The digital revolution is changing everything — from the way we communicate, to the way we eat. But one of the greatest transformations brought by our digital age has been in the way we work and the jobs available to the next generations.
From Uber driver to App Developer and Social Media Manager, there has been a considerable rise in online job roles in recent years, many of which simply did not exist ten years ago. Now with the introduction of artificial intelligence and automated services, digital working is going through a second evolution.
In this blog I look at seven extraordinary digital ideas that have changed the way we work forever.
Automation
Are the robots finally ready to take over?!
There has been a surge in automated AI-led processes in the last decade. With everything from automated shopping checkouts, to robot Amazon delivery, and the announcement of Google’s first driverless cars — automation is set to change every aspect of our lives.
But where there is progress, there is also loss — with a projected five million jobs lost to automated technology by 2020, the rise in automation has received its fair share of criticism.
However on a positive note, according to the World Economic Forum’s research, automation will replace the need for humans to take part in dangerous or mundane work, while more jobs will be created that will require people and technology to work hand in hand.
There are a host of automated digital marketing tools already improving the working lives of thousands, from resources like social media manager Hootsuite to help manage social media profiles with a few clicks, to tools that help track user data such as Kissmetrics.
Automation has already changed the way we work and is set to revolutionize it even further — pushing marketers to be more data and tech-savvy. It’s now up to us to act on the world of data and figure out what we can, and can’t, automate.
Remote working
The old days of ‘telecommuting’ pale in comparison with today’s flexible working environments.
Thanks to the power of the internet and a host of incredible tools, professional work no longer need be a rigid office experience. With a recent change in people values, mainly those ushered in by the millennial generation, people are looking for more flexibility at work.
Thanks to this cultural change and online resources such as Dropbox, Google Hangouts, and Skype, even old-school corporations are embracing flexible working patterns.
Once considered impossible or impractical, remote working is now the norm in a lot of companies. With workers having the tools available to be productive from just about anywhere with an internet connection, the remote worker toolkit has forever changed the way we work.
Read more on how to start a business overseas.
Artificial Intelligence
Once considered a mere science fiction pipedream, artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a reality, set to revolutionize the way we work.
With a deep learning AI created in 2017 detecting cancer as well as a human pathologist, it seems no job is safe from the AI uprising…
AI is also being used to improve and streamline our professional lives. With ecommerce platforms utilizing AI in the form of purchase predictions and smart searches, while consumer goods juggernaut Unilever rolled out an online AI to help with its hiring process — resulting in the speediest and most diverse recruitment drive of the company’s history.
Online Education
A decade ago, online education was unheard of, with the only place to get a decent education being a bricks and mortar university, usually costing tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, online establishments like The University of Phoenix and The Open University in the U.K. are two of the largest universities in the world with students attending online lectures and getting qualified remotely.
Thanks to the agile, global nature of online education, students are no longer tied down to being in one place. Instead, they can learn wherever they see fit. Plenty of other companies are getting in on the trend too, with ambitious entrepreneurs launching their own online courses.
Dropshipping
A direct result of globalization and global trading, dropshipping has revolutionized online shopping. Dropshipping allows online traders to source products from all over the world. Without a need for a warehouse, dropshipping has opened up ecommerce to entrepreneurs of all levels. No need for expensive warehouses and the headaches of inventory management — this is a more agile form of commerce, reminiscent of how the modern world changed with the advent of international shipping routes.
Just looking around at website marketplaces like Shopify’s Exchange marketplace, you can see that there is now a huge market for people looking to buy and sell dropshipping stores — it’s the new entrepreneurial dream with a typically 21st century take on things. (And it’s even possible to give a nod to the artisanal trend and dropship — as long as you get your value propositions straight).
For marketers, it’s the perfect opportunity to run multiple businesses at once, providing value through content and relationships.
Digital Governing
The Baltic Country of Estonia has become the first nation to move all of its resident services online. Proving that future is digital, Estonians now do everything digitally — from paying bills, filing taxes, attending university or filling prescriptions. They also has the fastest broadband in the world, which I guess they’ll need.
The incredible move away from traditional government shows the true potential of the digital age. As long as the open platform can be made safe, it may soon be the norm for your own country, too.
Social Media
When social platforms such as Myspace and LinkedIn became prevalent in the early 2000s, no one foresaw the colossal effect it would have on how we communicate, form relationships, and work. Before long, Facebook had become the most popular social platform, now boasting over one billion members.
Across industries, social media has become essential in business strategy and an integral part of any cost-effective marketing campaign.
With companies spending thousands or more on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter advertising, and more of our lives becoming closely integrated with these platforms, social media has forever changed the way we work and live.
Read more on how to make the most of advertising on Instagram.
From artificial intelligence to online governance, extraordinary digital ideas are already revolutionizing the way we communicate, live, and work. These innovative tools and resources are disrupting outdated practices and streamlining mundane tasks, making us more productive and allowing us to focus on creativity. Only time will tell what the next incredible digital idea will be.
About the Author
Kayleigh Toyra is a multilingual writer and content marketer who specializes in search & outreach.
