Friedman and YouTube

In Friedman's chapters 5 and 6, the jobs by which future employees will be in was discussed. Here is a quick outline:

Fungible refers to "work that can be easily digitized, automated, or transferred abroad is fungible" (278). The jobs that we hear of as being outsourced are fungible.

Untouchables are "people whose jobs cannot be outsourced, digitized, or automated" (278). These jobs include the following:

1) Great collaborators and orchestrators
people who are masters of collaborating "within and between companies."
ie sales, marketing, maintenance, and management
people who are good with working for global companies, not just in the local region, and "translating its services for the local market"

2) Great synthesizers
new business of "mash-ups," which is just mashing together two different web-based tools
ie merging google.com and craiglist.org

3) Great Explainers
People who can explain the complexities of certain topics (ie how to work a digital camera)
ie "The pure backroom technical person, who does not have good people skills, might be mess in demand. And the good people person, who might just be one chapter ahead of the clients in terms of understanding digital photography, becomes more valuable -- because he or she is a really good explainer."

4) Great Leveragers
People who can design computer programs that allow others to work smarter and faster
**This subtopic is the one I had the most trouble understanding**

5) Great Adapters
"employees who are more adaptable and versatile."
capable of "not only constantly adapting but also of constantly learning and growing."
be able to switch jobs rapidly and continuously

6) The Green People
People who deal with "renewable energies and environmentally sustainable systems."
agriculturally (hence 'green') based jobs

7) Passionate Personalizers
People who entertain others
exhibits "pure passion, sometimes it is pure entertainment, sometimes it is a creative touch that no one else thought of adding, but what it always does is take a routine task and upgrade it into a new middle job."
ie generous employee at a local coffee shop or the man at Yankee stadium that blows up balloon bats for fans

8) Great Localizers
People who are involved in small and medium-sized businesses



The YouTube movie was similar. The makers showed that just because we are "American" does not make us stand out anymore because the world has become so globalized that other countries are becoming more competitive.

I must say that the concluding lines that said "by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race." That line is extremely scary, and I truly hope it DOES NOT happen. I do not want a computer chip thinking for me, let alone me plus the entire human race. That is why we are humans...because we are individuals. If we take away our individuality, what do we have left? Nothing. The difference between us and plants is that we can think for ourselves...but if this prior line comes true, there really is no difference.