Sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s, I received what I thought at the time was a high compliment. A senior Compaq Computer Corp. executive said that I was most responsible for getting Houstonians onto the fledgling internet of the day.
My goal throughout my career has been to help people, and I can say with pride that I have achieved it by guiding Houston Chronicle readers to understanding personal technology and utilizing it to make their lives better.
The internet is the most important invention of the modern age, and arguably of all time. But as with anything that humans do, it has its downside. As the events of recent past has shown us, an always-connected world is as dangerous as it is delightful. So while I am proud of the role I’ve played in bringing people into the digital age, I have some regrets that I also didn’t ring enough alarm bells.
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I am nothing if not an optimist.
I’m thinking about all this because you are reading the last technology column I’ll write for the Houston Chronicle. As I have mentioned on my social media accounts and in my Release Notes newsletter, after more than 30 years here I have accepted a buyout offer. Friday is my last day as a Hearst employee.
My original plan was to do a kind of semi-retirement, writing a blog and running a paid newsletter, as are many former journalists now. But after I went public about leaving, I was recruited by the venerable business publication Forbes to be an online personal tech columnist as well as write a newsletter. I start Feb. 1.
Final dispatches such as this are typically called “-30- columns” in this business, a reference to the number placed at the end of a story in the days when newspaper pages were built using metal type. It’s fitting in my case: a -30- column after 30 years.
If you are expecting a retrospective on my career, though, you’re going to be disappointed. I have never been one to look back, only forward. For many years, the profile on my Facebook page included this sentence: “Don’t tell me where we’ve been, show me where we’re going.”
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So that’s what I want to do with my final chance to address Houston Chronicle readers - look ahead. Here’s where I think - and in some cases, where I hope - tech’s taking us.
Constantly connected. We’ve been headed toward an always-on world for some time - in fact, my tech column was briefly called “Always On” in the early 2010s to reflect that reality. But we’re just now realizing that the convenience of nonstop access to information and each other is not a total positive.
In addition, now we are adding not just people, but also things to the constant network - speakers, TVs, lights, HVAC systems, traffic control, public and private cameras, sensors of all kinds. We have the potential to fundamentally transform our culture and our daily lives into the kind of sci-fi utopia envisioned in “The Jetsons,” or some dystopian hell akin to “The Matrix.” We should not hesitate to regulate it toward the former so we don’t end up with the latter.
Privacy preferred. Concern about loss of privacy has become more prevalent, and you can thank Facebook for that. Who hasn’t had the experience of doing a web search for an item, then seeing ads for it follow you across the web and into your favorite social media haunts? It’s gotten so creepy and annoying that some folks believe Facebook et al are listening via smartphone microphones. That’s not what’s happening, but the truth is even more unsettling - the algorithms used to deliver these ads have become so good, they don’t need microphones.
It’s time for privacy regulation in the United States. It’s good to see some tech companies take the lead, particularly Apple, which is now requiring developers to get user permission to collect personal data on its platforms (much to Facebook’s consternation) and disclose what information is collected. But to get the benefits, you must use Apple’s products. They cost more that most competitors, mainly because they are not subsidized by monetized data collection. Privacy shouldn’t be a perk of wealth.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Check out the collection of Dwight Silverman’s Techburger columns
Very friendly. As I said earlier, I’m an optimist, so let me leave you with something upbeat. Just as tech has become more pervasive and ubiquitous, it also is becoming friendlier. Companies that want mass markets to buy their digitally enabled products have to make them easier to use, and from what I have seen over the past few years, that’s happening.
See my recent review of the latest-generation Amazon Echo, in which the setup was so easy, I thought I may have done something wrong. Or, if you’ve bought a new iPhone or iPad lately to replace an older one, you know how the camera on the new one “sees” a pattern of dots on the old one to kick off the process of transferring your data. As devices rely more and more on sight and sound for configuration and usage, your tech life will be increasingly simplified.
Thanks to everyone who’s been reading what I write for the past three decades. And thank as well to the Houston Chronicle for allowing me to do the thing I love the most, and that’s being of service.
Thirty, y’all.
dwight.silverman@chron.com
twitter.com/dsilverman
houstonchronicle.com/techburger
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30 years behind me, but looking forward to the future - Houston Chronicle
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