In the final instalment of this series, I am having a look at non-business-related technology and offer my personal views on why I think we need to reassess where the world is heading in terms of inventing useful technology ...
Digital banks like Tide, Monza and Starling have no high street presence at all. The account is app-based with a whole host of features for the small business arena. However, in most cases, there is a tie-in with The Post Office for those awkward moments when a client still pays you by cheque or even cash so you can deposit into your account, other than that, you just need your mobile phone.
The pros are that you can apply online and open an account in minutes (subject to status and security checks). If you get being paid in cash or cheque then some of these banks have agreements with The Post Office to deposit payments into your account. Starling even has a mobile cheque deposit facility for cheques up to £500.00, just take a photo and upload to the App.
Personally, the biggest con is that I still like to have a relationship with my bank. It's difficult to have that personal touch just through your smartphone. There are, on occasion, times you want to go in and see your Business Manager or for them to come and see you to discuss other matters such as funding and how the bank can help you expand your business.
In short, there is a huge battle for your money and a drive to develop more convenient online, but less personal systems to disrupt the way in which save and pay for everyday life.
I have recently come across CRISPR-Cas9, which has been developed by scientists and is a smarter way of identifying and repairing faulty strands of DNA. We have made it our mission to rid the human population of diseases, especially cancers.
I understand that we want to live a long and fulfilling life, but we are only humans and nature will adapt as quick as our technology advances to restore the status quo.
In terms of space, we all know about the big three hitters apart from NASA who are now spending BILLIONS of dollars in the race to develop commercial space travel. The new (and old) money that is Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson have all launched rockets in the past couple of years and taken celebrities into orbit and back with great success.
Whilst all these technologies are, and will be, invaluable to the minority of the population (in percentage terms of the circa seven billion population), the controversy in all of this is that we still have vast majorities of human beings around the globe who are impoverished, starving and have little or no access to education or clean water.
If you take into account the daily advertisements asking for regular monthly donations, and the constant images of unclothed, children starving, it makes me wonder why we do not spend those billions of dollars on more useful activities.
Yes, tech has its uses, but personally, I do not agree with developing stuff that does not sort out the issues we have now. There's no point living on Mars when we can't even look after the one planet that we were given.
If you feel inspired to find out more then do call me on 07555 807700 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.