Technology is not the only thing that gets the 2.0 upgrade treatment. Users of that technology are also being upgraded at the same pace. It may be a bit too philosophical to ponder whether people get upgraded because of technology, or if technology gets upgraded because of people. But one thing is for certain: people upgrade themselves at the same rate they upgrade their tech.
Today, we can hammer out text faster than we can think about it. So we don’t. Readers can digest lots of data in small snippets. So they do. Already, this paragraph is too long for the modern reader.
As the technology changes, we change right along with it. And that also has to apply to the way we make a living. It is not so much that you can’t do some version of what you have been doing to earn an income. But it has to be brought into the digital world, these days, otherwise known as just, the world. What you need is an analog to digital converter for your skills. Here are a few suggestions for the transition:
Designing the Future
If you are a designer by trade, there is no going back to slide rules and pencils. Sure, there are digital products called slides and pencils, but they may not be exactly what you’re expecting. But design is not just about the tools of drafting an idea. It is how you think about the way things should look in a digital space.
While your designer’s eye is far from obsolete, it could use a bit of a digital upgrade for work in the current design field. Programs such as a Platt College graphic design degree are intended to help you upgrade your skills and translate them into the digital world.
This particular example is only a 16 month program from start to finish. That is fairly typical of the field. That means that you can transition your design skills smoothly, without having to assign a large chunk of your life to relearning.
Desktop Publishing
There was a time in the early 90s when desktop publishing was considered the computer’s killer app. Today, there is a generation of people who haven’t a clue what desktop publishing even refers to.
And who can blame them. From their perspective, everything is publishing. From Facebook to Tumblr, to WordPress, people are publishing their lives one thought at a time. The news papers that people read on the subway are no longer made of paper. And it is hard to describe books as page turners when no pages are involved.
Print magazines may be dying. But apps like Flipboard have gone a long way towards redefining what a magazine is. However, that does not mean that ink-stained wretches should fear for their jobs. They just need to upgrade the way they think about producing content.
Instead of paper, content is not being produced for the Web. Apps like Word and Pages were tooled for the analog approach to creating and consuming content. Today’s writers will be more native in apps like Ulysses and Text Wrangler. Instead of fonts and typesetting. Writers need to have familiarity with Markdown and HTML.
Digital Music
In truth, there is no such thing as digital music. It is all just music. The way it is created and recorded has little to do with its merits as art. Going digital provides all manner of opportunity for the aspiring musician, or the seasoned pro who has had his fill with the old way of doing things.
Digital distribution is a game changer. The home recordist has almost as many distribution options as the major labels. The creative possibilities are limitless now that a good DAW comes with every low-end Mac. And decent mics can be had for £40 or less. There has never been a better time to be a musician.
Going digital is not just a matter of purchasing some new equipment and software. It is also the process of upgrading the way we think about how people and society are changing. If your skills are not changing with the times, you will have plenty of time to enjoy those vinyl records you have been hanging on to.
