With the popularity of Technology and openness rising I believe that we are going to see the death of the age of “Planned Obsolescence”.

Wikipedia:
“Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence^[1] in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time.^[1] Planned obsolescence has potential benefits for a producer because to obtain continuing use of the product the consumer is under pressure to purchase again, whether from the same manufacturer (a replacement part or a newer model), or from a competitor which might also rely on planned obsolescence.”

More Humans are educated today than in any other time in our history. The rise of Technology and Education is causing people to be more accountable for their actions. Sure we have always been held accountable by our peers but with computers and surveillance software/hardware, it’s getting harder and harder to do anything without millions of people knowing what happened.

This openness is a double-edged sword. The good thing about it is that if we are in trouble or in an accident there are people that will know about it almost instantly. It’s obviously beneficial because we can get help to someone when they need it sooner.

The bad thing is that Anonymity is taking a big hit. In the world’s current state where the Police and Governments are filled with greed and corruption the ability to be Anonymous is key. They will put you on a list to be checked, interrogated and your phones and computers confiscated every time you need to move between countries or states for simply stating an opposing point of view.

On the upside of all of this “Planned Obsolescence” is getting harder and harder to pull off. As more and more people depend on these new Technologies, sometimes with their lives. These hardware providers are being forced to start making their products last.

This is an extremely good thing as it forces companies to work on software, service, and simplicity.  If you’ve ever run a business you would know that service is key to getting customers and keeping them coming back when something goes wrong. If you keep your services simplistic and geared towards your target audience in the way they want it you will ultimately be successful. It forces companies to work on software because more and more things are moving to an online market that is growing extremely fast.

I didn’t really get into talking about Greed and Corruption much in this, but I do want to get into that in a later blog.

As always I encourage everyone to speak up and state their opinions. Thanks for reading and stay safe out there.