THEN<\/p>\n
We had to drive to the record store on Tuesday to buy the new releases.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
The new releases are available at midnight on the internet.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
If you didn’t get to the store early enough, the new release sold out. Or never came into the store to begin with.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Music never gets delayed in shipment and there’s an infinite supply.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Every record store had different inventory.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
All internet sites have essentially the same inventory.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You’d drive from store to store searching for a catalog item.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
All the catalog is available at your fingertips on the internet.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You had to go to the bookstore to get the new release.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
The new release is available at midnight, usually on Tuesday, like with music everything’s available and there’s an endless supply.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You were sour grapes, saying you couldn’t get a deal and no one could buy your music.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
You can make your tunes available for next to nothing via CDBaby and Tunecore. If no one buys them, the onus is on you.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You had to buy it to hear it.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Everything is available to hear for free, whether on YouTube or streaming music services like Spotify.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
It was expensive to record.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
It’s cheap to record.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
There were three network TV channels.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
There are five hundred channels and there’s always something on.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You had to catch it live.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
You can get it On Demand or record it for later viewing on your DVR.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You were limited to the radio stations in your market.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You had to pay a lot of money to get pristine sound.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Stereo is good and cheap.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
There were skips and other defects.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
The sound is pristine.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You didn’t know about the new releases unless you went to the store or religiously read the music press.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
New release schedules are plentiful and free.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Your car broke down.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Your car never breaks down.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You had cathode ray TV.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
You’ve got hi-def flat panel TV.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
There were limited news sources.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
There are seemingly unlimited news sources. You can read various opinions and make up your own mind.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Cancer was a death sentence.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
More and more people survive cancer.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Everything was expensive.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Everything is cheap. And powerful. You get a hand-held computer for under $200, oftentimes free with a mobile contract.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You needed an expensive desktop computer.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
You only need a tablet and a smartphone.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Your computer crashed.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Your computer doesn’t crash, at least not Macs!<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Shopping was limited to your neighborhood.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
A cornucopia of goods from all over the world is available at your fingertips.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Music cost a different amount at every store.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Ignorance was hard to prove.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Google reveals facts instantly.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You were limited to the courses at your school.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
You can take courses from all over the world, even the Ivys, frequently for free.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Automobiles were notorious pollution devices.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Cars put out fewer emisisons than ever and hybrids and electrics are a viable alternative.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Start-ups failed because they had no reach.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Your potential audience is the world. You can create something that changes society and makes you rich in the confines of your own home.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Talking heads had credibility on TV news.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Every field has an expert online who really knows the score, unlike the nitwit newsreaders on televsion.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
The gotcha web dig deeps and pulls out truth. If you’re a lying, cheating scumbag, everybody’s gonna know.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
People only knew the two-dimensional cardboard you.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Everybody’s three-dimensional as a result of a plethora of information about them online.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
You lost touch with those you grew up with.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
You never lose touch with anybody you ever had contact with.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Long distance phone calls were expensive.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Long distance phone calls cost no more than local, and they can even be completely free.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Videophones were the future.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Videophones are here and free, via Skype and Facetime.<\/p>\n
THEN<\/p>\n
Dumb was cool.<\/p>\n
NOW<\/p>\n
Smart is cool.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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