Age 5: Discover reading. Lots of interesting books to read.
Age 10: Discover computers. Lots of interesting programming problems to solve.
Age 15: Discover all the interesting problems involving computers also involve real-world data, which is hard to get pre-Internet.
Age 20: Discover all the really interesting problems involving computers also involve humans, which isn't what a theoretical maths & computer science degree is for.
Age 25: Discover all the very interesting problems involving computers also involve networks of other computers, and that this means the ability to create new business models.
Age 30: Discover all the extremely interesting problems involving computers also involve money, and for that to happen you need a fabric of trust for transactions to occur.
Age 35: Discover all the exceptionally interesting problems involving computers also involve human spirit, and that is something a commercial organisation can enable, but never own.
Think of it this way:
I find the current generation of socnets, that suck you in and juice you for "user-generated content" and contextual advert fodder, somewhat scary. But we'll grow up and mature, and these online spaces are becoming places that are about more than commerce. Places where human spirit blossoms -- works of art are created, conflicts are waged, love is found and lost. Simply a place where we can play and explore and interact, on epic scales which the real-world environment cannot support.
The telco thing? Well, I think now more than ever it's important for operators to open up their platform, because they have a great suite of under-used assets that outsiders can't access and exploit. You'll never be able to sell beauty, passion, or love. But you can do a lot more to act as an enabler and distributor for those who can and do.
Happy New Year, I'm off on hols for a week in rural mid-Wales.
Posted by Martin Geddes at 11:14 AMTrackBack URL for this entry:
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