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December 12, 2010

Slapdash Sunday Topic: Your thoughts?

SUNDAY


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Hosted by Kayla from The Eclectic Element
Slapdash Sunday is a day for your proverbial week 'leftovers.' Is there something you wanted to say, but just forgot? Is there something you want to write about, but isn't worth a whole page? Do you have a random thought, funny or otherwise that needs to be written down?
That is what Slapdash Sunday is for!
I received this email the other day and thought it was quite interesting.  I thought I would share it with all of you and see what your thoughts are on some of the issues.  So...lets get the discussion, Slapdash Discussion, started !!

CHANGES ARE COMING ---- Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come!

1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music fromiTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes

6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.

8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.
All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.
Do you agree with any of the above?  Have you already made any of the changes?  Have any of the above affected your lives?  Would love to hear what you think!!!

11 comments:

Teacher/Learner said...

Wow, that's quite a deep, insightful post! I sure hope that this trend moves as slowly as possible because it sounds awfully sad. I'm in my 20s & still read the daily newspaper, watch TV (though I do have a DVR), write checks, use the post office, and read books the old-fashioned way, but I'm probably one of very few Gen-Yers that does so. I do admit a fondness for iTunes over CDs though :)

CMash said...

Teacher/Learner: I thought so too. I think my cousin said it best, we were discussing this very topic and he said that technology is both a blessing and a curse. I wonder what it will be like in the coming years. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

Gigi Ann said...

Where do I start? We already gave up the landline phone years ago. We pay for one newspaper online now, a few of the others we read are still free. Right now I still read the hand held books, although I do read some online at Daily Lit. Com. mostly some of the old classics I've never read. TV is something I like, but, hardly ever watch anymore, unless there is a movie or special show I enjoy and wanted to see is on. I still use checks, and the post office I would miss. And I must say I think we lost our privacy many years ago. But, that is life and as I always say, it is something we just have to deal with, and adjust to, one way or the other.

Bev Hankins said...

Gah! I hate the thought of no more books to hold in your hand...maybe that's why I have such a thing for the classics and classic mysteries. I can go to used books stores and find them to hold. If new books come out only in e-form, then I'm going to be even less likely to read them than I am now.

But,then, TV...that could disappear completely and I wouldn't mind at all. As long as I can find DVDs (or online) versions of all the shows and movies that have already come along. There are still so many classic movies that I've never seen that I'd have enough viewing to keep me going for a lifetime. Especially when you consider how small my viewing hours are compared to reading hours.

CMash said...

Ann: It sounds like you are right on course. I remember hubby saying years ago that there would be no land lines in the future and I guess he was right. We used to get the daily paper but found that it kept dwindling down in pages, so canceled it. You are right, we just have to deal with it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

CMash said...

Bev: I am still on the fence regarding books and EBooks...want them both. And like you, I hardly watch TV but usually have a cable news station on at all times for breaking news. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Unknown said...

You're absolutely right! I hate it but is there really an alternative? Especially at work - it's do or die...

CMash said...

Gina: I never thought about that because I can't work. No wonder you are so good with computers and know how to do so much. I guess you are right...it would have to be "do or die".

Carol said...

Great article, Cheryl.

I am so aware of the decline of the Post Office. We have seen every sub post office in our area close. We rely on one main post office and our postal delivery is hit or miss.
I see more of other delivery companies than I do Royal Mail.

I do worry about losing books and papers/magazines.

I am fine about landlines going. We all have mobiles in our house and the house phone hardly rings. Mainly text bleeps going off!

I feel I have blended into the system of not using cheques or cash very often. In fact I have to hunt for the cheque book if needed, it is that infrequent.

I remember panicking about losing vinyls and tape cassettes, but survived the change to CD so not too worried bout future music changes.

carol

CMash said...

Carol: It sounds like you are making the transition. Me, on the other hand, I think if I was working I too would be more knowledgeable of such things. And do agree with you, we still have a landline but it mostly rings only from telemarketers calling. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Guessing you got your laptop back lol.

Carol said...

Yes Cheryl got my laptop back....one mod con I have come to depend on, I am afraid.

I too am not working but have the advantage of teens so I can almost keep up with the changing times. I fear I will have to retrain when I want to go back to work in a couple of years time.

carol