Then/Now-It's Better Today Edition

THEN

We had to drive to the record store on Tuesday to buy the new releases.

NOW

The new releases are available at midnight on the internet.

THEN

If you didn't get to the store early enough, the new release sold out. Or never came into the store to begin with.

NOW

Music never gets delayed in shipment and there's an infinite supply.

THEN

Every record store had different inventory.

NOW

All internet sites have essentially the same inventory.

THEN

You'd drive from store to store searching for a catalog item.

NOW

All the catalog is available at your fingertips on the internet.

THEN

You had to go to the bookstore to get the new release.

NOW

The new release is available at midnight, usually on Tuesday, like with music everything's available and there's an endless supply.

THEN

You were sour grapes, saying you couldn't get a deal and no one could buy your music.

NOW

You can make your tunes available for next to nothing via CDBaby and Tunecore. If no one buys them, the onus is on you.

THEN

You had to buy it to hear it.

NOW

Everything is available to hear for free, whether on YouTube or streaming music services like Spotify.

THEN

It was expensive to record.

NOW

It's cheap to record.

THEN

There were three network TV channels.

NOW

There are five hundred channels and there's always something on.

THEN

You had to catch it live.

NOW

You can get it On Demand or record it for later viewing on your DVR.

THEN

You were limited to the radio stations in your market.

NOW

You not only get terrestrial stations in your market, the entire world's radio is available online, usually for free. And you've got algorithm-based services like Pandora and no ad, hand-curated radio like Sirius XM.

THEN

You had to pay a lot of money to get pristine sound.

NOW

Stereo is good and cheap.

THEN

There were skips and other defects.

NOW

The sound is pristine.

THEN

You didn't know about the new releases unless you went to the store or religiously read the music press.

NOW

New release schedules are plentiful and free.

THEN

Your car broke down.

NOW

Your car never breaks down.

THEN

You had cathode ray TV.

NOW

You've got hi-def flat panel TV.

THEN

There were limited news sources.

NOW

There are seemingly unlimited news sources. You can read various opinions and make up your own mind.

THEN

Cancer was a death sentence.

NOW

More and more people survive cancer.

THEN

Everything was expensive.

NOW

Everything is cheap. And powerful. You get a hand-held computer for under $200, oftentimes free with a mobile contract.

THEN

You needed an expensive desktop computer.

NOW

You only need a tablet and a smartphone.

THEN

Your computer crashed.

NOW

Your computer doesn't crash, at least not Macs!

THEN

Shopping was limited to your neighborhood.

NOW

A cornucopia of goods from all over the world is available at your fingertips.

THEN

Music cost a different amount at every store.

NOW

Music costs the same everywhere, and it's cheap. You can't charge more than your competitors because their store is just a click away.

THEN

Ignorance was hard to prove.

NOW

Google reveals facts instantly.

THEN

You were limited to the courses at your school.

NOW

You can take courses from all over the world, even the Ivys, frequently for free.

THEN

Automobiles were notorious pollution devices.

NOW

Cars put out fewer emisisons than ever and hybrids and electrics are a viable alternative.

THEN

Start-ups failed because they had no reach.

NOW

Your potential audience is the world. You can create something that changes society and makes you rich in the confines of your own home.

THEN

Talking heads had credibility on TV news.

NOW

Every field has an expert online who really knows the score, unlike the nitwit newsreaders on televsion.

THEN

You could pull the wool over the public's eyes. George Bush's administration could say that Iraq had WMD and there was no counterbalance of truth.

NOW

The gotcha web dig deeps and pulls out truth. If you're a lying, cheating scumbag, everybody's gonna know.

THEN

People only knew the two-dimensional cardboard you.

NOW

Everybody's three-dimensional as a result of a plethora of information about them online.

THEN

You lost touch with those you grew up with.

NOW

You never lose touch with anybody you ever had contact with.

THEN

Long distance phone calls were expensive.

NOW

Long distance phone calls cost no more than local, and they can even be completely free.

THEN

Videophones were the future.

NOW

Videophones are here and free, via Skype and Facetime.

THEN

Dumb was cool.

NOW

Smart is cool.


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25




--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --