The perspective of a relative outsider…

Since finishing my degree way back when, all those years ago, I have discovered something new about myself, which effectively, I hasten to add, makes me a geek.

I like learning.

I’m sure this trait hasn’t always been a part of my psyche but I really like learning. This would have been a tremendous help at University and I imagine I would have been far more doted upon by my lecturers if this desire had so kindly transpired in my first year. But nevertheless, it is here now.

With this newfound love however, comes the craving to know everything instantaneously. I want to be a fountain of knowledge. I want to be the best I can possibly be. Which, unfortunately in this big wide world of ‘Digital’ is a somewhat tall order.

Having gained a pretty good degree in Journalism (if I say so myself) and writing my dissertation on the phenomenon that is the Internet, I always considered myself to be pretty savvy, with my finger on the pulse. Then I started at gm-design and soon realised I have a very long way to go to reach my goal of being the bee’s knees.

The things I know…

The Digital Industry is a tour de force. It is an unstoppable entity, kicked off when Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web 1991. There are now more than 500 million websites containing 65 billion web pages. People are able to build their own websites from their sofa, anybody who is anybody has their own website. Businesses are popping up from nowhere; entire industries can be created from a computer.

The world has become our hypothetical oyster. Business wise, the general perception worldwide appears to be that in order to be successful one must have a website and naturally, with the latest must-have bells and whistles. And to a great degree this is true, when relevant to that business’ need. The Internet is an incredibly powerful tool, it has so rapidly become indispensable. A well crafted website or app can be instrumental to the success of a business, instantly marketing your product globally.

The things I do not know…

Is what the future holds. It is so exciting, and mildly terrifying that is there is no end in sight, the Internet and related technologies will continue to grow exponentially, it’s in our hands how we embrace it and evolve with it. What we are experiencing in this digital age is that the pace of creative thinking knows no bounds. Never made more true than by people like Steve Jobs, whose appetite for achieving the remarkable was simply insatiable:

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”