Here is something to think about:
2006
- No iPhone (it was first unveiled by Jobs Jan9/07)
- YouTube wasn’t going to last, being sued by many companies for copyright infringements (1st video uploaded Apr23/05)
- Facebook was only for college students
- Twitter launched July 2006
- Flat screen TVs cost $3,000+
2013
- iPhone has a massive market share
- YouTube has over 6 billion hours watched every month from over 1 billion unique visitors every month
- 1/6 world population on Facebook and there have been over 1 trillion Likes since launch.
- Over 9,000+ tweets per second and 300 billion total tweets since launch.
- Flat screen TVs only cost $199+
Today’s generation has never known life without:
- Cellphones
- Internet
- Websites
In 2006, YouTube was bought by Google. YouTube did not have much advertising, so they weren’t making any profit at the time.
Now, not only is YouTube profitable for Google, several people are making a decent living out of just making videos, and they are still growing, even through the economic situation the world’s been in for the past few years.
It’s quite amazing how much our world has changed just from these technological advances. They have literally shaped and influenced our society and culture. It’s hard to imagine not having YouTube or Facebook or Twitter and yet it’s just been a few short years.
The concept of “viral videos” is quite new. Facebook and all of its intrusions upon our lives — positive and negative — again, quite new. And what did we do when we couldn’t Tweet and follow trending topics and observe public figures and celebrities reacting and responding to events in real time alongside the media as well as “ordinary people.” Really quite mind boggling to reflect upon how recent these developments are.
I think you should do a follow up post that predicts what technology we will have come 2013. Facebook shows no signs of becoming obsolete. Smart phones are losing their innovation each year. No one’s found a way to be better than YouTube.
What’s to come? 7 years seems too short for self driving cars.
Truly in such a small span of time, our lives have completely changed. I remember in 2006 I used to use a dial-up for connecting to the internet (Good ol’ days). And the only thing I used to do was use Wikipedia and chat with my friends using MSN. MSN at that time was like the Facebook of today. Now we have become so much addicted to the internet that a device without internet seems completely useless. We need Internet all the time as we need food. Hope we get over this craze as its not that beneficial as it seems.
Technology has really been developing quite fast and the innovations just kept on coming. It makes me reminisce on my childhood days when there was no internet yet, and fun and games was a lot different. Its feels really nice knowing that I have experienced writing snail mails instead of email, meeting with friends and talking bout anything and everything under the sun and not just through social media or chatting online. Playing was running, climbing trees and skinning our knees. Now its online gaming, you tube surfing and carpal tunnel syndrome.
I, too, lived most of my live without computers or internet.
I’m not sorry, but I sure could have used a computer in college for writing my papers. One thing the younger generations have not had to experience was typing draft after draft of a term paper on a typewriter.
The internet is also wonderful for education. School websites and email communication between parents and teachers end the ability of students to fool their parents into thinking they have no homework. Now all the parents have to do is go to the school websites to find the assignments.
Even YouTube is useful for educators. Classroom and school productions and debates can be recorded for the world to see. Grandparents who live far away can still see a grandchild perform in the the school play or concert.
With all that said, though, there was something special about real letters written in ink appearing in one’s mailbox. It seemed more conducive to bonding to play games around a table instead of on a computer. And conversations got a lot deeper in those hour phone conversations than they get on Facebook.
Wow. Looking at these statistics this way really shows the advancement of the world. In only 7 years (not even a decade!) things have changed entirely. By things, I mean everything. Prices, technologies, marketing, internet etc.
It’s pretty unbelievable. Who knows what will happen until 2020 (7 more years).
When we take notion of these changes, it is impossible not to feel dizziness. Year after year the social networks were strengthening their importance and today became a must for communication for many people. These data are very interesting to analyze the changes that will come in the next few years, but we haven’t the ability to divine the future. That’s one of the most wonderful features of technology: an adventure into the unknown.
It’s amazing how technology has advanced so far in only 7 years. It just changed how we view the world but also how we interact with others. Big companies have risen so fast like Google compared to companies like Walmart how took way longer to get to that status.
