The next big digital thing isn’t digital
It’s official. The Internet has changed our everyday lives, and the digital revolution is undoubtably gathering mainstream momentum each week. Soon we will all wear Google goggles and be able to view each others Klout score and Linkedin connections, before we even talk with each other.
But for those of us who have ‘done digital’ for many years now (and usually wince when others describe the Internet as “new”) we’re not as easily impressed. In fact, unless Google attempts to buy our local town hall, or someone manages to make it to Mars using a Microsoft product, we go about out our day jobs using the Internet to improve lives and businesses.
Ironically, when digital people get asked what the next likely trending phenomena will be, we usually parrot something we’ve heard (at the moment it’s Big Data, Digital Transformation, Mobile Disruption etc. etc.) Perhaps we are too close to the action to see some of the more fundamental changes that are happening?
The word ‘digital’ is disappearing
Most of all, the word ‘digital’ is disappearing, and guess what? People who ‘do digital’ are actually very happy about it! Digital innovation is part of our world, like electricity - we use the Internet unconsciously and instinctively to achieve a staggering array of tasks. We welcome the day when using the ‘d’ word will be as unnatural as asking your friend to “switch the electric light on” for you.
So what’s the big change? If you have Internet skills and understand Online services, if you can use digital to help achieve things for businesses then guess what! You can pursue almost any career you like. You don’t have to work for a dot com, Internet company or digital agency. Now businesses all over the world want digital skills - from farming and agriculture to charities, manufacturing and shipping.
That’s the big change. Any business can ‘go digital’ and use the Internet to improve productivity, get closer to customers and create new revenue streams. That means anyone with digital skills has the potential to move into a new industry too.
For more inspiration you may also want to read this recent article: What Will You Create to Make the World Awesome? by Greg McKeown on the Harvard Business Review Blog.