What's Wrong With the Jetsons
Those of us who grew up in the sixties and seventies (old folks now), grew up with the Jetsons, or in their reruns. They offered a futuristic utopia... or so it would seem. But they didn't even have cell phones, let alone smart phones.How many episodes would have been non-starters if George could just call his wife on a cell phone and say what had happened or where he was.
That was our reality in the 1970's - you would make plans to pick up people at certain times in the day in advance, and would be frustrated when they were not punctual. We might all be at a concert but had no way to find each other. We didn't even have the same time on our watches, people would easily be five minutes out of step with our loved ones. Not everyone synced their clocks to the CBC's beep at 1pm, and mechanical watches would often be slow or fast.
The world of the 2010's is so different. We have communication devices foretold in Star Trek - the ability almost anywhere (except in the Canadian north) to communicate, to know the real time, to check our texts, read our mail, even run apps that do insanely helpful or simple or fun things for us.
When I was a UW student in the '80s, just like George Jetson, we waited in line and got annoyed with people around us. Now people wait in lines looking at their phones and being info-tained.
But why are there still lines? Many things can be accomplished right on the phone, or at worst, on a desktop or laptop. You can order books to be delivered, pre-order food, or do many things.
If IT is done right, we should be eliminating most lines, or at least helping people be more productive than just waiting in lines all the time. A case in point is that some hospitals will text you when you are being summoned to the doctor when waiting at the emergency room. Great, you can finally go to the bathroom or listen/watch entertainment without worrying you will miss your turn.
Good IT doesn't just replace existing processes, it revolutionizes them. If you are simply moving paper to disk, you've missed the point. Always think of how you can empower people, or at least annoy them less.
Erick
