Experience Matters

Did you remember your umbrella?

Predicting the weather for tomorrow with a forecast is dead simple, predicting it without isn’t so simple. We all rely on the tools and techniques honed by scores of scientists and meteorologists over the past century. The fine art of weather forecasting is improving, allowing the common man an opportunity for a fair fight against Mother Nature. At least we have the chance to prepare in advance and walk into a situation (or day) with decent intelligence.

Before the technology advances made in recent history, mankind had to rely on knowledge passed down from elders, observation of patterns and even folk tales or legend. The experience factor was huge, the more you had the better prepared you could be for the next day or next crop season, etc.

In today’s digital world we all face a similar problem – how do we predict the next day? What trends will stick? Which technologies should we back? It’s tough to know the answers and it’s easy for our confidence to waiver as new information, rumors and detail come in. We all want (and need) to catch the next wave; and realistically this is why we all love working in this space.

Before the Doppler radar and other weather predicting technologies of today, people relied on tactics such as:

1. “Red sky at night, sailors delight; Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning”
2. Looking for a rainbow in the west - Most major storm fronts travel west to east, and a rainbow in the west means moisture, which can mean rain is on its way.
3. Taking a deep breath - A proverb says “Flowers smell best just before a rain.”
4. Observing the animals - Cows typically lie down before a thunderstorm.

…and the list goes on.

For further insights on weather predicting tactics see my original source at: http://www.wikihow.com/Predict-the-Weather-Without-a-Forecast

Last time I tried taking a deep breath it didn’t give me any insight into the next big thing in the digital space, though it may have helped to calm my nerves. The actions of cows and birds seem to be no help and it really doesn’t matter what color the sky is, morning or night – no help there.

However the one thing I think we can tie together here is the theme of observation. In solving either of these problems; tomorrow’s weather or tomorrow’s technology the same theory can apply – pay attention and be involved. Being a passenger will leave you a passenger – you may not have the time, ideas or abilities to design the next big thing, but you can do your utmost to remain “in the game”.

Working in a space like the digital playground we all enjoy hopefully means you are passionate about it. This doesn’t mean you’re at work or working 14 hour days 7 days a week, but it does mean you’re “plugged-in,” involved and interacting with the space, industry and technologies. If you plan to grow and gain success in this field, you need to be aware – develop your own weather predicting methods.

Things we can all do to ensure we’re prepared for tomorrow’s digital weather:

1. Absorb - find the resources you need to help you understand, there is no shortage of information opinion available to us today. Ask around and locate the top 5 – 10 “experts” on a given topic. These may be blogs, wikis, sites, etc. Organize your feeds/reader to keep the important information available and more prominent. Leverage podcasting on your daily commute – feed your gray matter. It’s easy to feel scattered, overwhelmed and over loaded with information – scale things down to a manageable size – we all have a different amount of bandwidth available for new data, but building knowledge and experience is the key point here.
2. Play – you’ll learn a lot faster and retain much more by playing with the new technologies. Reading and theory are great – but interaction and real, hands-on experience cannot be matched. We should all have a mobile device, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn accounts; Youtube should be considered old news to you by now, etc… So many people working in this space are not as involved as they need to be.
3. Invent – if at all possible take the first 2 points above and turn your knowledge and experience into new ideas. Enhance existing ideas or solution. Collaborate with friends, acquaintances and co-workers to talk about and execute on new ideas. Join social groups, BarCamp, etc… There are so many ways to reach out and join in on the fun.

Staying on top of the digital world is no easy task. It is ever changing and the competition is fierce. If the experience we all bring to the office each day is packed full of knowledge, theory, proven solutions, etc. we can surely be better prepared to remain near the head of the curve. We may not be able to rely on that rainbow in the west to tell us about the next iphone, but we can definitely rely on our experience, involvement and persistence to keep us in the know and ready for anything.