(Photo credit @zhangkaiyv)
Happy new year to all of you!! It was great to end the chaos of 2020 by being featured in Thrive Global alongside some amazing female entrepreneurs: Trailblazing Womxn to Watch in 2021. Like many of you, I’m looking forward to a year that allows me the chance to grow and thrive, and not just survive (yes - I’m talking about you, 2020).
It's a new year -- and time to sharpen those tech job search skills. Check out my Coaching options to get you ready to find the tech job of your dreams.
It’s that time of year when people like to make predictions, so I thought I’d put forward a couple of my own. What do you think? Email me and let me know if you have other ones to share!
Certain tech companies will have to start thinking a LOT harder about their brands and their image/reputation.
As I was reading this CBInsights article about business moats, I noticed all the tech firms were highlighted for cost and network effects moats. That observation along with the recent lawsuits really got me thinking about how cavalier some tech companies are with their brands. There is an understandable focus on the technology & products as a primary driver, but they seem to forget that humans also like to identify with the brands they choose to purchase from. People also like to know that their values are being considered and cultivated, and the constant legal and regulatory challenges are beginning to permeate the wider public awareness.
If we have a K-shaped recovery and a roaring 20s redux, we need to prepare for how to ensure that inequality doesn’t become even worse.
In a few of the big trend articles I saw, others indicated that ‘a K-shaped recovery will send companies to court the wealthy’ and ‘the pent-up desires from 2020 will launch a creative [and hedonistic] decade.’ But if you combine these trends, I see a potentially dangerous further stratatification of our society. If companies overfocus on those with wealth, the vast majority of people at the other end of the spectrum will be left even further behind. I remain optimistic that some brilliant entrepreneurs will also see this pending challenge and launch new companies to meet this demand.
Netflix and streaming will not kill movie theaters.
While I can admit that streaming offers massive convenience, there is still an enduring allure to “going to the movies.” Comedies are funnier, horror movies scarier and romances more sweeping when there are other patrons around you, all experiencing the same thing. One of my favorite movie experiences was watching Scream in a theater full of chatty & engaged people, all of us yelling at the idiots on-screen & having a great time. I miss this sense of camaraderie with my fellow movie-goers, and can’t wait to return to the theater!
#random
Here’s what we know about the signal from Proxima Centauri : while it’s likely not a message from extraterrestrial beings...the question remains: what if?
