The investor constantly wonders about the future in order to invest today. The Internet of tomorrow generates, of course, many expectations. Now, his promise is as great as his ambiguity. Where are we going? We still don’t know for sure. However, we know that it is something extraordinary. On that combination of mystery and optimism, companies make their capital raising campaigns. Financing is obtained by selling the promise of an amazing technological future. Therefore, the big business today is to invest in the technology sector.
Let’s remember for a minute the 90s. The Internet back then was not great at all. Initially, the connection was extremely slow. Telephone cables were mainly used. And the computer was a big, expensive, noisy machine. Email, web pages, and chat rooms were basically the Internet. In many ways, an internet-enabled computer felt like a facsimile machine, only a bit more sophisticated for having a monitor and keyboard. It was a far cry from today’s ubiquitous smart phone.
The Internet was born with much expectation on the one hand and much rejection on the other. There were many debates around its multiple dangers. There were stories of kidnappings, robberies and crimes of various kinds related to meeting new people on the Internet. Reading on paper was presented as much more comfortable and humane than reading on screen. I remember being teased by my family for reading the newspaper online. The public reluctantly accepted the Internet. The passion came from two sources. Firstly from nerds (like me) and secondly from Wall Street. The others were added, to some extent, for FOMO. The Internet was unavoidable. “Internet is the future”. That was the slogan. My mother bought me my first computer, because computing was said to be the profession of the future.
In the 90s, the Internet wasn’t great. However, it was known that the great was yet to come. All the details were not yet available. But the expectation became a great motivation to build. The improvements revolved around speed, accessibility, and cost. Now, we could assume that we will continue to improve in these arenas. I mean, Internet in the coming years will be faster, more accessible and cheaper. In other words, we will no longer ask about Wifi. The Internet will be totally ubiquitous. The connection will surely come from space, from light bulbs or from any other source. Anyway, your coverage will be much more complete.
The process of digitizing everything will surely continue. Many of the activities that we still carry out in person will probably go digital. Of course few things are absolute in this life. Mixed mode is the most common. That is to say, I assume that it will be a peculiar mix between face-to-face and digital. In the technology environment, the language of war is often used to add drama to changes. Words like “death”, “disruption” and “revolution” are used. The word “death” is used to talk about the old, the word “disruption” to insinuate that the new will kill the old, and the word “revolution” to announce great changes in a short time. However, in practice, the changes are much more gradual and the results are often much more mixed.
Obviously the future will have more applications and better solutions. Everything will be more digital. In other words, the integration between the “real world” and the digital will be closer. The “real world” will be more like the Internet. And the Internet is more like the “real world”. Finance, commerce, entertainment, culture, etc. Everything will be covered in that dual element. The line between digital and real will gradually be blurred.
The metaverse, the cloud, algorithms, bots, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, etc. These are sectors that are already bearing fruit. And the future will be built with innovations that we do not yet know about. But we could assume that the plurality of options will be the norm. Everything indicates that the fragmentation of society will settle in the future. We will meet in small interest groups. The situation will continue to generate radicalism internally and enmity externally. That will continue to cause violence, clashes and divisions. Because each group will have a totally distant view of the world. The crisis of confidence will probably reach very dangerous levels. At the same time, plurality encourages innovation.
Now the big question. Where do we put the money? Many of the companies that promised great things in the 1990s went bankrupt in the dotcom bust. In periods of greed, we assume that we can invest in anything. Because it is the “Internet of the future”. We could fall into the trap of thinking that everything will be successful. Fake. Most search engines, for example, were unsuccessful. Most of the pages were unsuccessful. Most of the projects, in fact, failed. The euphoria infected everyone. However, the triumph was of few. The future has finally arrived, but it didn’t make everyone rich.
Indeed, the future is infinite in potential. However, we must be very careful, because the present is plagued by professional tricksters who make false promises in the name of the great future. They all want our money. And we know that beautiful words seduce. It is always sensible to never fall more in love with a specific project account. We do the homework. We study the fundamentals and the potential for growth. But we don’t put all our eggs in one basket, because nothing is certain in this life. We cannot allow ourselves to be seduced by illusion.
No one knows the future, because no one is a fortune teller. The future is built with vision. In a way, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is not clairvoyance. It is will. Do not trust the one who promises you a road without potholes. Be careful with the words “safe”, “future”, and “millions”. They are hooks to catch the unwary. Many things are new. But human greed is very old. The investor requires a lot of patience, a cool head and skepticism to survive the passage of time.
Where do we put the money? We must be very selective. We must look for more facts and fewer words. The company or the project working hard and providing real value. We must start there. And we must move away from the charismatic subject promising villas and castles. Promises do not build. And the future is formed with builders.
Disclaimer: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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