Caution: Constant Change Ahead
Posted: November 7, 2013 Filed under: English | Tags: Brands, Change Management, Communication, Consumer, Generations, Marketing, Millennials, Movement, Organizations, Philosophy, Population Growth, Technology 1 Comment
Heraclitus by Hendrik ter Brugghen
Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher well know by his thoughts on change and movement. For him, everything was in constant change, nothing remained still.
In the last centuries, changes occurred in a quantum leaps, every big change (the control of fire by early humans, wheel, metalwork, steel, etc.) came with some period of stability, where humans could be used to each change before the following came.
The technological evolution has suffered an exponential growth in the last century, with some correlation with the population growth:
World human population (est.) 10,000 BC–2000 AD.
In this period, the adoption of every technology, and particularly communication ones, has been every time shorter:
So, yes, a 500 BC philosopher is finally right 2500 years after. Every change occurs so quickly after the previous, that we are in constant change, computers and communication technologies really boosting this phenomenon. But understanding the impact of this continuous change in ourselves is by definition, a problem, since it’s more difficult to analyze moving things. By the time we understand the first effects in the attention and retention capabilities of our youngsters because of this multitasking produced by the surrounding technology, they will already be demanding their first job. It’s not about generations anymore (X,Y,Z, Boomers, Millennials…), a generation is a still picture of a group of people who behave the same during a period of time, but with constant change, generations are constantly changing too.
- How this constant change affect consumers?
- How this constant change affect organizations and their brands?
- How this constant change affect marketing professionals?
I created ConstantChangeAhead to reflect and share my thoughts through a series of articles on this constant change and its impact on consumers, brands and marketing professionals. Some of them will be written in English, some others in Spanish, two of the three most spoken languages in the world (still wanting to learn more Chinese). The most important posts will be written in both languages but I’m sure you will find the way to translate them (hint). Stay tuned!
Bonus Track: Although is quite old, I love this “Did You Know” video series:
Constant Change Ahead 
[…] control? Let’s focus on what happened in the last 200 years. As I already mentioned in my first post, there is an interesting correlation between population growth and technology development. […]