22 Mar
I remember when I was a kid I used to be the paper boy in my neighborhood. Getting up at 5:00 to ride my bike around the hilly valley that was my neighborhood. With a large canvas bag that brandished “The Honolulu Bee” across the front of the bag. The bike was incredibly unsteady and if I stopped peddling for a moment the weight of all the newspapers would cause my bike to topple over and the papers would be flung across the sidewalk and into the street. I can remember the smell of all that ink and paper on my hands throughout the day. But I was a money-making fool compared to the other 12 year olds.
Then I moved away from Hawaii and joined the USAF and lived in England for 4 years. When I got back I noticed that all the paper boys were now paper men and women. Driving their cars to deliver papers. Man, the ground I could have covered if I had a Volvo instead of a Huffy.
Anyway, now a days the paper men and women are being seen less often each month as people are getting their news from the internet. Adults delivering papers was tough to take for a veteran of the newspaper route wars like myself, I mean what other job can a 12-year-old get today? But the absolute end of the paper boy is the internet. The internet was the last straw and it absolutely killed the paper boy and his job is not coming back.
Here is a quick list of some of the jobs that the internet killed:
1. Paper boy (He will be missed)
2. Paper sales people (They will not be missed)
3. Mill workers that made the paper (Never appreciated to begin with)
4. The guy that worked at Blockbuster (Talked to much but knew his movies)
5. Professional journalists (Replaced by Bloggers who call themselves Journalists)
6. The factory worker that manufactured the discs our movies came on (Another unsung hero of movie night)
7. The guy that sold discs for the videos to be recorded to (Never met him, don’t think I liked him)
8. The lady that worked at the film development studio (She was a young artist type, wanted to be a cinematographer…now she has her chance…hope she takes it?)
9. The nerdy Manager at Ritz camera (Dude was a underachiever but he knew his equipment. iPhone killed him, R.I.P.)
10. The cute girl who worked at Ritz camera (She married to the nerdy manager and now they run a small bagel shop across town)
The long story short is that if you find yourself standing in front of the oncoming internet you should really think about moving yourself off of the train tracks. After recently visiting one of the largest publishers in our area it was shocking to see all the same chairs and desks and no one sitting there. The place used to hum like an airport terminal with hustle and bustle and people calling out to each other while they tried to hit their sales goals toward the end of the month. Those days are gone and yet there were two guys still there. Two guys in a 20,000 square foot facility. What are they waiting for?
Did they not get the memo?
The trains whistle is blowing and they don’t hear it. It makes me sad as they try to string their careers along until the bitter end. They have had enough time to figure it out, read the writing on the wall, tea leaves, anything???
Start something new today….maybe online….whatever it is do it right now.
The internet killed the paper boy and it will come for you next, if you let it. So….MOVE!!!
Let me know how it goes!!
Matt Steinmuller is an experienced copywriter with a passion for great content, real estate, and fantasy football. He is a Towson University graduate with a degree in Marketing.
6 Comments
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Vince
March 25, 2013Unless you are U.P.S. or FEDEX, a lot of businesses are going the way of the dinosaur. Change can be painful, but as a friend of mine is fond of saying “sometimes you gotta just yank that band aide off”. It’s a lot less painful than if you pull it off slowly. Just do it.
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Travis
March 26, 2013Here’s another one for you: Printers. Since the start of 2012 Amazon has been selling more e-books that printed. A number of school districts in my state are also looking at going to tablets VS. printed books. The Publishers are not going anywhere, but if you work a printing press you may want to put your resume together.
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Michael
March 26, 2013Travis,
Your point is well made. The list goes on and will continue to grow. I did not realize the school book angle. That is going to be a significant change that will touch so many people that I can’t believe I didn’t appreciate it. Thanks!
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Jordan
March 28, 2013I am currently working full-time and going to school; I take my classes online and have found that many of the college textbooks can be purchased as an eBook as well. Many publishers are doing this to save money for themselves and the students. Obviously the college book store is happy because they really didn’t have to do anything other than sell you the access code to gain access to it. Soon all books will be this way, printed books will be a thing of the past, but at least it’s beneficial to the environment with all those saved trees!!!
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Michael
March 28, 2013Jordan,
I was reading a magazine before bed last night and I thought about it when reading your comment. I like the holding of magazines and the knowledge of where I am in the magazine which is not always apparent when reading online. I wonder if it is my tender age (insert sarcasm here) but some things I just prefer via physical methods. Bindings and that slick feel of holding quality coated paper stock come to mind. Is that just me? I don’t know?
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Matt Steinmuller