We can all see what's happening: (a) traditional media, such as broadcast TV and radio and printed newspapers and magazines, are in decline; and (b) new media, such as blogs, Hulu, YouTube, and social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) are rampant. Increasingly, new media are delivered wirelessly to mobile devices. But we don't all see what this trend really means to us. Friedman's op-ed is a compelling story about the impacts of new media on our economy and the job market.
Reid Garrett Hoffman is an entrepreneur who is known as the founder of LinkedIn. He and a co-author, Ben Casnocha, are promoting their forthcoming book, The Start-Up of You. Friedman obviously takes the title of his op-ed from this book. Says Friedman, the book's subtitle could easily be: “Hey, recent graduates! Hey, 35-year-old mid-career professionals! Here’s how you build your career today.”
New media are not adding as many jobs as they displace. Not only is the economy changing, but the way people get or keep a job must change, too. In Friedman's words:
Whatever you may be thinking when you apply for a job today, you can be sure the employer is asking this: Can this person add value every hour, every day — more than a worker in India, a robot or a computer? Can he or she help my company adapt by not only doing the job today but also reinventing the job for tomorrow? And can he or she adapt with all the change, so my company can adapt and export more into the fastest-growing global markets? In today’s hyper-connected world, more and more companies cannot and will not hire people who don’t fulfill those criteria.The old phrase was Differentiate or Die. The new reality is add value to the network or die.
The column is here: The Start-Up of You - NYTimes.com
Hat tip to Doug
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