More proof that kids always speak the truth

As a parent, each year that goes by brings lots of “wow” moments like those that happen when your kids say something that truly surprises you.  And this week, my 10 year old gave me one of those moments that really hit home with me in terms of the spread of technology into our lives.

You see my son is a huge Star Wars fan, and this Christmas he received several books about Star Wars.  The problem is that some of the books contained information about characters he had not yet seen in the movies.  My suggestion (made jokingly) that these characters would appear in the upcoming Star Wars movies Episode 7 caught him by surprise as he had never heard of new Star Wars movies coming up.

Now, my son is a big Star Wars fan, but he’s no fool.  And since he didn’t believe me that I had direct knowledge of new movies coming up, his response to me was:

“Prove it Dad – show it to me on Google!”

If a tree falls in the forest does Google hear it?

In a single brilliant sentence, my son summarized how the adoption of technology has led to changes in our thought processes.  I think many people would agree with the general statement that if something important can’t be found or validated on Google, than it doesn’t exist.  And while this is certainly not true in all cases, for the most part it’s a good indication of the change in how we reference things in our lives today.

As we start the New Year, I encourage you to compare my 10 year olds statement and compare it to how you perceive the internet and what it means to your business.  Of course, kids have different belief systems than adults who naturally become more suspicious with age.  But if the younger generation inherently believes that what Google gives them is the best they can find, what does that mean for how you position yourself in the coming years?

Will you be left behind?

I contend that as of right now, the internet will NEVER be less important than it was in 2010 – meaning that as time goes on, it will become more and more ingrained as part of our lives.  And by the time my 10 year old has buying power (he already knows how to use EBay), I can’t imagine what the process will be like.  And that’s just a mere 8 or so years away.

2010: The end of 2D for kids

Well we just sat through yet another summer 3D kids movie – this one was Despicable Me with Steve Carrel.  My short review of this move is that it is pretty forgettable, and that they made it just because they could.  It wasn’t particularly funny or heartfelt, but it was cool to look at and had lots of funny side characters to keep you occupied.  And yes they had the obligatory dance scene at the end.

If you kids don’t have ADD yet – they will

And as we sat in the theater for the previews, it’s apparent that Hollywood is going to give us lots more nice to look at but otherwise loud and soulless 3D movies – again just because they can.  It’s as though they’ve become hooked on the extra $4 it cost to get me into the movies now.

The really sad part about this to me is that these movies look nice but they seem to rely on that instead of actually making a good movie.  At this risk of sounding older than I am…give me the first Toy Story or Cinderella where movie makers actually tell a compelling story and use subtle tactics to get the point across.  Now everything is just loud and flashy as though that was somehow interesting for 90 minutes.

Spinal Tap for 2010

Some friends of mine who will remain nameless think all this 3D stuff is just great.  And I’m reminded of the classic movie Spinal Tap when the guy says “Why didn’t you just make 10 louder” and the answer is “Because it goes to 11!”

So the Hollywood discussions must be going this same way – “Why don’t we make this one in 2D?”  The answer – “Because there’s 3D.”