PUBLISHER
PUBLISHER’S PAGE
by David Corson
Face to face — technology style
T
echnology has improved our lives in all aspects. The invention of the wheel, fire, electricity, the combustion engine, and the list goes on. But the internet has changed everything. Before the internet, think about how you communicated: the rotary phone, snail mail, fax, short wave radio/CB and a few others that are still relevant today, but have taken a backseat to email and Zoom. Even air travel has been impacted by the use of the internet to communicate, sell, trade, approve, prospect, register, pay bills, send bills, and I could go on and on. It really is an amazing transformation. During a recent podcast, one of our clients spoke about how he started his day in the Middle East, went to the UK, down to Mexico, up to Canada, and down to the Caribbean again, before finishing up with several walk thru and meetings in the good old USA.
Pre-internet, this would have been impossible. But today, thanks to platforms like Zoom and FaceTime, and the cameras on your phone that take high resolution photos and videos, it now comes down to not how many hours, days and minutes you have to get things done. After all, you have to leave time for the most important thing: family. Sure, we still need to travel to close deals or see projects in person, but it is not the necessity it once was. Case and point, I was speaking with a federal administrator
who handles a hospitality region for the government and he said he used to travel and look at projects, but now views them at his desk. We are not talking about a few hundred rooms, but thousands across his region. Unless there is a real need, he uses technology to get the job done better than ever. He still gets on a plane when he needs to and nothing will replace in person, face to face interaction, but the internet is a close second—and almost equal or better at performing your job. It’s also more competitive to your budget and bottom line.
We are social animals and need in-person interaction, but when it is not available, the internet is the solution. We humans are at the top of the food chain. We are social animals and need in-person interaction, but when it is not available, the internet is the solution. For you baby boomers, remember Star Trek? "Beam me up, Scotty." Well, that will be coming your way soon with teleportation or holograms. It may be the wave of the future. Talk about making in-person and virtual face to face communication more interesting and realistic. Technology will remain essential for everything we do in the future and we will continue to learn to adapt, even though being human shaking a person's hand for a job well done simply is irreplaceable. Now, as we head into Q2 2021, and soon Q3 of the new year, we wish you good health, prosperity and safe travels out on the road. And as we can, we look forward to seeing your smiling faces in person or on the web, sooner rather than later to talk business, sports and whatever comes up in the conversation. “Cheers,” and as always, keep the faith. CCR
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COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — ISSUE 3, 2021
