As we push firmly into 2021 we may still find ourselves looking back on the year that was 2020. While many of us think back on the journey with pursed lips and one eyebrow raised, the road we travelled was not all bad. As with any adventure, we learnt something and the more distance between that memory and where we are now, the easier it is the see the bright side.
While we don’t pretend to have experienced the hardships of those living in the 18th and 19th centuries through the industrial revolution, we do share one massive commonality: change. Looking back to the .com boom and the general uptake of technology that the past 30-odd years has afforded us, one would think the hard stuff was behind us and the road ahead paved. The truth is anything but, and the “change” that kicked us so hard in the backside in 2020 is only one blip on the map.
While many of us are now savvy with our iPhones, skilled on Google and video conferencing extraordinaires, the harsh reality is that in a world of “data” many of us have no idea. Even in relatively insulated regional Queensland, 2020 introduced many small businesses to working from home. In a workplace (home) with no supervision, data was the measurable output. This shone a light on how little data we had even on those who were the most valuable resource to these businesses.
As we move through the next decade, whether you are a consumer or a business, the data revolution is going to matter to you. If you are a business, what could be more important than knowing what is happening, when it is happening and how to control the outputs. If you are a consumer then you should be more aware than ever of how your data is being collected, managed and ultimately used or sold. Be data conscious.