Welcome to the Future (thanks Brad Paisley)

By Wesley Fryer On October 22, 2009 · · Add Comment

This morning to start off my presentation at the KATE conference I critiqued and shared the first 90 seconds of Brad Paisley’s song, “Welcome to the Future.” These are the lyrics to the first two verses, courtesy of LyricWiki:

When I was ten years old
I remember thinking how cool it would be
When we were goin on an eight hour drive
If I could just watch T.V.
And I’d a given anything
To have my own Pac-Man game at home
I use to have to get a ride down to the arcade
Now I’ve got it on my phone

Chorus:
Hey, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah
Welcome to the future

My Grandpa was in World War 2
He fought against the Japanese
He wrote a hundred letters to my Grandma
Mailed them from his base in the Philippines
I wish they could see this now
Will they say it’s changed a note
Cause I was on a video chat this morning
With a company in Tokyo

Chorus:
Hey, everyday’s a revolution
Welcome to the future
Hey, look around it’s all so clear
Hey, wherever we were goin, well we’re here
Hey, so many things I never thought I’d see
Happening right in front of me

Indeed, it’s amazing what’s possible today with mobile devices.

The mobile computing revolution is “just starting,” in the grand scheme of things. Today’s USA Today article, “Web 2.0 speakers see mobile devices taking over,” quotes observers amazed about the speed with which mobile devices are growing in usage and popularity:

The last few years have seen dramatic change as we shifted our lives to the PC and the Internet, but now it’s all about mobile. If you don’t sport a cool new iPhone, Android or Palm Pre smartphone yet, you will.

Smartphone technology — a PC in your pocket — “is ramping faster than any tech cycle I’ve seen in modern times,” said Mary Meeker, an influential technology analyst at Morgan Stanley.

“That this is all happening in a recession is a very good thing to happen to our industry,” she added.

Ah, yes, the recession. Hard times.

But not for gadgets, gizmos and the Web. Apple just reported record revenue and sales of Macintosh computers and iPhones. Last week, Internet giant Google said its revenue in the third quarter rose 7% year-over-year. And Microsoft, launching a new version of Windows this week, is expected to dramatically increase sales, thanks to new computers and upgrade purchases.

Brad Paisley does have the full music video for “Welcome to the Future” available on YouTube, but embedding is disabled / not available for it. Check it out!

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future, ipod, kansas, mobile, phone, video, kate, tv, zune