. My personal view is that we will see a lot of jobs lost during the next recession which will not return. This will happen across the board as industries shift and transition to completely new models. Essentially, what is going to be created will not involve near as many people.

Ironically, almost nobody is talking about this.

This is also a reason why what we are doing on Steem and what is taking place on other blockchains is so crucial. We are creating a new economic environment for people to transition into. The astute ones, in my opinion, are getting involved now. Sadly, we all know this is minimal in terms of the numbers.

Politics, economics, and finance have never been less important. This is what people tend to pay the most attention to yet it is all changing. Most of these areas will be radically different in 10 years. Technology is the big elephant in the room. It is the one thing that is shifting every industry out there.

Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, or AOC will not cost tens of millions of people their jobs. Neither will the Paul Krugmans of the world. Even the bankers, with all their clout, most likely will not rival this numbers.

Do you know what does have the ability to wipe out tens of millions of jobs by the middle of the next decade? Technology.

Do you also know what few people are paying any attention to? Technology.

I read a number of sites by different economists and, no matter what perspective they come from, they all pan cryptocurrency. None of them can understand what is taking place. All these people have all kinds of degress yet this is something that is completely outside the scope of what they known.

The reason this is lies in the fact that cryptocurrency is not economic or financial; it is technical. Once you understand that it is a technology, then you can grasp why people are overlooking it. Technology is something only the geeks and nerds pay attention to. The masses are too busy with other things.

This is unfortunate since they are the ones who are going to severely affected. I am extremely grateful to found cryptocurrency and blockchain when I did. Those of us on here now are the early adopters meaning we put up with many hiccups as the technology evolves. That said, we are also learning about what is going to provide the fallback for millions once things turn south.

Over the last 5 years, I can see things picking up pace. The Wal-Mart/Kroger situation does not surprise me. There are numerous other examples of how rapidly industries can be upended. We only need to look at Netflix and Amazon to see the potential.

By the way, as an aside, I also believe we are seeing the target being set on Facebook. This is a company I do not feel will be able to stand up to the onslaught once it starts. Do not be surprised if it is basically a dead animal by 2025.

Steem is offering me a way to create a future that would not have been possible otherwise. I am not afraid of what is coming down the road since I know that the worse things get, the better they will be for me. At some point, I foresee an inverse relationship forming between the fiat/stock/economic world we are living in and cryptocurrency. When all starts to head south, crypto will take off. My sense is the worse it gets, the better it will be for those who are involved now.

I read a lot of futuristic stuff with all kinds of predictions. For the most part, I do not pay attention to much outside of the next 10 years. The way things are going, it simply is too difficult to project what is going to happen in the 2030s or 2040s. Even 10 years is tough because it probably will equal the progression over the last 3 decades.

When you see people, understand that they are busy doing what they do and are not paying attention to what is taking place. I know not everyone is excited about this stuff especially since a lot of it is hard to digest. It is why I try to write things that are helpful and clarify things. Time is tight for most.

My suggestion is to keep looking into technology. I would follow @techwizardry who blasts this blockchain with dozens of posts a day linking articles in the technology arena. It is a fabulous way to catch the gist of what is going on.

Over time, you begin to see the progression of things. It is surprising how fast they are starting to move. While this can be scary, once aware, it is very exciting. There are remarkable breakthroughs taking place. The next decade is going to be a lot of fun.

For this reason, I love the idea of making Steem an information center. We have a great many knowledgeable people who are on here each day. Over the next few years, there are going to be millions looking for answers to what is taking place. The better we educate ourselves, the more we should be able to help them navigate the pitfalls of what is going to befall society and the global economy.

While they are sleeping, we are taking action and preparing.

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