iWatches, revival of the pocket watch?

Here is an article I just read about Apple trying to break into the “watch” market – http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/apple-s-planned-iwatch-could-be-more-profitable-than-tv.html

So let’s say people are willing to wear this expensive digital watch, which I could definitely see being a huge fad for teens and tweens since that age group can’t afford Audemar, Patek, etc…  Heck I think these watches maybe with built in GPS would be great for parents, perhaps even some sort of recognition device, although those features are already on the phones that everyone carries.  However I don’t see grown adults wearing this (at least not for many generations since most grown adults don’t wear digital watches) in the near future.

However, let’s say that iWatch does become more than just an expensive G-Shock.  Let’s say EVERYONE wears an iWatch because we don’t have phones anymore.  Let’s say the classic timeless leatherstrap and gold bezel with an elegant dial is able to be incorporated into the iWatch.  Perhaps Rolex and Apple teamed up and designed a 10000$ watch that does more than tell time, and looks extremely elegant.

Does that mean the revival of pocketwatches?  I mean surely a luxury watch to show that you have good taste on the other wrist would just be redundant.  I will say that I think it would be pretty cool to see in the future.  Since everyone’s wrist space is taken up by an expensive iWatch, people still want a classic timepiece that shows class and good elegant taste and that’s where the pocketwatch comes in.  If the iWatch is in fact a success, I can see a generation of people with pocketwatches.

That is a genius economic move for everyone!  Instead of pulling phones out of our pockets, it’s the pocketwatch, and instead of showing off the extremely elegant and expensive timepiece on our wrists, we check our phone messages and e-mails!

Both watch companies and the tech industry win.  Anyways I had much more to say about this iWatch and wanted to try more analysis on my thoughts of the potential success of it, and why I think it will fail or succeed in competition with luxury watch companies, but I’m sure Apple has already contemplated these things.  I figured it would be more trouble to incorporate all my thoughts coherently than it would be worth.

Nooks are not good subs for books.

While I love technology, I don’t think these e-books will ever “beat out” their ancestral paper books.  Recently I was just thinking of random ideas; I wondered if it would be possible that in the future we would have no use for paper, and that it would be “outdated” technology.  However I quickly dispatched this notion simply by thinking of all the great books I’ve held in my hand from “The Namesake” to Sun Tzu’s “Art of War.”  I quickly came to the conclusion that even if paper documents, notes, and school textbooks go out of style, a good book would not.

Why would I write a letter when I can send an e-mail?  Who needs a 250$ textbook when you can get the downloadable pdf version for 50 dollars or less?  Why would I spend money on a paper spiral notebook when I can just use a stylus to write on my smartpad for free?  Now without getting too technical, I understand there are some cases where writing a letter is more formal and nicer than just an e-mail.  Also that some people prefer writing on paper since they don’t have a smartpad.  However I’m talking about much further into the future when these smartpads become dirt cheap and is available to everybody, as they probably will.  Documents can be signed online, tremendous amounts of information can be stored safer (debatable) and with potentially more organization than paper documents.  One thing that I think will never “go out of style” is the good old fashion hardback or paperback book filled with hundreds of sheets of wood pulp.

One day when I was attempting to go pass out resumes to various businesses, many major companies simply would not accept them in paper form.  Perhaps they’re too busy, perhaps it saves time, but I thought to myself man, maybe I’m starting to get old and fall behind on the times, or maybe I just want to present myself in person.  Regardless the idea that so much that used to be done on paper, can be done electronically really entered my mind that day.  Could paper be out of style one day?  I pondered this question for a while, then thought probably not, I think people will always want BOOKS.

Even if people begin signing their lives away on contracts electronically, or no one ever buys a spiral notebook for class again, or textbooks become no longer available in paper form, I think books will always be “classic.”  First of all, I fear the health consequences of having an “electronic book” in my lap.  Sure there isn’t enough significant data to prove what I’m about to say, but I personally fear them, and I’m sure others out there are cautious of these issues too.

Let’s say I’m uncomfortable even keeping my keys and cell phone in my pocket for fear of the effect it may have on my future offspring.  Every once in a while I do keep a laptop on my lap, however I try to minimize these things as much as possible.  I also refuse to believe that electronic screens don’t harm your vision.  Now if I was a much more avid reader, the last thing I would want in my lap is one of these electronic books that hook me into staring at it for hours on end.

