World, Writing, Wealth discussion
Wealth & Economics
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Extinct industries
I think about the camera thing too frequently. I picked up a really cheap 35mm in the early 90s that was barely a step above a disposable. I used to take it on vacation and it took some amazing pictures. At the risk of shameless self-promotion, the image on my Timberlands books was cut and modified from an image I took with that camera. I think for me that camera is what vinyl records are for some people today.But, if you look around, you can still buy 35mm film, so people are still shooting on film as opposed to digital.
I took a look - nice pic-s! And if you enjoy shooting with it and have time and desire to develop pictures, arrange them in the albums, then I see no reason why to stop using it....Sure, some people continue using film, some listen to vinyl records and hey I still see that opening for a floppy disk on my old computer -:) and it'll take a while, if at all, until these disappear.
But the change is pretty striking. Once any tourist location around the globe had a photoshop virtually at every corner, while nowadays sometimes you have to look hard to find them...
You only have to look at cell phones to see how quickly tech can change. Cell phones exploded in the 90s with the flip phone and we all thought phones were going to get smaller and smaller as the technology improved. Then the smart phone came out putting a mini computer in your hand and suddenly the trend reversed and phones have been getting bigger and bigger as people look for larger screens.
Yep, Apple made quite a revolution with its iphone and dethroned Nokia a few years ago. In just like two decades we've witnessed manufacturers' rises and falls every once in a while and few former giants are already tagged as 'defunct'.It's sort of a 'new' market still with dozens of 'players' still on it, but unlike what is declared, businessmen and corporations DON'T like competition, so it might so happen that after a process of concentration in not that many years we'll have a much smaller number of manufacturers...
It's been a while since this thread became a sleeper, but as the group grew in the meantime, maybe more people desire to advise when the last time they used a showmaker's services was or whether they keep TDK and BASF cassettes with Bon Jovi and Axl Rose on them -:)
There was a movie called Other People's Money where Danny Devito plays an investor who targets a small company with assets worth more than the company itself. He commences a hostile takeover with the intent of selling off the assets and dissolving the company. Towards the end of the movie where he's trying to sell his offer to the company's shareholders, he delivers a speech about obsolete industries and compares the company to the last company that would have manufactured horse and buggy whips, saying something to the effect that they probably made the best horse and buggy whips, but their model was still obsolete.So whenever you talk about obsolete tech or companies, in the back of my mind I always think of horse and buggy whips.
You never know what might come back into fashion though. I'm so glad I kept all my vinyl LPs, they're sought after now!
Tim wrote: "Closer to our industry, ..... now very few names reaching public consciousness. I think novelists will be in a similar position ..."May well happen. In some post-apocalyptic movies, we see people finding a book and not knowing what it is. But it seems no apocalypse is required ...
So will visual overtake written at some stage, what do you think?
Hi Tim,I disagree. The long form story has been around since Homer and is a reflection of the human need for story.
It's only going away if the human need for story is going away.
J.J. wrote: "There was a movie called Other People's Money where Danny Devito plays an investor who targets a small company with assets worth more than the company itself. He commences a hostile takeover with t..."Due to the popularity of equestrian activities, this is far from being an extinct industry. Once people have vehicles with all the bells and whistles, what do they do for fun? Take up the hobby of riding and driving horses for pleasure.
I came up with five different manufacturers of whips right here in the USA......how many car manufacturers do we have?
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Hi Tim,I disagree. The long form story has been around since Homer and is a reflection of the human need for story.
It's only going away if the human need for story is going away."
I agree with you, Graeme. Humans have a deep need for story. Early on, it was in oral form; later in written form. Children love stories. Adults love stories. Teens enamored of social media may not be interested now, but give them a few decades, and they'll want to know their family stories.
Are your local shoemaker and blacksmith still around or taken a long vacation? -:)
Nik wrote: "Are your local shoemaker and blacksmith still around or taken a long vacation? -:)"Some of our local farriers are also blacksmiths... I live in the 'horse capital' region of Australia.
Bookstores are gone by the wayside. A lot of books are not published in hardcover any more.Libraries are being decimated by budget cuts. Those that manage to stay open have become more integrated with the times - electronic books, computers, events for targeted groups.
I wonder if cable companies will go to the wayside as streaming becomes more popular and the cost of paying a cable company for TV channels keeps going up.
By the way, I just bought a new Microsoft Surface PC. No floppy, No CD drive.
I would disagree about bookstores. If you look deeply, you'll find a new breed of bookstore that draws in a clientele by hosting events, readings, signings, etc. They're turning the purchase into an experience that you won't get through online retailers. I think you look at the large chains and their declines as the standard, but B&N is stuck in a traditional model where every square inch of floor space must be devoted to inventory. The smaller, independents are the ones with the freedom to think outside the box and turn the traditional bookstore on its head.As for cable companies, they've been pushing internet service as a part of their business for years. If their cable subscriptions dwindle, at least they'll make their money providing all that bandwidth to the people streaming their entertainment from the competitors...and it's not like internet service hasn't been getting more expensive over time, so they'll probably be fine.
