RE: The Internet devalues everything it touches . . .

I just read a very thought provoking article entitled "The Internet devalues everything it touches"

After I first read it, I started to wonder what I was devaluing by using the Internet to help restaurants save money. Am I putting people out of work or reducing the value of alternatives?

If I take a step back, I think the Internet is the same as any technology. Did robots devalue the earning potential of an assembly line worker? What about the steno pool? Rooms full of typists were instantly devalued by the introduction of the photo copier.

It's a cycle, a new technology comes along and introduces new efficiencies, disrupts the market, then as the market gets saturated with the new tech, you have commoditization. Then repeat.

The Internet was a new technology, but it is also an enabling technology, like a microprocessor, or the ability to make steel. These foundation technologies (for lack of a better term), are disruptive, but also have amazing longevity as they are building blocks for the next great new innovations.

So while it may feel like everything around us is getting devalued by the Internet, we have to step back and see it for what it really is... a cycle. There will be another one coming. Green tech anyone?

Comments

[Dave]

Yes, in some ways it's a cycle. But one very linear trend is the way local economies have been forced into mass scale, and many of us come out on the loosing end. As local businesses surrender on the price front, the worst devaluation occurs to the interpersonal, tailored relationships at which those now-defunct local businesses excelled. Many people I talk to are increasingly realizing this, and the question has become: How do we reinstate the human, communal side to business in this new economy? It's not a new question, but seems more important than ever, especially as smaller businesses can now (and often) shield their human qualities from customers. I offer my kudos to all the mom & pop restaurants that stick it out and stay personal, and I hope one day we see the trend point back to them.