tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016030350130510072.post6419045129472248847..comments2013-08-02T10:27:37.922-04:00Comments on In the Stacks: Self Service SocietyErica Thorsen Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308870011375519634noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016030350130510072.post-72336846187599277052013-07-21T18:58:09.334-04:002013-07-21T18:58:09.334-04:00I wrote a blog post a few years back on the servic...I wrote a blog post a few years back on the service economy we are in. It isn't quite the same as what you are talking about in this post but the overall theme is sorta similar. <br /><br />http://aneducatedguesswhyharvardnevercalled.blogspot.com/2011/08/at-your-service.html<br /><br />Your question as to how we should approach a self-serve world is a good one. <br /><br />IMO, shifting to an all self serve society is a short term gain, long term loss. The convenience factor makes it very attractive. In our busy lives we can bank online, shop online, pay for our groceries ourselves and so much more. <br />The flip side means more lay offs and future business models that require less human capital which benefits a only a few in a town or community. <br />Also, and more of a philosophical viewpoint, a self-serve world shows how busy our lives really are. We are too busy to take five minutes to talk to a cashier. We are too busy to ask questions about a book, which is ironic because we will spend time reading consumer product reviews on Amazon but not ask someone who works in a book store for their input. <br /><br />Most importantly, self-serve is akin to the interstate system. Before the interstate, the roads ran through cities and towns. You could see which towns were bright and vibrant. You might also have to travel through some run down parts which gave your an idea of how others might struggle. It brought a level of social consciousness because it was visible and real. The interstate now bypasses cities and towns. We live from exit to exit without ever witnessing where real people live. We lost a level of consciousness of real society. The same can be said of self-serve. We don't get to hear the conversations with real people with real problems or tales of happiness. We just assume that every one has the same existence as us because we don't interact. We become an island of ourselves. Seven billion individual island does not move society forward.andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11392628847777427940noreply@blogger.com