Time marches upward

© Heike Jestram

You know what you almost never see anymore?

Wooden ladders.

For thousands of years, wooden ladders were the best technology available for getting from the ground to the top of a wall. There were very few convenient, affordable options, and wooden ladders were easy to make out of readily available materials.

But then someone figured out how to make stuff out of aluminum, and someone later figured out how to do that cheaply, and someone later yet figured out a really good design for a ladder made of aluminum.

Unlike wooden ladders, aluminum ladders don't rot, don't break easily, and are lightweight for carrying and storage.

Consumers recognized the benefits of aluminum over wood and spent their money accordingly. And the next thing you know -- no more wooden ladders.

Sure, we still love the idea and the aesthetic of a wooden ladder -- I mean, come on, look at that picture above -- but the vast majority of consumers would choose aluminum over wood every time (if wood were even a real option). The technology is simply better, and those who insisted on sticking with the old technology fell behind and went out of business or became boutique operations.

You know what else you almost never see anymore?


People using horses, donkeys or mules as they go about their daily business.

©Water and Power Associates

For thousands of years, horses, donkeys and mules were the best technology available for getting people, goods and plows from here to there. There were very few convenient, affordable options, and beasts of burden were abundant.

But then someone figured out how to make an internal combustion engine, and someone later figured out how to make one of those engines propel a carriage, and someone later yet created a really good design for something called an automobile.

Consumers recognized the benefits of cars over beasts and spent their money accordingly. And the next thing you know -- no more horses on city streets.

Sure, horses are still romantic and beautiful to look at and fun to own and tend as a hobby, but the vast majority of transportation consumers would choose an automobile over an animal every time. The technology is simply better, and those who insisted on sticking with the old technology fell behind and went out of business or became boutique operations.

You know what's the next thing you're not going to see much of anymore?

Newspapers.

©Chicago Daily News

For thous-- OK, hundreds of years, newspapers were the best technology available for conveying the latest information to a large audience. There were very few convenient, affordable options, and raw materials were abundant.

But then the telegraph happened, and then radio happened, and then television happened. But none of those was really an adequate alternative to newspapers because the constraints of airtime and the exigencies of entertainment limited the depth they could provide for consumers and the breadth they could offer to advertisers. Newspapers remained the superior technology, and consumers and advertisers spent their money accordingly.

But then someone invented the computer and someone later made it smaller and faster and someone later created the Internet before going on to become vice president of the United States.

Online news doesn't have to be put to bed at 11 p.m. for delivery within 100 miles by 6 the next morning. The product can be delivered instantaneously anywhere on Earth where there is electricity. And it doesn't require $10 million presses and fleets of trucks and legions of delivery personnel.

©NiemanLab.org

Someone has yet to devise a really great business model to make news on the Internet profitable, but it's coming. Many purveyors have yet to institute depth of coverage and standards of quality equal to newspapers', but the time will come. Consumers of information have been clearly declaring their preference for some time now and have been spending their money (or not spending it) accordingly.

The technology is simply better, and those who insist on sticking with the old technology have fallen behind or gone out of business or will become boutique operations.

Sure, many people still like to hold a newspaper in their hands or spread one out across the floor on  Sunday morning, but the last generation for whom print was the default will one day fade away.

But take heart, newspaper fans. (That includes me; I've been reading newspapers since I learned to read, and newspapers provided me employment, income and friends for 20 years. My father and grandfather were both newsmen for a time, and my great-grandfather owned a newspaper.)

We will always need ladders; they're just different now. We will always need to get from here to there; we just use different means now. And there will always be a need for information; only the medium is changing. This is not a loss; it's a natural progression.

Now bring me a ladder so I can climb down off my high horse.