I finished the book: The Big Switch - Rewiring the World from Edison to Google, by Nicholas Carr while on vacation. It is a great read and I recommend it to any of you. I like a book that I think addresses one idea, then hits me with astonishing ideas. This book did exactly that. I thought I was reading a book about technology and the cloud, and I was, but it came with a business and cultural subplot that really jumped out at me.
The Big Switch is about the approaching tempest called cloud computing. Carr does not talk of the WWW (World Wide Web), but instead talks about the WWC (World Wide Computer). The cloud conglomeration of technology on the PC grid is changing technology, economics and our American culture.
Carr tracks the history of manufacturing from Burden's waterwheel and factories on the river (see the Grand Rapids Public Museum and our Grand Rapids Furniture Building), to over 50,000 of Edison's Dyno generators in each factory in our country, to electrical utilities dislodging company owned generators. Why own a generator when a centralized power source will manage and deliver the service for less money? Jump forward to PC servers installed at individual corporations and you see where this is going. Cloud based grid computing is a logical technical and industrial trend. We are on the front edge of this wave at the moment.
The industrial subplot in the book is intriguing to me. Essentially, technology has been the driver of increased efficiency worldwide forever. From the creation of the wheel and the wick (yes, the candlewick) to Ford's auto assembly line, innovators have been applying new technologies to human efforts to enhance efficiency and create wealth for hundreds of years. Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and so on, and the new worldwide technology grid are changing that paradigm completely. Note that earlier technology was applied to human paid labor (employees) to enhance results. Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and online corporations are now raking in billions of dollars in net worth with 'free ' content. Google uses our search data to create net worth. You and I have never been paid for our labor. Facebook creates networth thru the our relationships and content that you and I create on that site. Facebook might have created $100,000,000,000 of market value by assembling 'free ' content that you and I delivered! YouTube uses free videos submitted worldwide to create net worth. They don't have to pay producers, directors or actors. This is a dramatic change in value creation. I submit that these companies have generated just about $1 Trillion in worth with a volunteer labor force. You and I deliver the net worth and content absolutely free. The implication for the job market and careers as Internet technology moves on from WWW (World Wide Web) to WWC (World Wide Computer) is just as fascinating and worth thinking about.
The cultural subplot is equally engaging. The last living human beings who lived pre-electric are now dying. Imagine living when the only light after the sun sets is from your lamp, candle or fire. No street lights, no ceiling lights, no reading lights. Just pure darkness. Are you able to imagine every night being like a camping trip, gathering round the fire 365 nights a year? Carr concludes the book with a brief glimpse into the future, 100 years from now when the last human that lived pre-WWW is gone. Can you remember what it was like pre-internet, pre-cell phone, pre-smart phone? Our American culture shifted forever with the invention of electricity and it is going through a highly influential change with the development of the world wide web/computer in our everyday lives. What are the implications, gains and losses of this progress?
Consider The Big Switch as a superb read and a look into the change that is coming to business and technology ...
The Big Switch is about the approaching tempest called cloud computing. Carr does not talk of the WWW (World Wide Web), but instead talks about the WWC (World Wide Computer). The cloud conglomeration of technology on the PC grid is changing technology, economics and our American culture.
Carr tracks the history of manufacturing from Burden's waterwheel and factories on the river (see the Grand Rapids Public Museum and our Grand Rapids Furniture Building), to over 50,000 of Edison's Dyno generators in each factory in our country, to electrical utilities dislodging company owned generators. Why own a generator when a centralized power source will manage and deliver the service for less money? Jump forward to PC servers installed at individual corporations and you see where this is going. Cloud based grid computing is a logical technical and industrial trend. We are on the front edge of this wave at the moment.
The industrial subplot in the book is intriguing to me. Essentially, technology has been the driver of increased efficiency worldwide forever. From the creation of the wheel and the wick (yes, the candlewick) to Ford's auto assembly line, innovators have been applying new technologies to human efforts to enhance efficiency and create wealth for hundreds of years. Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and so on, and the new worldwide technology grid are changing that paradigm completely. Note that earlier technology was applied to human paid labor (employees) to enhance results. Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and online corporations are now raking in billions of dollars in net worth with 'free ' content. Google uses our search data to create net worth. You and I have never been paid for our labor. Facebook creates networth thru the our relationships and content that you and I create on that site. Facebook might have created $100,000,000,000 of market value by assembling 'free ' content that you and I delivered! YouTube uses free videos submitted worldwide to create net worth. They don't have to pay producers, directors or actors. This is a dramatic change in value creation. I submit that these companies have generated just about $1 Trillion in worth with a volunteer labor force. You and I deliver the net worth and content absolutely free. The implication for the job market and careers as Internet technology moves on from WWW (World Wide Web) to WWC (World Wide Computer) is just as fascinating and worth thinking about.
The cultural subplot is equally engaging. The last living human beings who lived pre-electric are now dying. Imagine living when the only light after the sun sets is from your lamp, candle or fire. No street lights, no ceiling lights, no reading lights. Just pure darkness. Are you able to imagine every night being like a camping trip, gathering round the fire 365 nights a year? Carr concludes the book with a brief glimpse into the future, 100 years from now when the last human that lived pre-WWW is gone. Can you remember what it was like pre-internet, pre-cell phone, pre-smart phone? Our American culture shifted forever with the invention of electricity and it is going through a highly influential change with the development of the world wide web/computer in our everyday lives. What are the implications, gains and losses of this progress?
Consider The Big Switch as a superb read and a look into the change that is coming to business and technology ...
About the Author:
Michael Ritsema, Owner/Manager of i3 Business Solutions, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Providing managed IT solutions for companies in Grand Rapids and Western Michigan.
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