When the technical dust settles

A question to the future of business and environment capital.

My daily news and stock feed is filled with hyped up posts on new tech, new sites and new trends. All of this newness leaves me with an empty feeling as I dive into the details and learn that Microsofts windows 8 is a flop, printed guns will undermine gun legislation, the next social networking site is… I can’t help but start wondering where we’ll be 25 years from now.

Technology, and the generation it defined, has been a constant source of speculation and irritation on both sides of the media fence for 30 years. PC’s, Internet, Social—we’re consumed with bits and bytes that help us keep track of whose dating whom. We are so lost in TechCrunch that I’m dumbstruck to find an analog in the physical world.

As the sea rises, and bee’s vanish, a new world of innovation, built on technology as technology is built on silicon, and manufacturing, is opening. With new technology comes a daunting new challenge: how will we exchange goods and services for capital and what form will that capital take? Gold? Paper? Bits?

By the end of the 21st century jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge will no longer be suicidal, but not unlike diving into a backyard pool. I’m really hoping we can all stop texting long enough to invest the energy of our restless thumbs into better dykes and dredging equipment. Something tells me we’re going to need it.