Everyone is selling internet services these days. From the electric company to satellite providers to your cell phone service. I am not saying cable companies won't still exist, but instead of being about cable with our lists of tv stations from basic to expanded packages, it is about bandwidth and download speed and then we sign up for whatever we want to watch through the internet. We used to have to use their modem; now we can provide our own. My home telephone goes through them too, which most people have gotten rid of.The independent bookstores are hard to find in my part of the country. But I do think the change in publishing with new release hardcovers being replaced by the larger sized paperback releases and other books being only released in electronic formats is changing the industry into something else. There may be a new type of store for these types of materials but I do think traditional bookstores will continue to be defunct. When I am on roadtrips, I always look for bookstores, They used to be everywhere but it has become much more difficult to find any. I am in a town of around 50k and our bookstore is one the local library has opened up - a used bookstore through its Friends of the Library. In Tucson, Bookmans had to close one its 2 stores last year, and that's a city of half a million people and close to a million if including the whole metropolitan area. I am sure there are some other used and independents, but I haven't looked because it is too far to travel for other types of experiences.
Another business that we know has gone away is the movie rentals. I don't think anyone has mentioned that. We only have kisoks we can rent some from. I miss being able to buy DVDs in places like Hastings, where I could collect a TV series used.
We have a few independently owned bookstores around here that have found success with the model I outlined; I think that's why I suggested the path.I can understand the disappearance of video stores though. Unfortunately, retail space has gotten expensive and there are too many alternatives for picking up movies. Still, thinking about them does trigger some nostalgia for those days when you'd look forward to going to Blockbuster to check out the new releases...
Yeah, walking down the aisles at Blockbuster, checking out covers, looking for a good movie for the weekend. Now it's all online. That takes out some of the fun for me.
Like how covers are important in capturing the readers attention and selling the books, those old VHS covers used to make you stop and pick up a movie to see what it was all about...
Hardcover book dustcovers with their blurbs on the inside about the story and the back cover about the author. I miss perusing them. Why do e-books never open to the covers? Granted, they aren't in color, but I can read a whole book and not even know who wrote it.
Lizzie wrote: "Hardcover book dustcovers with their blurbs on the inside about the story and the back cover about the author. I miss perusing them. Why do e-books never open to the covers? Granted, they aren't in..."When creating an ebook you can set the default to open at cover rather than after the table of contents at Chapter 1 - on Kindle anyway
Lizzie, you can always also turn back to the cover on a kindle if you want to. It never takes more than a few "back-page clicks" and it is there. On the other hand how can you not know who wrote it? The author must have been known when you bought it, surely?
Not exactly. I mean haven't you ever picked up a book without giving any thought to the author because the story sounded interesting? There are so many indies putting out so many books, to me, they're just names unless something about the book stands out...Then sometimes I'm asking myself "who wrote this?"
Actually, no, although for a slightly different reason than you may think. When I load a book on my kindle, I write down the title and author because I usually try and leave a review. These greatly help authors, and in my case, while not very many are doing it for me, I continue doing to for others. If I intend to write a review, I have to note the author and title so I can find the place to put the review, and it is convenient, with a word processor, to write the review under said noted title and author's name.
Ah.I've created a separate folder in my Kindle app called "to review." When I finish a book, I just drop it in there and reference that when it's time to rate/review. Most of the time, too, when I search for the title it comes up without having to search the author, so a lot of times, I just never bother to remember the author's name.
Videostores. Redbox killed Blockbuster and small privately owned one's which is sad cause I really liked video stores.
Yes, I don't think you can find a video store around here, and I am not sure you can find a working player once your old one expires.
Ian wrote: "Lizzie, you can always also turn back to the cover on a kindle if you want to. It never takes more than a few "back-page clicks" and it is there. On the other hand how can you not know who wrote it..."I know I can turn back and look at the cover, and sometimes I do, but it's not exciting to do so considering the size of the paperwhite and the lack of color. Nothing really stands out. I looked again. I still don't find a setting on the paperwhite that lets me determine what page or cover the book opens to.
Like J.J. I have a collection I drop them in that are "to review". There are about 20 authors that I have created collections for and those authors I know the books. But as for the rest, I add a lot of free ones because they are available, the blurb sounds good, and I have too much time on my hand.
In 2014, a lot of those free ones were so poorly written I knew I was only reading them because I needed something to occupy me as I was so limited by my disability that reading was about all I could do. Slowly in those freebies I found some gems that I really liked and those authors became ones I read and reviewed in exchange for free books and ones whose books I bought.