When you really look at how much the technology itself has changed you realize, that so have the people who now use it. For example when I was a kid cell phones were only owned by people who had a lot of money. Computers and games were mostly used like large calculators and pac man. Televisions were huge and were something that was used in the living room. I remember when our home got its very first computer that was capable of going online. It was of course dial up but back then to us it was pretty cool. My parents let me use it and I used it to go into a chat room. I was about 13 years old or so and thought it was pretty cool to go into a chat room for kids and teens. I did not get what the big deal was back then but my parents would not allow me to go into the with out supervision and I remember asking if I could give our phone number out. That was a big fat NO. All the phone calls I got went through a house phone so my parents knew who was calling their kid.
Today’s kids have their own cell phones to do with as they please. Some kids behave as though getting one is a right of passage. These kids as young as 7 maybe even younger have their own cell phones with unsupervised access to the internet and all that has to offer. No one is screening those phone call to make sure it is not some pervert calling their child. Those kids have their own accounts on facebook and other social media sites. They could be adding who knows what kind of people to their friends lists. They could be giving their phone number out to some old perv pretending to be a young kid. You just don’t know. Today’s kids really don’t go outside to play, no they play games on their smartphones, computers, and tablets.
Today many households have a television set in every room of the house, some even have them in their toddlers bedrooms and the kitchen.
Back when I was young parents would occupy their children by playing a board game with them, or hide and seek, or color. They were just more involved. Now a lot of parents hand their 2-3 year old a tablet with a game to play and say well its an educational game.
Handwriting skills are hardly being taught in school any more. It is not even common for them to do more than teach the basics of cursive writing for signature purposes. Most assignments are to be completed on a computer or tablet. Getting a handwritten letter these days is rare.
Where is the effort? I am not saying that its wrong or what have you but newer generations are being raised to depend on technology for EVERYTHING. Of course it can be a great advantage but so many important things are being replaced by technology. We need to live with it and not for it. I will admit that I am fond of the technological devices that I own, and use frequently. I myself own 2 televisions a laptop and a tablet and it would suck if I was not able to use any of them, but it would not be the end of the world. That is how we should live, and at least raise the younger generations with the skill sets to live with out it too.
It’s amazing what can change in 7 years. We know now that Google made the right choice in buying YouTube and iPhone have basically taken over the smart phone market. Now we should take note what we have these days and what it will be in 6 to 7 years from now. I love how technology seems to get incredibly cheaper as time goes by.
Yeah, agreed! Keeping track of the progress now, and doing another comparative analysis is definitely going to be shocking. Maybe things like the Oculus Rift program and Google Glasses will sweep the world with all sorts of innovations with virtual experiential realities and more videos on people’s quotidian lifestyles.
I won’t be surprised if anything in relation to robot creation being part of a household/consumer system will be implemented sometime in another 7+ years as well. And maybe Apple and other corporations might find themselves doing something that will make iPhones look like older Nokia brand phones. The future definitely looks optimistic, and being able to get back into a reflective nature to use retrospect will induce all sorts of nostalgia trips.
It’s funny how quickly times change. I was saying the other day how 12 years ago I got my first Nokia “candybar” style cellphone. Technology has come a long way. I remember when you had to have a .edu email address to sign up on Facebook. Sometimes I wish Facebook were still a smaller community. I am glad the price of flat screen TV’s has gone. If they were $3000, I certainly would not have one.
Perfect analogy to describe the Nokia cellphones back in the day, fairydust007! I usually saw it as a candy bar with the weight of a brick, and heard so many exaggerated declarations of the durability of it as well. Comparing that with the iPhone, it feels that people would have to treat it as if it’s literally a part of them.
And as for flat screen TV’s, I agree completely with you there. I had a relative that spent $500 on a used big screen TV years ago that gave horrible quality, and ended up paying a much cheaper price for a new flat screen TV. Crazy how the prices fluctuate the more things become saturated. I wonder if the iPhone itself will reach that stage at some point though.
