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I'm sure that anyone who is participating of any kind of online ecosystem would be able to see the blatant flaw in his way of thinking. Desiring something to be true does not make it so. And, as much as I can see the appeal, the almost romantic element of the "traditional guitar store"- I'm also not going to cross my arms in resistance and rejection of the current shopping habits and trends.
In other words, the newer generations, the ones who are getting the new jobs, the ones who are joining the economy sort of speak, have never lived in a world that does not shop online. That realization to me is a bit crazy. I'm old enough to remember the resistance, the rejection to the idea of shopping online. I'm also old enough to remember a world where online shopping did not exist.
In that sense, I may be a little lucky. Because I was a teenager when the shift started to happen and not a man set in his ways, unwilling to change. Don't get me wrong, I get the rejection of online shopping, specially when it comes to musical instruments. I mean, how can I hear, how can I effectively test the quality of a guitar, If I'm not the one strumming it? - But, and this is a bit BUT - I'm also not stubborn enough to not admit that the new generations see this step, this "organic" element of purchasing as completely unnecessary.
"If I don't like it, I'll just return it.. no big deal"
Internal Thoughts
Yes of course, that's how it works. You can buy anything from Amazon, use it for weeks, and return it if the button felt weird when you pressed it for the ten thousand time. Yes, I remember now how this works.
Back to my story...
So, as I was explaining to my friend with more gray hairs on his head than me, how he is effectively missing out on sales, this older gentleman walks into the store. He's holding a couple of small briefcases, he seems flustered and full of anxiety. He opens up one of the cases, shows the shop owner and me these wireless transmitters and says:
"I need some cash, I need to sell these, would you guys be interested?"
I take a look at the units and discover they are pretty old, still functional, still legal (that's a post on its own), but very old indeed. The owner of the shop tells this would be desperate seller, he does not normally deal with electronic gear, that guitars are his thing and nothing more.
The face on the old timer changes from a smile to a frown, and proceeds to tell us he's lost it all, his business, his car and yes... even his wife. Maybe, because I'm a little too curious about these things, and maybe because I was being a big innapropriate I asked him what his business was about. Without missing a beat, he tells me he's been fixing car radios for 40 years, "40 freaking years" to quote the man.
I had to ask for clarification, of course, I was not sure what kind of radios he meant. He explained how when he started, when the business was booming he fixed all the CB radios in the area. It was then that his frown, his frustration, his defeat sort of speak dawned on me ask I asked myself - Who uses CB radios anymore?
As if he had heard my mind posing the question he continued his story. He told me how the business had slowed down over the years as more and more truckers would use cell phones and abandon the idea of using CB radios for their trucks. Three months prior to the visit to the store he had fixed the last one, and not a single customer had walked through the door again. This lead to him defaulting on loans, not paying the rent, wife issues, you name it.
The owner of the store refused to buy the units, but I did. Honestly, I overpaid a bit, but I felt sorry for the guy and felt like even if I sold them for the same amount I bought him for, at least I gave him enough to pay for his cellphone bill and few meals.
I left the store soon after, my mind completely filled with thoughts about the events transpired. It's not that it was not obvious before, but it just became that much more obvious to me right there and then: The speed of technology, the need for quick adaptability, the process of denial, the inevitable changes that will always come.
You might be thinking to yourself - Why is this relevant? Why should you care? - Mainly, because I see this whole cryptocurrency as something that drives on a parallel lane. It's not the same story, but it carries the same dynamics. There will be those who will refuse to adapt, who will continue to fix their CB radios until they are operating in a field that does not use them, there will be those who will attempt to dip their toes, but not understand a thing, and those who will jump the gun, who will learn the tech, the changes, the elements needed for adaptation and take over from those who hesitated.
I constantly think about this, because I know there is no way of turning back the clock, of going back to CB radios. Exactly like there is absolutely no way of stopping cryptocurrencies, or internet 2.0 as many call it.
Stay informed, stay educated my friends...
Other posts by yours truly
• Today's discourse reduced to "Aha I got you moments"
• Are Flags really Censorship? - Continuing the discussion at hand
• Steem is turning around?
• RIP power supply...
• A video answer to Jerry Banfield's Idea of Removing the flags
Back home in South Carolina CB radios were in every pickup truck as they were used while hunting deer. These days they have smaller handheld radios that go much further and since they are portable they allow you to walk away from the truck when needed.
I guess the longer you have been married to a particular technology the tougher it is to let go. The old man probably dreaded the thought of building a new business full of new customers with a newer updated technology. I see parallels with the coal and oil industry as well. So much infrastructure has been put in place for both industries that it's hard for a country to walk away from even when there are better alternatives available.
This is a good reminder for us all that even we (the early adopters) should spend some of our research time looking for new advancements as well beyond crypto. If we become too involved in the present day tech we may miss the opportunity to adopt the next big thing that is on the horizon.
We can't get too complaisant...
Cell phones? Unless you can fumble with those in a hands free or hands convenient way it looks like the CB radio would be better. Hmm.... So.... What's the range of that thing? That might answer my question too haha.
That's from the Wiki...
Obviously pretty useless by today's standards... but in a time full of repeaters and relays, they made sense.
My boss's wife is a Cobol programmer. Apparently there is a niche market for people who can maintain code for businesses that want to keep using obsolete technology. That is, of course, the exception rather than the rule.
Did you think about how the truck drivers who abandoned their CBs might be the next things to become obsolete? Long haul trucks look to be the first major use for self-driving vehicle technology. I read a truckers review of the new Tesla design for a self-driving truck. The first ones will have a cockpit for an operator, but the driving will be done by the truck most of the time. The reviewer thought it looked like a rotten design because the operator seating and mirror placement were designed for aerodynamics rather than visibility. He didn't seem to get the idea that the human was only supposed to be there briefly while they proved that humans are a liability when it comes to operating machinery.
Some people naively think self driving cars are decades away.... I happen to think before Trump steps down from his presidency we will be having them in the streets doing jobs.
When that happens, millions of jobs will be lost once again to automation. Who will they blame next?
So did you make any money on the units you bought? And did you sell them on the internet?
I made a little bit, and yes I sold them on the internet. One of the units was defective, so I had to refund all the profit I made, but the other one was fine. ;)
meaningful experience. thanks @meno have shared experiences about CB radio