Technology

Companies and industries that think technology will ONLY help make their jobs easier and costs lower are looking through the telescope the wrong way. AT&T and BofA use phone automated phone technology to save themselves employee costs. I think they do save employee costs and end up getting less human customer service calls, not because the automated technology helps but because people grow frustrated with waiting for so long. They are saving themselves costs, and making higher profit, but not providing better services to the customer.

The same goes for the recording industry. The price to create CDs is cheaper than producing cassette tapes, but instead of passing on the savings to consumers, they upped the price, trying to usurp the monetary rewards of the technology.

But this view towards technology is short-signed and I think will ultimately hurt those who view it as a simply a way to cut costs and profiteer, as it already has with the music industry.

Instead technology can be viewed as a tool to provide a better product to their customers. Instead of suing Napster, the recording industry should have bought it, enhanced it, and made it profitable. Now Apple is making it happen.

The supply company I am now working for part time takes customer service calls all day. They also have a website and get many online orders, but retained strong customer service on the phones. To this day, we take 3 times as many phone orders because customers like placing orders over the phone. The web orders are cheaper and convenient for some customers, but we do not treat those orders any different than our phone customers.

In fact, from what I've seen thus far, the phone calls are much more profitable than the web or email orders because people call on the phone more often to actually place an order versus emailing problems and/or questions.

Many companies from airlines to auto insurance encourage the use of the website OVER the use of the phone. To them, it's a cost issue. But I've seen with this company, we use the phone and web in conjunction with one another - not one as superior, with price breaks, etc, but as equal tools to meet the needs of the customer. I think this is ultimately a wiser way to use technology. Over time, customers will migrate to the web, if it suits their needs. Companies do not do themselves a favor, I think, by pushing customers there.

Part II: How this Applies to Movies

The studios are rewarding rats at the movie theaters for turning in pirates. They're getting paid the same amount as informants for turning in low-level Al Queda members. Great world, huh.

They are behind private raids in German apartments punishing those nefarious college students with pirated DVDs.

Perhaps these pirates are wrong - they are stealing from the artists, right? But from a business standpoint, can't Hollywood "look outside the box?" These guys went to b-school, right? They must teach that type of crap at the top b-schools. What's happening is consumers want access to movies quicker and cheaper - big surprise, right? What's new is that there is technology available to make it happen.

So what does Hollywood do? Make dumbass commercials in previews and threaten and harangue kids.

Whom am I to think I know more than Hollywood? Hollywood has survived every threat to its dominance and thrives today as much as ever. And it's smarter than the music industry, they've held out longer over the pirating issue. But I can't imagine techology sitting dormant while the gentle arms of justice try to figure out the right and the just....the techology exists and you either adapt to it, change, or run the risk of becoming irrelevant. Imagine being a badass Templar Knight going into battle with a dork with an Uzi. That's all I'm saying.