Jean Francois Lyotard in his iconic piece "The Post Modern Condition- a Report on Knowledge" prophesized radical changes in the "research and transmission of acquired learning".
Our generation has been blessed with the opportunity to witness his prophecy take shape, changing the way we perceive, and interact with the world around us. As theorized by Lyotard, knowledge has ceased to be an end in itself, rather it has become a means to an end: information.
In today's world, no one is entirely, truly alone even for a moment. We wake up to the morning news, or the numerous channels on the TV. We are never far from our near and dear ones, and not so dear ones as well. Mobile technology coupled with the huge internet database, makes sure that if you want to, there's no one on earth you cannot reach. We live our lives after a fashion, on the pages of various social networking websites, meeting and familiarizing ourselves with strangers half way across the world. From the moment we wake to the moment we find solace in the arms of sleep, we are never alone. And through all this, we are constantly bombarded with information, both solicited and unsolicited.
This constant barrage of information, has changed our lives in more ways than we can imagine. An average layman of today’s age, has means and the ability to acquire respectable expertise in areas totally unrelated to his primary means of livelihood, because of the ease with which he/she can access the information required. In a manner of speaking, we are the most aware individuals in the short history of mankind.
Every trade we know of has thrived because of this boom in telecommunication. Entrepreneurs can get in touch with prospective investors more easily. Its not uncommon for business partnerships to forged over a distance of thousands of miles. We live a much smaller world than the one our parents knew, at the same time, there is more room for everything.
But how does this make business more complicated than it already was? We've already shown that its EASIER to run a business for you these days. Well, the problem is, its easier for your competitor's to do so too. The customer base you are thinking of targeting would be in the cross hairs of your competitors as well. Its not easy to keep a secret these days, one day you're sitting on a new idea, a gold mine, the next day that idea might be the latest fad on the net, and totally worthless as a commercial venture. Competition might resort to underhanded tactics and with the tools at its disposal, taking a smear campaign worldwide isn't a difficult task at all. With the availability of information, the customer you find yourself facing is a much more demanding one. He knows what other options he has for his money. More than the individual, one has to consider the collective psyche of the masses these days. This psyche has internet and television as its mouthpiece and its information input comes from a billion computer terminals plugged into a database that would eat up a forest the size of California if printed on paper. With new fads like 'stumbledupon' and facebook, you never know what your target base is thinking today and what it may be thinking tomorrow. A truly terrifying position for a business man to be in.
Add to that the fact that with new age, come new laws and restrictions to abide by. Stricter quality norms, more definitive guidelines regarding what may or may not be considered as misleading the customer.
Take the US scene, anyone with a good lawyer can bankrupt a major firm with a lawsuit and can walk away a millionaire. Not that customer grievances are wholly unjustified, but most of the cases would not have seen the light of the day a few decades ago. So, whether you are an upright businessman or not, the running and growth of a business enterprise has definitely become a more daunting and complex task of late.
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