Step back in time twenty years or so ago and you would barely recognize the world. And most of that is down to one single thing: technology. Business and consumer lifestyles have changed from tech. The way that we work, watch, listen, and even read is entirely different. Technology is such a major part in everyone’s life, and it matters not whether you like it or not. So, today, we thought we would look at how business – and the world – has embraced technology.
Music
âBack in the day,’ as they say, music was a purely analog experience. You bought records or tapes, and maybe CDs. They were the new kid in town, had jam smeared all over them on Tomorrow’s World, along with a ridiculous claim that they were indestructible. A quick glance at the scratches on my CD collection tells me something different, however. Nowadays, of course, we stream – after a brief and rather horrific period of downloading everything on poor quality mp3 files.
But of course, it’s not just the format that has changed. Twenty years ago every high street in the country had at least one or two independent record shops, and these days you would struggle to find an HMV. And there have been casualties from record companies and distributors, too. It’s an entirely different landscape, and not one that could be described as a healthy one. I prefer the olden ways, so please pass my pipe and top hat.
Healthcare
Technology has come on in leaps and bounds in the medical world. In 1995, if you had an appendix operation you might have ended up looking as if you had been cut in half and sewn up again. A couple of years later, though, and it could have all been done by keyhole surgery, leaving nothing but the smallest of scars.
Plus, healthcare is getting to grips with the communications opportunities that modern technology brings. Most people chucked their pagers in the bin the second they bought a mobile phone – unless they were drug dealers, of course. But the healthcare profession has still been using pagers by the dozen – until, perhaps now. With secure texting now a viable option, all they need is an app and their phone to keep things wrapped up securely and still deal with emergencies. As far as the healthcare profession is concerned, the more tech, the better.
Travel
Booking a flight, hotel, and all your holiday activities can be achieved in the space of five minutes these days. Comparison websites have made it so easy to book a trip away that it has become a rather ordinary thing to do. Twenty years ago? It was a mission just to get a flight. You would need to head down to your local travel agent, wait around and flick through brochures of unknown places. And there was no public opinion available to sway you whatsoever.
There are still travel agents, of cours. But all of them have had to up their game. Airports and airlines are trying their best, too. You can download apps and check in 24 hours before you even get there. Although, often enough, the time you save is now spent in the queues to get through the security checks. It’s fair to say that until they sort that out, the jury’s still out on tech improving travel.