I am happy I had the privilege to be a ’90s kid. I experience life without a mobile phone until my high school days, I played outside with friends, and never depended on the internet for school. However, I have to admit though the power of technology has helped me in a very big way, specifically to connect very easily with my loved ones abroad. In the past I used to not have any updates from them for months, but now with Viber, etc., I can call them anytime!!
Same here on being a ‘90s kid! I never had the luxury of having a mobile phone as a kid until my high school days. And even with that, I only had a cheap Nokia phone where Frogger was the only game that would operate at high speeds. I had a Nintendo 64 year before that, but I don’t know even remember what I did with it.
It’s amazing how now that children with smartphones would have more of a sedentary lifestyle than us while being engaged with the totality of the Internet filled with memes, gifs, and endless numbers of videos to watch. It still boggles me on how now I only recently got a smartphone when a 9 year old kid I know gets a Nexus tablet for Christmas and other accessories received way before that.
I guess not being a spoiled child helped a lot with the potential time killers technology can do to an individual these days. But I guess when it comes to a fast paced lifestyle, things like having an easy-to-use smartphone is necessary as a supplement towards what I strive for in the future.
I actually feel sorry for the kids today, they have waaay more sedentary lives now! Not amazed obesity is rampant in most ”rich” countries nowadays, actually I believe this was to be expected, because it seems the more advanced our technology gets the less we move. After all now almost every kid has a smartphone… Sometimes my own smartphone can be such a huge distraction tool, specially wen I know I should be outside moving and exercising!
Now kids have so many options, not only cool video games, but can also play with their mobile! I know a couple kids who spend hours playing games on their smartphones. Nowadays we rarely see kids playing outside.
Back when I was little it was the most normal thing to just go outside and play, I was a kid during the 90’s 🙂 I miss everything about the 90’s, in my opinion that was the greatest decade ever. We are so blessed! Those kids will never know what it was like to grow in the 90’s.
Oh man, this comparative analysis over the span of the 7 year period is absolutely phenomenal! I was skeptically back then on YouTube’s fate, but with Google stepping in before YouTube reached its potential downfall, that site is the hub for many people’s source of income!
Crazy how times have changed, and whether or not some things (especially Facebook) should’ve been left unchanged! Now in 2014, Apple and Samsung are going through a long-term song and dance between patents, lawsuits and all sorts of copyright issues. And for twitter, it’s crazy how many people just want to be sporadic and get their thoughts out like that.
It’s almost as if it’s nearly improbably for anyone to not get overwhelmed by the sheer level of interaction the Internet provides. And it’s funny how Flat Screen TVs are cheaper than the next-gen consoles that are around the $299-$499 range nowadays. And younger children are already proficient in smartphones and tablets that it’s literally just mind-blowing on how sooner or later, these things will be something even a toddler can become a guru in.
It’s mind boggling to see how far technology has evolved within a few years. If anyone were to ever tell me in the 90’s that it would become as advanced as it is today, I would think they were simply crazy. And if it was 2006 today, I wouldn’t even have guessed that Facebook and Twitter would’ve made it, let alone become mainstays in social media. As for YouTube, I didn’t think it would ever take a buyout to save it since it was already making great waves on the internet.
But yeah, technology has truly shaped this generation. I find that I can barely do without it, as it helps to educate me as well as organize and entertain my life. Everywhere I go my phone accompanies me now. Whenever I’m bored, there is so much to do on it to cure that feeling. With such an accomplish this early, it makes me wonder how technology will be in the next couple years from now.
That’s quite amazing. I wonder what would happen 7 years from now with all the new technology being introduced. I like the fact that you mentioned that “today’s generation has never know life without: cellphones, internet, email, websites, google”. Life then and now is so different and sometimes I’m not sure if that’s really a good thing or not. A lot of kids nowadays would rather go on the internet or chat on their cellphones instead of going out and enjoying nature. Although this great advancement has a ton of benefits, I feel it has some drawbacks on the future generations as well. I wish kids now would still take the time to just go out to play instead of being cooped up all day.
