The Knowledge Economy is what some people call a social revolution or paradigm shift. Basically, it's a change in how our society functions. We have been through these before so it's probably best to reflect on the past before we talk about the changes we are experiencing today and will in the not so distant future.
The last major social revolution was the industrial revolution. It is called a revolution because of the enormous impact it had on society as a whole. During the industrial revolution society saw the creation of a transportation and economic system made possible through the invention of the steam engine and electricity. The transportation system allowed the movement of goods and people, quickly and easily, to places very few had ever seen. New machinery and manufacturing processes increased productivity and made available vast quantities of goods, typically at a price most people could afford. Power generation facilities increased productivity and the quality of life.
The industrial age brought with it a dramatic transition from an economy based on agriculture to one based on industrial output and in doing so, brought with it a number of changes in the way society functioned. The steam engine, factories, and electricity, improved quality of life, increased wages for the middle class, and transformed a decentralized agricultural based society into a centralized urban society.
The industrial age also brought about the transfer of power and control. When the economy was based on agriculture, land was powerful. Those that controlled or owned the land had an economic advantage over those that did not. The transition from agriculture to industry shifted the power from those that controlled the land to those that controlled the machine be it the steam engine, internal combustion engine, electrical power, or the manufacturing plant. Today we are seeing another shift. The shift is from the tangible physical aspects of the Industrial Age to the intangible assets of the Information Age. The shift is from the labor-intensive society to a knowledge intensive society.
There is no argument the technological advances of the past two decades have brought society into a new age. New products and designs in telecommunications, information technology, and computer networking have shifted the power from industrial tycoons to the individual. The "connectedness" of our society puts information in the hands of the people. That information can be transformed into knowledge and knowledge is power. Geography doesn't matter in the same context that it used to, knowledge does!
This new paradigm has shifted our workforce from labor intensive to knowledge based. Today, more of the workforce is manipulating data or gathering and analyzing information than ever before. With this shift to the connected knowledge worker comes the ability to work from anywhere. The traditional requirement to be physically located in close proximity to where one works will continue to diminish with time. The information age and the connectedness inherent with it will allow knowledge worker to live where they desire.
That is why place matters more today than ever before. A community that provides amenities that support knowledge workers will, in the long run, prosper. The Bemidji region is poised to offer those amenities; quality health care, education, pristine lakes and forests, low crime, affordable living, access to technology, the arts, and sports. These and many, many other characteristics are associated with quality of place.
We live in changing times and, as always, have a choice. We can sit back, do nothing and watch the world go by or we can embrace the inevitable and prepare for change by participating in regional efforts like Bemidji Leads, the Convention Center, the Ingenuity Frontier and many others.
Change is difficult to accept but one thing is for certain. Those organizations that embrace change will maintain the competitive advantage over those who do not. Change requires leadership. In the case of the knowledge economy where geographical boundaries are torn down, that leadership needs to come from government, business, and the people.
Get involved. Participate. An opportunity like this doesn't come around very often and we must make some hard decisions about what we want to be in the future. Do we want to sit back and watch change happen or do we want to participate and have some say in the way our region grows? Or, as a colleague of mine once said -- Do we want to watch the Change Train leave the Station or be the Train Conductor?
The choice is ours.