In 2008, average bandwidth speeds were 3 megabits per second. That’s not enough for a Zoom meeting with reliable video quality. Now, it’s over 20 megabits per second. That’s more than enough for high-quality video.
There’s a before and after. BEFORE: No remote work. AFTER: Everyone can work remotely.
The difference: bandwidth got faster. And that’s basically it. People have left New York City and have moved completely into virtual worlds. The Time-Life Building doesn’t need to fill up again. Wall Street can now stretch across every street instead of just being one building in Manhattan.
We are officially AB: After Bandwidth. And for the entire history of NYC (the world) until now, we were BB: Before Bandwidth.
Remote learning, remote meetings, remote offices, remote performance, remote everything.
The above is a interesting point. COVID really has accelerated by years the notion of the remote workplace and the longer COVID goes on the greater the change it seems like. Whereas before, remote work was a meandering path and a conflicted path. Some offices offered remote work, others didn't or some sort of hodge podge of the two was the norm. Remote was for a lot of office workers/employers last Spring an unknown or seen with apprehension/fear and yet people and offices all leaped prepared or unprepared. No doubt a few eggs were smashed in the process and more than a few are likely sporting a crack or two. But collectively we all made a giant leap. Whether you view that as a good thing or a bad thing I guess boils down to your perspectives and circumstances. Two office workers sharing a 1000 sq ft condo with a young kid, these past months have been hell? For a single, guy with a house and access to nature and a normal social life, well I'm thrilled with less time wasted commuting. I look across the lake at Toronto and think yeah, you're okay to visit but I'm not sad I don't see you every day.
I guess the real question is, where do we go from here? Are we going back to the office or are we marching off down a different path? Does it make sense to go back? Where I am now all of us have had some challenges adapting, some more so than others (first time working remote for a few), but we have all managed to work through the challenges or around them or are in the process of addressing them. Personally I don't think I'm going back to the office. Mid-March was the last time I went near my work office and there's been no interest by co-workers and even owners to go back to the office or to even come up with some timelines.
jamesaltucher.com
