I asked my mother if she remembered my first attempt at being an entrepreneur. I was ten and I was selling handwritten magazines to folks in my neighborhood and the community mosque. Of course, she did, even the details- the columns, the stories, the revenue. When my parents had me enrolled in computer classes around the corner from the house I grew up in, I was thrilled to have been introduced to Notepad. I recall Ms. Nanda teaching me all the functions I could perform with this new tool! I then started experimenting with Notepad. I typed endlessly on the keyboard of the computer at Excel Computers and even came out with a typed version of my magazine. The little Mariam grew up and pursued her passion for media. That first attempt never materialized into something, beyond a childhood memory. But it was significant in the sense that today it is unheard of for someone to even write a handwritten letter, much less a magazine. I don’t even remember the last time I held a magazine in my hand. Perhaps it was the Filmfare or Femina magazine at a doctor’s clinic before I departed for the US.
When I studied in America, a career as a content writer was unheard of. And bloggers most certainly didn’t exist. I would visit the Writing Center to have my work edited by real tutors, and my professors would make handwritten notes as they marked my essays. My college SOP read that I wanted to serve in Government or become a journalist. Fast forward to 2018. I find myself writing for a company that was born out of the age of Information Technology. It is with this company that I am getting acquainted with the application of technology and also learning of job titles I thought were reserved for other professions-Software Architect? Isn’t an Architect a person that designs buildings? So it is through this exposure to intelligent technology that I am beginning to doubt my ideas about technology. It was only an illusion then that technology was putting people out of jobs. The truth is that it is also creating new opportunities. Look at me, as an old-fashioned journalist I didn’t have much of a future, but as I accepted this position as a Content writer that was offered to me, I was doing something worthwhile with my time. Now, I am learning on the job; my university program never offered me a course on content writing. Can’t blame them, they probably never saw it coming. But I sure as hell knew how to write; the title just got fancier and the subject just got automated!
There are many others who were probably put out of a job because of IT, but a significant number of them were also able to secure a seat on the caravan heading towards a digital future. Survival of the fittest meant how adaptive and skilled you were. Could you learn the tools Facebook was constantly throwing your way? Could you type as fast as you could write? Could you transform your creativity into codes that could create digital art? Could you market your boss’s products to a global audience? Well, if you have survived, you probably were able to predict the future and move toward it.
I don’t even remember the last time I set foot in a mall. eCommerce has created more jobs for delivery agents and developers who create chatbots who respond to my queries. I was annoyed in the beginning that Uber didn’t have a customer service number when I wanted to place my complaint. But I have become accustomed to having an app take care of recording and responding to my issues. So we learn and adapt, just as mankind has been doing since time immemorial.
No one is asking you to give up your interests. I didn’t. I still write and record videos. I still want to get famous. I just have altered the channel. While I do enjoy holding the pen, and the feel of paper, and while I still bring back notebooks from my travels, I also want to survive doing what I enjoy, and if that means trading the tools, I am in!
And how can a business stay in business? Exactly the same way- create opportunities for your most hard working crew keeping in mind their current job profile. Equip them with gears, for you can’t blame them for not having studied something a college program didn’t offer. And educational institutions too need to get on board to ensure their alumni can find jobs! Irrelevant courses in the Mass Communication program, for instance, can be replaced by updated courses and coursework. Professors would have to incorporate cognitive technology to administer their courses or in the least acquaint themselves with new trends. I predict that the teaching staff at most educational institutions will boast of young blood! Can’t expect someone the age of my father to teach how to increase your business’s followers on Instagram. Classroom size may shrink because virtual courses are gaining momentum. Again something that might get challenging for an old-fashioned teacher!
My parents find it hard to believe that I work from home. I have tried time and again to convince them of enterprise mobility, which is an offspring of IT. My father just thinks I resigned. Well, can’t blame him. He comes from a different generation that is now obsolete. Mine, however, is not too far behind.
I may never live to see a completely digitized world, but I am glad I got to witness it take root!
Technologically yours,
Mariam
When I studied in America, a career as a content writer was unheard of. And bloggers most certainly didn’t exist. I would visit the Writing Center to have my work edited by real tutors, and my professors would make handwritten notes as they marked my essays. My college SOP read that I wanted to serve in Government or become a journalist. Fast forward to 2018. I find myself writing for a company that was born out of the age of Information Technology. It is with this company that I am getting acquainted with the application of technology and also learning of job titles I thought were reserved for other professions-Software Architect? Isn’t an Architect a person that designs buildings? So it is through this exposure to intelligent technology that I am beginning to doubt my ideas about technology. It was only an illusion then that technology was putting people out of jobs. The truth is that it is also creating new opportunities. Look at me, as an old-fashioned journalist I didn’t have much of a future, but as I accepted this position as a Content writer that was offered to me, I was doing something worthwhile with my time. Now, I am learning on the job; my university program never offered me a course on content writing. Can’t blame them, they probably never saw it coming. But I sure as hell knew how to write; the title just got fancier and the subject just got automated!
There are many others who were probably put out of a job because of IT, but a significant number of them were also able to secure a seat on the caravan heading towards a digital future. Survival of the fittest meant how adaptive and skilled you were. Could you learn the tools Facebook was constantly throwing your way? Could you type as fast as you could write? Could you transform your creativity into codes that could create digital art? Could you market your boss’s products to a global audience? Well, if you have survived, you probably were able to predict the future and move toward it.
I don’t even remember the last time I set foot in a mall. eCommerce has created more jobs for delivery agents and developers who create chatbots who respond to my queries. I was annoyed in the beginning that Uber didn’t have a customer service number when I wanted to place my complaint. But I have become accustomed to having an app take care of recording and responding to my issues. So we learn and adapt, just as mankind has been doing since time immemorial.
No one is asking you to give up your interests. I didn’t. I still write and record videos. I still want to get famous. I just have altered the channel. While I do enjoy holding the pen, and the feel of paper, and while I still bring back notebooks from my travels, I also want to survive doing what I enjoy, and if that means trading the tools, I am in!
And how can a business stay in business? Exactly the same way- create opportunities for your most hard working crew keeping in mind their current job profile. Equip them with gears, for you can’t blame them for not having studied something a college program didn’t offer. And educational institutions too need to get on board to ensure their alumni can find jobs! Irrelevant courses in the Mass Communication program, for instance, can be replaced by updated courses and coursework. Professors would have to incorporate cognitive technology to administer their courses or in the least acquaint themselves with new trends. I predict that the teaching staff at most educational institutions will boast of young blood! Can’t expect someone the age of my father to teach how to increase your business’s followers on Instagram. Classroom size may shrink because virtual courses are gaining momentum. Again something that might get challenging for an old-fashioned teacher!
My parents find it hard to believe that I work from home. I have tried time and again to convince them of enterprise mobility, which is an offspring of IT. My father just thinks I resigned. Well, can’t blame him. He comes from a different generation that is now obsolete. Mine, however, is not too far behind.
I may never live to see a completely digitized world, but I am glad I got to witness it take root!
Technologically yours,
Mariam
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