theme for 2012 is IMPACT

Whoever has all the marbles wins (Wikimedia Commons)

The theme for #wtf12 is IMPACT.

The 14th annual media conference hosted by CPUT (formerly Cape Technikon) will be about the impact of technology and the impact of social media.  According to all the pundits…this year 2012 is the year that technology is going to have an impact on our lives.

Whether or not it will rival the impact of the toaster, the electric kettle, the computer, fax machine, matches, zippers, barcode, batteries, ballpoint pens, buttons, credit cards, robots, condoms, pencils, ploughs, sticky tape, telephones, thermometers, velcro, rubber bands, radios, disposable razors and the wheel remains to be seen.  But it would be wise to be reminded that although we treat these preceding items as everyday things.  They weren’t always taken for granted.  If fact, at one point in time, they were considered revolutionary and technologically advanced and cutting edge.

But not all the experts consider this impact to be good for humanity, that is the people of the world.  Jim Clifton (The Coming Jobs War) predicts that the next war will be the war for jobs.  With technology replacing people who used to have formal jobs (paycheck and 30 hrs per week meaningful work) and the world already facing a global 50% unemployment rate, whoever controls the jobs, wins the war.  And it will be a war for all the marbles according to Jim Clifton.