Health rant aside, I think paper books will never go out of style.  Books show sophistication, education, and knowledge.  Some have collections of books but have only read a few of them (I am partially guilty of this myself).  Regardless, those who truly enjoy reading probably won’t get into ebooks.  I think they are just a fad.  Those who truly enjoy reading like holding a tome in their hands as they flip through the pages entrenched in story.  They like the feeling of the thickness of pages traveling from your right hand to left hand (depending on the country).  They like the feeling of collecting books, storing them on a bookshelf, and having people see what they’ve read over the years.  With e-books, they lose almost all of this.  No one can see what you’ve read.  You don’t get the sensation of flipping through pages.  It just isn’t the same sense of completion.  Ultimately I feel in the case that I am wrong, and e-books do become the norm, PAPER novels will become extremely expensive (since demand might be low), but those who truly love and seek knowledge will pay a high price for “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn”,  the story of “Jane Eyre”, “A Tale of Two Cities”, or the epic “Odyssey.”

Conclusion?  The book business will be here to stay, just not the same as it used to be.

Those who are the most likely to be done soul searching…

Are you still trying to find yourself?  As I lay awake in bed, I began truly wondering about my future.  Gradually as my thoughts shifted, I started to think of old age, and what I could possibly want before my death.  It led me to think of a time when I was eating lunch at Arby’s before a big final exam, and saw a couple that could have been together for decades.  All of these thoughts flowed through my head yielding somewhat insightful inquiries on life.  Questions that I probably will never know until I’m taking my last breaths.

I am in my early 20’s, recently graduated from college, working a part time job while searching for something more fulfilling.  I’m wondering where do I truly find myself in 5, 10, 20 years.  Sure I have a great answer that I could use for a job interview, but deep down I know, that I might not truly know the answer.  While I have plenty of goals and aspirations, I wonder, will I succeed at them?  Which ones will I fail at?  Which ones will bring me the biggest feeling of accomplishment?  Who will be in my life 10, 20, 30 years from now?  Will I have or want a family? Will I be so focused on a career that I lose sight of wanting a family?  Will I still be as passionate and driven as I am now?  What will I learn?  What will I teach?  Will I be struggling to make ends meet?  As all of these thoughts flowed through my head, I found various answers, and came up with a variety of scenarios, but then I put myself in the mindset of myself at age 90 gradually withering away.

Having accepted the oncoming never-ending sleep state, what could I have wanted that would make me sleep with ease?  One would be family.  People who I know I may have had a major role influencing.  Would I care about staying alive for the next episode of Dexter, Walking Dead, or next summer for Breaking Bad?  Maybe…  However I came to the conclusion, depending on how my story goes, that one thing I would really want to do is perhaps, be able to build a relationship or connection with one other person in life.  Our lives are shaped by the relationships we build with people.  We will have emotions good or bad as we meet and develop rapport with others.  As social beings, we have a dire need for these interactions otherwise we as a species wouldn’t be as successful as we are.  With that said, these thoughts about getting old and building relationships led me to remember an older couple I had seen at Arby’s.

As I sat eating, I remember wondering about this particular couples story.  The man dressed in an older navy blue sweater, and the woman in a flowery dress with a green sweater on.  They slowly ate their meal and I just couldn’t help but think about how nice it was that they seemed so…. content.  They didn’t seem overly happy, they didn’t seem sad, they didn’t seem like grumpy elderly people, they just seemed very content and satisfied with their lives.  They seemed like people with a story to be heard.  They seemed like a couple that if given the opportunity, would have a lot to share with the world.  A couple that has had a tremendously busy life with career changes, a family, and other interesting stories.  Were they finished soul searching awaiting the big sleep?  The aura they seemed to have was, for lack of a better word… “nice.”  They seemed done with their careers and were just enjoying each others company.  They likely had family they could call and speak with, but would likely catch them at a busy time whether the family member be at school, work, etc… regardless of wanting to call just to say something as simple as hi.  These thoughts led further into another question and idea.

Would an older person want one more friend in life?  Someone who wants to hear their story?  A person who is truly curious about what they could share with the world?  Someone who wants to bring their moments from a non-technologically driven world, into the world of WordPress, Facebook, or Twitter?  If I was at their age, I think it would be incredible to have one more friend; meet one more person to bond with, to share my stories and ideas with.  Someone who could make my life more relevant as I probably wouldn’t be technologically savvy enough to do anything besides maybe write an e-mail.  My idea was simply to befriend the elderly and by doing so, try and share what they have to say about the world. The current generation has the opportunity to share every waking moment of their lives on Facebook.  Why not try and upload stories of the past?  To befriend the elderly…  What greater asset can you have at such an age than one more caring friend or family member?