So in the Seattle area we are learning that major companies based here, like Amazon and Microsoft, are poised to have major layoffs this year, and overall tech companies have already announced over a 150,000 layoffs this month, with Meta (Facebook) and Google also “shocking” observers by issuing a large number of pink slips, supposedly because of a decrease in ad revenue. Of course Twitter’s work force has dwindled to about 400, with Elon Musk reportedly hemorrhaging his own wealth to keep it afloat.
We have been told that the “work-at-home” environment during the pandemic led to more hiring, and for online retailers like Amazon it was a bonanza of new business. But the “good new days” are over, with things going back to “business as usual” with retail stores and restaurants reopening, and online retailers subsequently having less business and a bloated payroll, and together with inflation (suggesting less “production” from the increased workforce to keep prices down), the first order of “business” is to be profitable and keep shareholders “happy.”
Underlying all of this is the “expected” recession which hasn’t quite happened yet, since GDP increased in the third quarter by 3.2 percent, and 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of the past year. Forbes tells us, however, the “tech has always been a growth-oriented business” based around “high-flying innovations, unicorn start-ups and massive growth.” Even during recessions, it is “unusually resilient” and “never down for long.”
But there are those, also according to Forbes, who think cutting the workforce is the wrong move, because tech companies really have a revenue problem, and cutting jobs reduces revenue in the industry. Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford observed that “People do all kinds of stupid things all the time. I don’t know why you’d expect (tech) managers to be any different.” Tech companies are also caving-in to investors who are used to 20-30 percent annual growth, and anything less leads to “harsh evaluation.”
We can certainly look at the world through the potential for profit, but for myself, it’s always what it is that is “new” and useful, and to be honest, whatever people are calling “innovative,” I call evidence of loss of creativity and "cool" product. The world of consumer technology sure has changed a lot since I was young. Books, cassette tapes and multi-band radios gave way to compact discs and cumbersome laser video discs, followed by the "affordable” PC, mini LED televisions, Napster and Mp3 players using PC hard drives.
Then came DVDs and Blu-ray discs, laptops replacing desktops, cell phones turning “socializing” from a private activity to a public nuisance, but then “smart phones” became a way to minimize socializing and gather information from sometimes questionable sources.
Now physical media and books are alleged to be on the chopping block given streaming services and “e-books.” However, there are some people who have pointed out that films and television series that people want are not always available when they get the itch, and some not ever, so there is a need for physical media even if they are seldom used. The same with books; you don’t have to rely on electronic devices that require electrical or battery power, so it is nice to have physical books as a “back up.” If there was a nuclear holocaust tomorrow, we’d still have books at least to tell the tale of human folly.
New technological toys always have their initial phase when people experiment the possibilities that they can be used for. This is was especially true of PCs, when increased processor speeds, memory and hard drive space expanded the "artistic" possibilities of what could be done with them. I remember when screensaver software like After Dark was all the rage, then Windows incorporated “cool” screensavers and games on XP, followed by Vista which the DreamScene program in which video could be used as a “wallpaper” or screensaver, and a even a DVD creating program was included.
But with Windows 7, all the “cool” stuff started to disappear, and in Windows 11, there is extremely limited opportunities to “personalize” your computer unless you spend money on third-party programs like Stardock DeskScapes.
Frankly, I look at the tech world today and say, “what is out there that is cool?” and to be honest, not too much anymore. Everything “new” revolves around how to work, and about the only “cool” thing I’ve come across is the ability to “self-publish” on a blog. But the time when you could go to a software, book, video or record store are long past. Where is the “art’ anymore? I haven’t bought a new fiction book in decades because I’m not going to buy something if I can’t actually “see” it to evaluate it.
And there really isn’t anything to “see” or “hear” anymore, which is why I only imbibe in what I know, like “old” films and music. And that is what current “tech” has failed to overcome, at least for me. For all the frustration I have with Amazon's delivery service, at least they provide me with the things I want, and every two years I indulge in the latest and greatest laptop--which is "cool" for maybe a week or two.
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