Insights on:
Digital Literacy
What’s my take on Digital Literacy
I rarely say something is an absolute must to do, but Digital Literacy is one of them. The rate of change has gone from supersonic to hypersonic. Technologies like AI, AR, VR, Blockchain, Metaverse, Web 3.0, Quantum Computing, Additive Manufacturing, and numerous other emergent technologies are shaping the future of just about everything. The question is what to do about it? How to benefit from and just as importantly, how do you avoid missing out on the benefits?
These were some of the same questions I had while running a group of on-demand home services companies in the United States. New startups were popping up, competing in different ways, and using new technologies that we weren’t yet using, but I knew they were essential.
Like many of you reading this, I was busy running my company, and the idea of starting a whole new journey in technology was daunting, to say the least. But all journeys worth taking are daunting, scary, or challenging anyways.
The journey of mastering my digital literacy led to the founding of the Technology Think Tank Wandering Alpha in 2016. The goal was to share everything I learned in simple terms that anyone could understand without the need for an extensive background in the subject. I wanted anyone to be able to read it and walk away (or scroll away,) having learned enough to gain their digital orientation for their digital journey.
Originally just a small project, it grew into something much more extensive, and it is the site you can visit today. Wandering Alpha has become a trusted resource for Fortune 500 Companies, Alternative Investment Firms, Universities, Startups, NGOs, and Government Agencies. It’s used in training programs, corporate manuals, research projects, and much more.
Flash forward to today, and my digital literacy journey has resulted in an outsized (asymmetrical) payoff that has provided me with opportunities that I want all of you to have. It is my hope that every government, company, parent, and kid takes an interest in digital literacy and all the benefits it will bring. Let's start a journey together.
What is Digital Literacy?
Digital Literacy is the ability to understand, use, apply, and combine past, current, and emerging technologies to benefit yourself, your work, and/or society. A digitally literate person would be sophisticated enough to understand their digital: rights, trails, risks, and habits.
It’s helpful to clarify that “understanding” does not mean just being aware of a technology. Understanding means: the ability to grasp what the technology is, how it applies to an individual (benefits, risks, opportunities, etc.), how it is used in the market, what it might mean for the future, how it could be combined or cross-applied with other technologies, and how to use it in a non-superficial way.
We live in a world where we have to interact with technology for almost everything we do in our professional and private lives, and it will only increase over time, making digital literacy as important as eating healthy, driving safely, being able to read, or following the law. Sure, you can take your chances and not do it, but the consequences can be huge and unnecessary.
How does it apply?
Like artificial intelligence, digital literacy applies to everything and everyone. In a world powered by technologies that change at an ever-increasing rate, the only way for individuals, companies, and countries to thrive is by being digitally literate.
The strength of any country in the modern era is determined by the capacity of the population to adapt to changes, increase productivity, and stay ahead of other countries in relative and absolute terms. A digitally literate population would result in more startups/companies launched, higher wages for employees, increased foreign & domestic investment, higher tax revenues, and greater domestic independence & stability. Just to name a few.
Strong companies are dependent on digitally literate populations to 1) Start the company, 2) Operate the company effectively over the long term, 3) Supply employees who can do the jobs requiring digital literacy, 4) Supply clients who can understand, use, and afford the products of the company.
Now we get to the cornerstone of everything, the individual. The main difference between the available opportunities today and the opportunities available 200, 300, or 500+ years ago is twofold: Technology and the Technological Literacy of enough people to do something with it. Never in history have there been more opportunities & rewards available for the individual who contributes to society by starting a business, mastering a technology, serving a company with good work, and improving themselves.
The world has lept forward in several bouts because of increasing technological literacy. But now in the age of data, we have to master digital literacy to continue the progress because things have lept forward once again.
While many things are unfair in the world, I believe it is reasonable to think that anyone who improves their abilities to understand, use, develop, and master technologies (with all their intricacies) will have a greater likelihood of success than someone who doesn’t understand or study them.
I could write pages on the individual, but I won’t. I will leave you with this. The future of every country, every business, every economy, and the future prosperity and advancement of humanity depends on the individual to understand risk, opportunities, challenges, and everything in-between that is now primarily governed by data and technology.
The future is literally in your hands as you read these lines.
What we can offer you in relation to Digital Literacy
I advise startups, established companies, investors, NGOs, and governments on the best practices for Digital Literacy. Each has a unique set of challenges and unique solutions to excel in the Age of AI, Data, and Technology.
Digital Literacy Solutions
Government Technology Solutions