Is it the death of paper?

Haven't blogged for a while but need to get back into it so today leads me to The Guardian's announcement today to be digital first in the future and invest in more digital future.  So if this the beginning of the end for paper? the success of the Amazon Kindle (I have one and love it like a third child) has also had an impact on the sales of books. We are seeing major print firms having to re shift their assets in major ways and in some cases sadly closing the doors. As a long term designer of both print and digital media I have to confess that there is something innately satisfying in opening a freshly printed box of work, the chemicals and the feel of the material will always make me smile, but will we be seeing the demise? Rupert Murdoch stated that he saw the death of the printed newspaper in the very near future, I have to say that I haven't read a newspaper in printed format more than once in a year(which was this week in fact).  I think the reasoning behind this is I now have the tools to pick and choose what I read, I have become saturated with too much information and now I choose what I read and from whom I read it.  I have a veracious appetite for information and follow social media avidly, this is the world I live in and feel comfortable with.  So if its the death of paper where does that leave the modern journo? will they have to change their skill sets to compensate for the different mediums? there are some that use the digital world very well and provide some very engaging (if sometimes a little one sided and on the other side of neutral, or is it provocative?) pieces.

Open data will surely be the tool of the journo in the future, however they will need to handle this with great care and consideration as open data is happily ignorant of any narrative that goes with it, a £500 fish tank on paper isn't such a problem when the reason is to help the kids.  

Social Media will be the forum of social opinion and alerts, its instant and recent events of a twitterer posting the events of Bin Laden's demise show the world is much smaller these days.  Mobile devices are equipped to be mini news stations with all the necessary tools to deliver live news on the move and spread the message to millions with a few clicks.

So exciting times for many and sad times for others, for me I will miss the world of mache, but look forward to the world of digital!

Oh I am not saying that local papers will die out very quickly, I will always need something to light the fire with :)

Are public sector workers unemployable?

I havent blogged for a while as i have been busy and not had a great deal to say but a couple of recent articles that I have read and followed have got me thinking about the future I suppose.

The articles in question are regarding the austere measures that are in place at the moment and as such the cuts which are leading to redundancies in Local Government.  The articles are around the fact that the government believe that many of these redundancies will be picked up by private sector roles however the private sector are reluctant to employ these people for a number of reasons (according to the articles).  So my thoughts lead to what are my chances of getting a job in the "real world"? I mean I didnt study at school, dont have any real qualifications (with the exception of a construction HND equivilent which doesnt really sit well in a web managers role).

That being said I have managed a few websites in my time, the most recent is now one of the 5th most used council websites in the country, we get more praise than criticism which is good because I take my role very seriously/peronally, also I am very proud of what I have been leading on and part of its success(have huge amount to do though). Many public sector workers manage their jobs in very difficult conditions with no budget and lots of hours, they learn to be innovative and to take requirements to another level.  This is talent, one I would have anticiapted a great benefit to a private sector employer.  What does tend to restrict a public sectors ability to really shine is policies and procedures that are sometimes cumbersome and not as agile as they could be.  A private sector employer can set their own agendas and as such allocate the required resources and budget, this gets things moving a lot quicker and the results are easily realised.

I would agree that in every walk of life you have the few employees that are not proactive and enthused about the most important aspect in public sector, our customers, but that shouldnt detract from the main that public sector workers are talented bunch and would be a great asset to a company. But what do you think? From experience in dealings with officers can you evaluate their worth fairly quickly? I would like to think that actions speak louder than words.  I hope that if/when I am looking for a new challenge then I would be able to put my career forward as proof I would be an asset!