Fantastic comparison between 2006 and 2013! It’s amazing that a Flat screen TV used to be $3,000+ back in 2006 and it’s now 15 times cheaper!
I remember the problems Youtube was going through and thinking they will need to do something quick or they would be out of business. I somehow knew they would be a success in the end even though I didn’t expect them to be this big. It’s always nice to see the evolution of great companies and products and the problems they had to overcome. Thanks for this post, David!
I agree life can never function without cellphone, e-mail, websites, Internet, and possibly Google. I remember 5 years ago smartphone was a big thing because most people didn’t really want a smartphone. Now, it dominates more than half of the U.S. population. There are people, including me, can’t function through the day without a smartphone because we use it to check e-mails, surf on internet, connect with other people, social medias, and more. I didn’t even care for a smartphone back in the day because I thought paying a $30 data plan each month was quite expensive. Now, almost everyone has a smartphone, and it becomes an essential gadget for everyday life. I don’t think I can survive without a smartphone because that is another thing I pretty much have relied on this technology.
That’s Crazy, How thing can change so fast! Technology has truly charge the world around us. just thinking back 7 years ago, we don’t have iPhones, facebook, twitter, Youtube, and most of the world certainly don’t have flat screen TV’s in their homes. Now there’s one in every room in most of our homes, just about everyone and their mama are on facebook, twitter and youtube.
Holy potatoes! Time should be split in “tech time” and regular time. Other “times” in other fields the car industry definitely go at a slower pace. If you travel back in time 10 years (early 2000s) you could pretty much see the same landscape for other industries such as paper or wood. To name a few.
In the tech industry, this 7-year span has brought plenty of changes and breakthroughs. Can’t entirely believe the fast pace!
$3000+ vs $199+ is a HUGE price difference. The next foreseeable big price drop I expect being 3D printers (we are seeing the beginning of this already, but it will be quite exciting to see how much can the offer for the price).
I’m glad “time” for the tech industry is put in perspective. It certainly feels like more years.
That’s just crazy. Whenever some new technology comes out, I ask my dad (in his late-60’s) if he ever imagined he’d see it in his lifetime. Now I can start asking myself that, too. I noticed there have been a lot of advancements in just my lifetime (late-20’s), it’s just incredible.
We’re probably the last generation to ever know life without the internet and instant access to everything. It’s amazing how technology and life can change so drastically in just a few years. I can’t wait what the next 10 years will have to offer. But still, I’m waiting for the time they invent hover boards.
I know, right? It’s so odd to think about it! Back in 2006 I was using Yahoo chat the most, as well as MSN, now MSN is gone and almost no one uses Yahoo messenger. Everyone is now using Skype instead! Some years ago I could never imagine Skype would become the main IM client! I started using it before MSN vanished, but wasn’t my favorite… now I use it on a daily basis. It’s unbelievable!
Its crazy how flat screen TVs cost more during 2006 and steady decreased in value over the years. I feel like they should have increased because they are adding more features to every TV that is made now days. I hate to admit but it is true that today’s generation never knew life without technology and cellphones. The internet is what young people crave and they enjoy every social media site.
I was actually starting to think that technology is dragging me down. I got my iPhone in 2006, and I have had a wonderful time learning about it and how I could use it to move forwards. The best thing that have come up since is the speech-to-text technology, which I really wish could be more easy to use.
It’s always nice to see technology progress in ways like this. Chances are, there are many start-up companies that are being founded today, at this very moment, and they could be the next big thing in 5-10 years. The only problem, is that we don’t know which one. Start-ups are coming and going with the rise of crowdfunding, and seeing which ones will succeed to move on and become the “Facebook” of tomorrow is hard to see.
After reading this I can’t help but to feel amazed at how much the world we live in has changed! I just can’t imagine YouTube was going to disappear! How odd that would have been! Glad they found a way around it, and now they’re thriving and are stinking rich. Amazing how things have changed! Truly amazing…