Disruptive Technology

I remember when I just started my first job, I used leave work at 5:30pm, and I did not think about work until 9am next day.

Conversely, I remember when I got to work at 9am, I did not have to think about home until 5:30pm.

Later on, I bought this new phone, with email in it. I felt a new freedom. I was released from my desk and desktop. I could have a Big Mac in one hand, and type a letter in my Sony Ericsson.

Then everyone had Blackberrys. Work email would arrive at home. You felt you could leave home early. But something quite sinister was happening. You no longer shut the office out of your life.

People would get emails from their boss, telling them something, and suddenly their meal would get stuck half way down their throat. If it happened in a middle of a little family discussion, you would end up with a massive domestic. It was disruptive.

In 90's we all joined instant messenging sites, and our friends and family would get in touch with us for free. We had skype and msn chat. With them we could stay in touch with our kin at home. We could keep in touch whilst at work.  But the wife would tell you off, suddenly your chin would drop, and everyone at work would notice. How embarrasing. That was disruptive.

Nowadays with Androids and iPhones, we all use Twitter and Facebook, and are able to share info from the workplace to the whole world. The corporations cannot block it. New firewalls have to be created to control all of it. They call it Disruptive Technology.

We have had a revolution at work and at home, that has changed the way we interact in the most radical way in human history.

I miss the old world.