Someone recently asked me this question in an interview and I couldn’t help but think, “I wonder what TNGG would have to say about this?”
Five years ago, many of us were still in high school. George Bush had recently been elected for a second term, Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the South, Iraq held its first election, and I was busy worrying about my AP tests. My social media presence consisted solely of a MySpace page, my cell phone couldn’t even take pictures, and I only recently upgraded from CDs to my very first iPod. How drastically the world can change in a mere five years!
So, what was your favorite invention or creation of the past 5 years? How has it changed your life? How will that invention/creation shape the world and the lives of Gen Y?
That's a tough question to answer. I'd have t say it's probably the developments of all of the browsers to be even more secure and standards compliant. Everything that we do is based on the web, and the technologies that make upthe most often used tools are probably up there on the list, to say the least.
Google and the Iphone.
+ The Lacie Rugged (smaller, lighter, more durable portable hard drives that don't need bulky power cords).
+ The iPhone. Specifically, its GPS function. And maybe the tip calculator. I don't even have one, but it sure is helpful to have friends and travelmates who do.
+ Wikipedia. I know it's older than five years, but its standards have been hiked in the past five to the point that it's always becoming a more balanced, more researched, more useful tool. International use is also way up…I'm always amazed at the wealth of information.
Gotta agree with Lauren on Wikipedia. Also, the iPod. I know it technically first came out in '01, but the more modern versions all started coming out about five years ago. I do miss my CDs sometimes, but there's no denying it's certainly easier to carry around a little iPod rather than a bulky CD player AND all the CDs.
Confession, I'm 46, but I can't resist this question!
For me, the most badass tech thingy of the past five years is Google Docs. Go ahead, laugh. I mean, you have every right to, seeing as how the iPhone and numerous other tech things seem to be a hell of lot cooler. But for me, Google Docs has been a life changer. The reason: I am chronically disorganized (or is that unorganized, whatever) and I was forever struggling with how to manage version control issues on Word docs as I moved them around from my home computer to my work computer to my wife's computer to my USB drive to my external hard drive. Argh, it was horrible. But now, all my songs are online, in one place, editable from almost anywhere, with no version control issues at all. Even better, every revision I have ever made to my lyrics resides on Google Docs. Pretty cool, I think.
#1 Skype – it has changed the way we keep in touch with friends and family and made it easier and simpler. I know it is older than 5 years, but we don't give Skype the credit it deserves.
#2 Twitter – The greatest connection/sharing tool!!!
#3 Pandora & Hulu – both have changed they way we listen to music and watch TV.
#4 Google Docs – I agree with Jeff on this one
I feel like Facebook is the most significant innovation in recent years. It has completely changed the way we interact with people. You can connect with classmates, family members, friends and so much more. It's completely integrated into our culture as well with “Facebook stalking” and other related thing. It's so common to hear someone tell a story and the next response is “Oh yeah, I saw that on Facebook”.
I'm kind of amazed no one has said this yet.
So I like how all these inventions are purely technology based. I'm sure there's some crazy medical advancement which changed our lives forever but the only thing we can think of is technology. Don't worry – I'm the same way. I think Facebook has been HUGE the past 5 years. It really led the “shrinking of the world” – I stay in better contact with people than I would have. Also, Netflix. Netflix totally changed my movie viewing forever. I no longer need to spend 12 bucks to go see a mediocre movie, I can spend 12 bucks to watch unlimited mediocre movies!
But seriously, it actually has saved me lots of money and encouraged me to see probably a quarter of the movies I used to see in theaters.
My last invention, which really isn't an invention but I adopted in the past 5 years is the Mac. I grew up HATING Macs. I even had one at my first internship in college and absolutely couldn't stand it. I bought my Macbook Pro 2 years ago and will never buy a pc again. By far the best piece of technology I have purchased.
Erm, I kinda hate to say it… but Twitter. Seriously, it's changed the way I do a lot of things. It's been instrumental in my job search, keeping in touch with my girlfriend over seas and finding new places to eat in Boston. And, I keep finding new ways to use it. I'm not a huge fan boy, but really do I find so much utility in it that it's easily the most important development for me of the past 5 years.
Axe. It works.
I do truly enjoy the Snuggie. I find its popularity quite interesting. The invention first patented by Gary who sold the “Slanket” created a blanket that allowed couch lovers full arm motion with the warmth of a fuzzy blanket. Gary made a fortune. However, since then, the Slanket and followed by a competing brand, the Snuggie has become a joke and mockery of what some might think “a great idea: a blanket with sleeves”. I admit at first I bought a snuggie to joke around with my friends, post up photos of a snuggie photoshoot around the city, seriously consider organizing a snuggie pub crawl, all for the laughs and good times. To be quite frank when I'm at home watching a movie or here at work, I am tempted to put on a snuggie to keep warm, they are comfy. Through its “joke” status the snuggie has become very popular. Accepted or not people know what a snuggie is when brought into a conversation.
http://www.theslanket.com/index.php?path=our_story
Also the popularity of the Segway is similar to the Snuggie.