Autumn Marathon

Career Change Then & Now (III)

Over the last five years, the change in how individuals use information technology has accelerated.   This has made a huge impact in how one seeks jobs or business opportunities.  During my last big search in the mid-90s, it was a big deal that I had email, the kind of PC on one’s desk was a constraint on what kind of tasks I could do, and communicating with large, widespread groups of people was difficult and time consuming.  The big changes that characterize the environment today are:

1. ubiquitous broadband connectivity: this has fostered the adoption of miracle applications and makes it much more likely that more people will be using them at one time, fostering a “network effect.”  One example: Skype which enables free or very cheap call and video conferences has enabled me to maintain a network that extends from Bangalore to St. Petersburg to California while living in New York.  Broadband, including ever more common 3G mobile connections, is also a prerequisite for the next item on the list.
2. the rise of “software as a service” (SAAS) i.e. business/consumer utilities that run over the internet rather than on one’s local machine.  Gmail, Google Documents (office applications), project management software and CRM applications are good examples.  These services make it possible for me to work (on an unpaid basis) for a San Francisco-based non-profit and to develop a business plan with a former colleague now living in Saint Petersburg.  They also make it much less important what kind of machine I am using, as long as it can access the internet via a conventional web browser.
3. The third big change is the advent of social networking tools which have made it possible to track, keep in touch with and cultivate different networks of people.  The Obama presidential campaign has been cited many places including in this blog for its exemplary use of social networks to further a political cause.  And I personally am amazed at how many people whom I care about but had nevertheless lost track of, have come out of the woodwork on Facebook or LinkedIn.  The social web is not limited to these popular sites - activities such as blogging and various forms of messaging are also ways to communicate with groups of people.  And it’s important to note that all of the platforms mentioned are just communications tools - to have a real social network, one needs to care about people and build real relationships.