Global Business
Thanks to the internet the way we work and play has changed significantly.
30 years ago in 1989 the internet came to Australia. For the younger generation this may seem incomprehensible. How could you possibly exist without basic life necessities such as Google, Netflix and Snapchat? But for those like me that survived our early decades without these tools it is interesting to reflect back on how much has changed in the way we work and play.
One of my favourite strategic planning activities is to do a timeline of all the significant and memorable events that have happened, sometimes going as far back as to when a town or city is founded. In the early days a bridge being built over a river or the arrival of the railway changes traffic patterns and new retail precincts emerge. Manufacturing rises … and falls. As we reach the 1990’s some interesting memories start to surface as technology makes it mark. Computers and facsimiles replace typewriters and telecopiers in the larger organisations. Remember the floppy disks? Gradually emails started to replace the written letter. Now you are lucky to find a fax machine anywhere and some would argue that tweets are a modern-day email.
Thinking back, many of us lacked the confidence let alone skills and knowledge. Those who were information technology savvy were star employees. Dial extension 509 for Leon (IT) is still imprinted on my brain from the workplace where I first started using a little computer in a box with green script on a black background, absolutely terrified of pushing the wrong button. The approach of the new millennium brought incredible levels of anxiety with it. Would the world come to a crashing halt? No, it didn’t. I’m sure all those meetings worrying about it helped immensely.
When I started my own rural based business in 2001, I knew I had to invest time in learning a new level of skills as I relied on the internet for all my marketing and communications. Ah the screech of the old dial up phone system as it logged on every time you wanted to send an email. And, as daunting as websites seemed, it was a desirable asset for your business and, thankfully, all the more affordable as time progressed.
Today, still working from a rural base but thankfully connected to the National Broadband Network, I maintain a modest suite of online platforms that meet my consultancy needs. I say modest in comparison to my tech geek associates; however, my 27-year-old self would be absolutely stunned at how much I use technology. Heck, even my kids, born just a few years before the internet arrived in Australia, are impressed!
I’ve learnt that you don’t have to understand all the nuts and bolts, just the process … and where to find backup for when I hit a brick wall. Yes, it can sometimes be complex and frustrating to get set up, but as long as it serves a purpose and meets your needs, online technology is worthy of my time and investment.
At work, I often pause and think how cool it is when video conferencing or emailing associates across rural Australia and the world. I don’t even have to be at home. My laptop is now my office. While walking the dogs this morning in the bush I quickly pulled out my smart phone to do a google search and make a post on my business Facebook page. Just to put this in perspective, my smart phone has one million times more memory than the 80 kilobytes of memory that powered Apollo 11’s computer and the first moon landing in 1969.
Even if you are a small business it’s smart to be connected in a global world. When I co-owned a retail stock & poultry store, sales were made from far and wide because of our website which was also a convenience for local customers wanting to check out our stock before popping in during their lunch break. With the internet, everything is just a click away. How funny that it seems a hardship on the few occasions it isn’t working.
Like everything else in life, we just dive in and keep getting better as we go.
READ the full story about the history of the internet coming to Australia
KERRY ANDERSON: Founder of the Operation Next Gen program and author of ‘Entrepreneurship: It’s Everybody’s Business,’ Kerry works with small businesses and rural communities to help them embrace new opportunities. In 2018 she was named as one of Australia’s Top 50 Regional Agents of Change. READ MORE