Throwback Thursday: All Aboard the Tech Train

From game-changing conveniences developed in the heat of the industrial revolution to more modern conveniences borne out of the past few decades to non-essential modern amenities like social media, there’s a lot of change happening, and its coming around all the time thanks to technology. This Throwback Thursday, let’s take a look at the good old days, before the organic reach crisis and privacy scares.

The Bullet Train

This morning, I saw a advertisement for the train of the future on my daily walk through Union Station. Promoted by Amtrak, the display served to educate commuters of the high-speed rail that will soon connect the furthest corners of the nation and allow people to travel across the country in moments. Onlookers to the display were upset that the tracks needed to be developed, a system devised and the trains built before this service would be available for use. “That will be YEARS,” someone said as he rolled his eyes and continued along his commute.

Obviously, the infrastructure of the rail system needs to be built and developed before anyone can use it as it is intended, but I couldn’t help but feel reminded of the development of the continental railroad. Certainly, it was a long period of time between the idea for the rail and the first train departure. I wonder if Americans were equally annoyed by this delay. The transcontinental rail system revolutionized America, from transporting people and goods to regulating time across the country and developing standard time zones, the U.S. owes a lot to the rail (especially Chicago); what will we owe to the high-speed rail system?

Social Media

The Social Network reminded me of the attitudes that people had about social media before it became such a natural part of our everyday life. I remember when I was a teenager, my parents were EXTREMELY suspicious of putting so much information about your life out there on the internet for anyone to see. Privacy settings and the illusion of selecting which friends could and could not see certain updates made the platform “harmless enough” for the masses; a sense of security that isn’t quite there for all of the Snapchat users who have sent images to friends under the assumption that they would be destroyed upon receipt never to see the light of day.

Before there were stock options and overly complicated algorithms involved in Facebook’s newsfeed involved, it was an owned social media platform, with great potential for brands to reach their consumers and organically engage. Now, Facebook is referred to as a leased platform, with organic reach hovering at around 2% and dropping fast, the only way to thrive is to purchase advertisements within the platform. The low cost and short lifespan of Facebook’s ads, along with the ability to post normal content means that the channel is neither owned nor paid.

Cover Photo Source: mycola

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://testspace.thesanjosegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Our-Space-Mary-Bio-Pic.png[/author_image] [author_info]Mary is an Assistant Account Executive at SJG. She earned her BA in Communication from the University of Evansville in 2013. In her spare time, when she’s not engulfing novels in a coffee shop, Mary feels most at home celebrating life and love with her family and friends, and visiting the streets of Paris in her dreams. [/author_info] [/author]