Technology as a Revolution
WHAT
IS TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION?
A technological revolution generally increases productivity and efficiency. It may involve material or ideological changes caused by the introduction of a device or system. Some examples of its potential impact are business management, education, social interactions, finance and research methodology; it is not limited strictly to technical aspects. The technological revolution rewrites the material conditions of human existence and can reshape culture. It can play a role as a trigger of a chain of various and unpredictable changes.
HISTORY
OF TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION
The
First Industrial Revolution saw water and steam used to power and machine
production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third
used electronics and information technology to automate production.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
(4IR) is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring
since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of
technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and
biological spheres.
These technologies include
artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning and “the internet of
things” which is seeing an increasing proportion of household and business
appliances connected to the internet. On speed, when compared with previous
industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a
linear pace. In scope, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country,
with robotics and artificial intelligence.
PURPOSE
DRIVES TECHNOLOGY FORWARD
All technologies are born out of
purpose. For example, search engines were created to sort through the massive
amounts of data online. With each new upgrade technology compounds existing
technologies to create something better than what was previously used before.
And on and on it goes.
With the lightning speed of technological
evolution, it is no wonder many people have struggled to keep up. To be fair,
the scope of technology’s expanse is so great, wrapping everything up into a
single blog post is practically impossible.
Here is just a brief glimpse into
how rapidly the Internet and technology as a whole have evolved in recent
years.
THE
PAST: WORLD, MEET THE INTERNET
Looking back to the 1990’s, the
Internet was a new commodity many, but not all, households and businesses began
to gain access. For people living during that time, the sound of the painfully
slow dial up signal connecting to the Internet is a not-so-fond memory (ohhhh!).
Thankfully, as more people found
value in the Internet, technology took off to eliminate having to use a phone
line to go online and instead delivered faster connections to the World Wide
Web.
THE
PRESENT: SNAPS, CHATS AND DOUBLE TAPS
Fast-forward a short decade later,
Remember VHS tapes!? The OG fast forward? OK, moving on….
Since the days of dial-up, access
to the Internet is available almost everywhere. It is rare these days for
consumers to go into a coffee shop, library or any place of business and not be
able to access a Wi-Fi signal. If there isn’t a Wi-Fi signal in close range,
most people still have access to the Internet via their cellular data
connection on their smartphones and personal hotspots, no problem.
FACE
TO FACE (VIRTUALLY, SPEAKING)
Face-to-face conversations via
technology are resurfacing, though, and even strengthening, thanks to
higher-quality video and streaming capabilities (enter: Skype, Google Hangouts,
Zoom, Face Time, live streaming, etc.). With more people engaging in web/video
conferencing online, geographic barriers that once hindered communication were
torn down. Instead, companies can engage with consumers in a more humane
manner, people can talk to people face-to-face without the need for costly
travel and reaching out to people all over the world is faster and easier.
THE
INTERNET OF THINGS
You’ll hear more and more about the “Internet of Things” (IoT) now and in the future. The deeper we dive into technology, the more it seems we try to blend the physical and virtual worlds together. Smart speakers, smart homes and even smart cars are the tech wave to ride in the future, but it’s just the beginning.
Think of the Internet of Things as
a network of physical devices – like handheld gadgets, vehicles, home appliances
or any kind of electronic item with embedded software or technology – connected
together and able to exchange data.
Gartner, an analyst firm,
speculates there will be more than 26 billion connected devices by 2020.
Imagine a future where your car warns you of heavy traffic or your alarm clock
notifies you about your coffee brewing itself in the kitchen. Imagine living in
a smart home in a smart city. In other words, the future happening is now. Or
at least, it’ll be here sooner……
CUTTING
THE CORD: THE ERA OF VIDEO STREAMING
Remember when Netflix was a
primarily a DVD delivery company, bringing your favorite movie via mail? Back
when binge-watching wasn’t a thing?
Today, people are cutting the cord
when it comes to cable, opting for digital streaming and video services like
Netflix, YouTube . Big brands are trying to keep up and compete, doing their
best to one-up each other with original content, availability and delivery
channels (e.g. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, etc.). User-generated
content is a force to acknowledge as well. Thanks to streaming options like
Facebook Live, Instagram Live and Periscope, individuals and business are able
to broadcast their own videos and content.
In a nutshell, videos are popping
up everywhere and trending big time. And they thought talking pictures would
never last…
IMPACT
ON SOCIETY
One
aspect of technology that has had a great impact on society is how it affects
learning. It’s made learning more interactive and collaborative, this helps
people better engage with the material that they are learning and have trouble
with. Also, it gets you better access to resources.
With the creation of the internet,
it gives us access to information at a twenty-four-hour rate and you have
access to almost anything online .In addition, it allows students to get work
done easier. Students can take quizzes and exams more easily, and teachers
being able to hold online classes can be very effective. It also expands the
boundaries of the classroom, encouraging self-paced learning.
People can access learning through YouTube and
social media. This helps students learn better than sitting down for lectures
and reading from textbooks. These technological advancements made learning more
fun and convenient.
THE FUTURE: EMERGING TRENDS ON THE
HORIZON
As more existing technologies are
stacked onto each other and developed into something greater, consumers and
businesses alike can expect to see more opportunity with future technology.
Technology will be faster, have the ability to accomplish more and everything
will become more streamlined to make getting work done, easier.
While we don’t have the ability to
predict the future, we can offer speculations on technology’s evolution. We are
constantly seeing emerging media and new trends in technology to follow. Here
are a few trends to watch for in the coming years.
WHY
BOTHER KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY?
It’s a fair question. Technology is
constantly changing and it sometimes feels like way too much effort to keep up
with a moving target. Just remember - keeping up with technology adds value to
your business.
Staying up-to-date helps ensure you
don’t miss opportunities, become irrelevant or fall behind your competitors.
Remember Kodak? They taught us all an invaluable lesson: don’t be afraid to
embrace change.
CONCLUSION
Basically I am saying that technology
revolution rewrite the material condition of human existence and can reshape
culture. We are going through 4th technological revolution which, unlike the
great revolution of the past, is much faster and will probably have a deeper
social and economic impact. As we see different phases of technology revolution
and it shows that fundamental change in way we live, work and relate to one
another. Technology is advancing faster than society can handle, with only the
people creating these advancements being able to understand them. Change in
technology will continue to happen. So are you ready for upcoming change?