As for the rest, the idea of being without a book to read is unacceptable. I have about 500 downloaded that I haven't read. I put them in general collections of classic sci-fi, PA sci-fi, teen sci fi, mystery, non-fiction, cookbooks, general fiction and so on. When I don't have something to read by an author whose series I am following, I randomly pick one from a category with no idea who the author is.
Lizzie wrote: "Ian wrote: "Lizzie, you can always also turn back to the cover on a kindle if you want to. It never takes more than a few "back-page clicks" and it is there. On the other hand how can you not know ..."Hi Lizzie
I meant that it is set by the publisher when the file is created rather than by the individual on their device
Philip wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "Ian wrote: "Lizzie, you can always also turn back to the cover on a kindle if you want to. It never takes more than a few "back-page clicks" and it is there. On the other hand how ca..."Thank you for the clarification.
Lizzie wrote: "In 2014, a lot of those free ones were so poorly written I knew I was only reading them because I needed something to occupy me as I was so limited by my disability that reading was about all I could do. Slowly in those freebies I found some gems that I really liked and those authors became ones I read and reviewed in exchange for free books and ones whose books I bought. ..."Many that fall into this category, I actually like, because they end up being unintentionally funny. It's like when you watch a really bad movie, but it's so bad, you actually enjoy it...
...And sometimes the typos you come across end up changing the meaning of a sentence into something humorously unintentional...
We have a guy in town who repairs watches and jewelry. He apprenticed for years under the previous owner, Jim the Jeweler. He also sells jewelry, which is his main income. Still, we've got a guy who can repair your watch. Pretty cool.
I bought another watch last summer, because mine had all stopped working. One was losing time. One I had replaced the battery 3x in the prior year and it kept dying. My black hills gold watch which was a gift during my first marriage, the leaf on the face had fallen loose and was rolling around and the leather band had worn out. It was just cheaper and easier to spend $20 and get a new watch. Most of the time I feel like I am the only person with a watch. Everyone just looks at their phone for the time.
I've never worn a watch. Don't like that constant reminder of time passing.
I wear a watch. Sure, time passing is not exactly what I like, but it will pass whether I look at it or not. In the meantime, I find it helpful to organise myself.
It's irrational, I know, but strapping something onto my body that's ticking away the seconds seems too much like conforming to something I don't quite agree with.
Since my work involves people coming int to see me on an appointment basis, I wear a watch every day. It helps me time manage more effectively.
J.J. wrote: "I think about the camera thing too frequently. I picked up a really cheap 35mm in the early 90s that was barely a step above a disposable. I used to take it on vacation and it took some amazing pic..."J.J. wrote: "I think about the camera thing too frequently. I picked up a really cheap 35mm in the early 90s that was barely a step above a disposable. I used to take it on vacation and it took some amazing pic..."
I don't think many people are still using film cameras. The improving quality of cameras on phones has just about killed off the non-phone camera market except for digital SLRs and professional cameras. I have friends who are professional photographers. You might think they would be the last diehards on using film, because you can get image qualities from film that you can't achieve digitally. But while some of them still have film cameras, for day-to-day shooting, they're all digital now.
Scout wrote: "I've never worn a watch. Don't like that constant reminder of time passing."I worked in the legal field. Time, deadlines, dates - very important to criminal, civil, and family law cases.
Then there is that whole billable hour thing, billed in 6 or 15 minute increments generally. Before computers, watches were a requirement.
I dealt with a lawyer when my husband at that time wanted custody of his son. I saw through the lawyer, who knew how to get him wound up so that he would go on and on about his case. I had to shut my husband up because I knew the lawyer had that clock running and was billing for every minute without having to do a thing. Sneaky lawyer with his clock.
If possible, always try to get agreement before lawyers get involved. They are there to earn fees, not give value. However, desirable though it might be, I do not see lawyers becoming an extent industry.
It seems to me that people who provide specialized services to the upper class might be safe for a while. Interior decorators, massage therapists, hairdressers, private security, nannies. My son works as a wildlife manager and guide on a plantation where the rich come to hunt. It seems to be a fairly secure job that's not going to be automated any time soon. It requires personal interaction with the environment, the hunting dogs, and the clients.
I don't see lawyers being totally extinct, but in certain areas they are becoming so. Modern technology and the courts advancing to using computers and the internet has given rise to a lot more "do-it-yourself" forms out there. Since the courts got tired of dealing with uninformed or limited knowledge in the pro per group, many finally put the standard forms on line. Family law attorneys have really been hit by this along with the court required mediation systems. For the average middle class, family law and traffic tickets were there only contact with the legal system.
Where are the photoshops, for example? Since most photos went digital, these disappear from the streets.
What happened to huge long-distance and international telephone operators? Aren't they being replaced by Skype, Whatsapp, Viber and others?
Other examples?