Wednesday, December 22, 2010

A Futuristic View

The internet and it's information revolution have given us powerful tools that will profoundly change the way that we act in the next generation.
~
For the most part, the demand for office space and retail space should curtail dramatically.  With Skype and other tools, there simply is no reason for people to have to congregate in the same physical space to conduct business.  And on-line purchasing negates the need for retail stores to a large extent.
~
Online banking and direct deposits have dramatically reduced the time needed to go to a branch bank office.
~
The fact the people continue to go to offices to work, and stores to shop is a habitual mode of thinking that will become increasingly obsolete as the next generation emerges with no such behavioral habit.
~
The shift that this will cause in employment and land use practices will be profound.  All new homes will be equipped with home work station offices, and low paying retail employment will shift to logistical, delivery services.  Retail shopping will evolve to "Demo" rooms where people go to actually see the stuff that they will then order on-line, and shopping centers will be characterized more by restaurant choices and entertainment venues.
~
Course... all this depends on the Mayans being wrong about  the end of days in 2012!   And if the Internet power sources are interrupted by any means, the new order will come crumbling down.

No comments: