Working as a Web professional, whether you are a designer, programmer, or social media specialist, one thing is certain. Only the strong evolving survive. I work in all three of those capacities both for my full-time job and as a freelancer and have seen advancements happening so fast that it is practically impossible to keep up, no matter how fast you work at it.
The future is coming at a faster pace than we can imagine. Ten years ago we thought technology was advancing fast. Now, technology is moving faster than we thought it ever would. And it shows no signs of slowing down. I chalk it up to the singularity. What is the singularity? Think of the singularity as compounding interest, except that in addition to the principal balance always increasing, so is the interest rate! And the further you go along the path into the future, the faster both are increasing. Eventually, you get to a point where the speed of both are increasing so fast you can no longer predict where they will be and the lines begin to blur. You’ve reached the singularity. Ray Kurzweil, the brilliant man behind the singularity theory, predicts we will reach this “zenith” around 2020. Machines will become as smart as humans and progress will be moving so fast we will not be able to keep up with it. Believe in the coming singularity or not, technology isn’t waiting for anyone.
Back to being a Web professional…
The days are gone where a person could survive as a generalist. Now, one has to be a specialist at whatever one does, and choose it wisely to avoid too much duplication with other professionals. And don’t get too comfortable in your specialty. Before you know it, everyone will be doing what you are doing and you will, once again, be forced to evolve into another specialty or sub-specialty of where you once started.
Think of a profession or specialty that has to do with the Web and I will show you a dead-end road to obsolescence. A one-way ticket to irrelevance. No longer can you survive doing the same thing you always did. The world of Web professionals is now diluted. The barriers to entry into most Web professions have been lowered to the point where it is harder and harder to compete and make a living.
I’m not complaining. After all, this is why I chose this profession. If you want excitement and aren’t afraid to work hard, being a web professional might be for you. Afraid of continual learning and 10-hour workdays and being a Web professional might not be your cup of tea.
The amazing thing about being a Web professional is that if you work for someone else, chances are you are either being held back technologically or dragging them screaming and kicking into the future. Consider yourself fortunate if you are freely able to pursue the advancements in your Web profession with support. This is what leads many web professionals into performing freelance work, myself included.
That leads me to where I am today. Now that I am beginning my graduate studies in August focusing on technology and international education, I am thinking more and more about how they will fit in with my web profession and the whole thought about technological progress. It is a hard pill to swallow, especially when your biggest fear is irrelevance in today’s world.
Where this will lead me, who knows. But one thing is for sure, I’m not going to stop learning and moving forward. I’m welcoming the future with open arms, even if I am kicking and screaming.
To close this post, allow me to repeat one of my favorite sayings that is printed on a bookmark always sitting on my desk near my monitor,
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle… when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
BTW, if you need any web work done, email me!
